Characteristics of textured polishing wheels (TPW) for dry fixed abrasive polishing fused silica

Dry fixed abrasive process integrates chemical reaction and ductile removal into one process and shows advantages against the conventional loose abrasive polishing in efficiency, geometric controllability, and waste disposal. However, it is worth noting that the wear and cutting temperatures encountered during the dry fixed abrasive process are areas that require further improvement. This manuscript develops TPWs with 3 surface textures (spiral, linear, and radial) on the sintered polishing wheel. The influence of TPWs on material removal depth and surface roughness for fused silica during the polishing process is investigated. The results indicate that the TPWs have the comparable material removal depth of the non-grooved polishing wheel while slightly increasing the surface roughness. However, it not only alleviates wheel wear but also improves the thermodynamics of airflow and chip removal in the polishing wheel, thus preventing surface the wheel burning. Through experimental research, the TPW with spiral-shape demonstrates the best performance with a material removal rate of 4.2657 μm/h and a surface roughness of approximately 3.0 nm.