Experimental study on large size bearing ring raceways' precision polishing with abrasive flowing machine (AFM) method

In some developing countries, the raceways of large bearing rings with outer diameters of 200 mm and above are ground and then are assembled and ready to leave the factory. While in the developed countries, they are superfinished with the high-frequency oscillation of whetstones, which is the only and conventional way and with a high cost. This paper presents a research on the precision polishing of large bearing ring raceways by an abrasive flow machine. This research adopts the ideas of forward design and reverse design in the design and manufacture of complex curved profile sections of the abrasive flow machine's clamp and integrates the 3D scanning reverse and 3D printing technology into the design of the abrasive flow machine's fixture, which reduce the bearing rings' surface roughness from 0.4 mu m after grinding to 0.1 mu m after abrasive flow polishing, and change the surface microstructure and texture. This research provides new ideas and methods in bearing ring raceways' superfinishing process and abrasive flow fixture design.