What is AFM

You may be wondering what is Abrasive Flow Machining and how can it help me? Well do you have a machined part that needs a highly polished finish, an edge radius or needs to be deburred? But it can’t be done by conventional methods and the only available method is to hand polish or hand deburr. We all know how inconsistent hand polishing and hand deburring can be, one part may be polished to a 6 Ra finish the next to an 8 Ra finish. If you’re trying to generate an edge radius one part might have a .010 edge break and the next a .025 edge break.

This is where Abrasive Flow Machining can help. With our process we can polish your part consistently to your desired finish and we can generate consistent edge breaks.

Abrasive Flow Machining uses an abrasive laden compound which passes through a holding fixture and over the area to be processed. The holding fixture is designed to increase the velocity of the compound in the area to be processed. The increase in velocity concentrates the material removal to specific areas of the work piece.

In this demonstration we’ll show how Abrasive Flow Machining works. The machine we’ll be demonstrating has a 6 ¼ cylinder and the compound is loaded by hand. The part we’ll be processing is a stainless steel tube which measures 7 inches long and has a .100 inside diameter.

The lower cylinder is filled with compound.

The fixture is then placed over the lower cylinder.

The fixture is then clamped in place by hydraulic clamping cylinders.

We’re now ready to begin the process.

When the cycle is started the lower piston advances pushing the compound up through the holding fixture and into the upper cylinder.

When the lower cylinder has completely advanced the compound fills the upper cylinder.

Now with the upper cylinder filled with compound, the upper piston advances pushing the compound down through the holding fixture and into the lower cylinder.

This completes one cycle of the process.

Your part configuration and requirements will dictate the number of cycles needed to achieve the desired finish.

Contact us today with your finishing needs at 978-604-2101 or fill out this contact forum and we’ll contact you. We also have a Request for Quote forum where you can explain your finishing needs and attach a drawing. Thank you for watching and we hope to hear from you soon.