Preparation and characterization of magnetorheological elastic polishing composites

Magnetorheological elastic polishing composites, a new type of polishing material using magnetorheological elastomers as a binder, were developed to solve the problems of low processing efficiency and difficulty controlling the machining process in current polishing technology. A set of heat–magnet–force-coupled devices was designed and used to prepare isotropic and anisotropic silicon rubber–based magnetorheological elastic polishing composites by magnetic field–assisted compression molding technology. Then, the microstructure and properties of magnetorheological elastic polishing composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, optical microscope, electronic universal testing machine, and microscratch tester. The results show that magnetorheological elastic polishing composite is a polymer-based composite composed of rubber and micro/nanoparticles, and the magnetic field applied during the preparation process causes the interior of the magnetorheological elastic polishing composites to appear as chains and columns formed by iron particles. The compressive elastic modulus and scratch resistance of magnetorheological elastic polishing composites increase with the increase in the surrounding magnetic field strength. The main reason for the above phenomena is related to the change in the microstructure of magnetorheological elastic polishing composites induced by an external magnetic field. Finally, a simple application of magnetorheological elastic polishing composites in polishing proves that magnetorheological elastic polishing composites can be applied to mechanical processing to achieve magnetically controlled polishing.