Common Methods for Polishing Mold Parts
There are several common methods for polishing mold parts:
- Mechanical Polishing
Mechanical polishing relies on cutting and plastic deformation of the material surface to remove polished protrusions and obtain smooth surfaces. It generally involves manual operation using oil stones, wool wheels, sandpaper, etc. Special parts such as rotary surfaces can be assisted with tools such as turntables. For mold parts with high surface quality requirements, ultra-precision grinding and polishing methods can be adopted.
- Chemical Polishing
Chemical polishing involves preferentially dissolving the microscopically protruding parts of mold part materials in a chemical medium, thereby obtaining smooth surfaces. The main advantage of this method is that it does not require complex equipment and can polish complex-shaped workpieces.
- Electrolytic Polishing
The basic principle of electrolytic polishing of mold parts is similar to chemical polishing, which selectively dissolves the tiny protruding parts on the material surface to make the surface smooth. Compared with chemical polishing, it can eliminate the influence of cathodic reactions and achieve better results.
- Fluid Polishing
Fluid polishing relies on high-speed flowing liquid and its abrasive to brush the surface of mold parts to achieve polishing. Common methods include abrasive jet machining, liquid jet machining, fluid dynamic grinding, etc.
- Ultrasonic Polishing
Mold parts are placed in a suspension of abrasives and placed in an ultrasonic field, where the oscillation of ultrasonic waves causes the abrasives to grind and polish the workpiece surface. Ultrasonic processing exerts minimal macroscopic force and does not cause workpiece deformation, but the fabrication and installation of fixtures are more difficult.
- Magnetic Abrasive Finishing
Magnetic abrasive finishing utilizes magnetic abrasives to form abrasive brushes under the action of a magnetic field for machining workpieces. This method has high processing efficiency, good quality, easy control of processing conditions, and favorable working conditions.
