Research on reducing the edge effect in magnetorheological finishing

The edge effect could not be avoided in most optical manufacturing methods based on the theory of computer controlled optical surfacing. The difference between the removal function at the workpiece edge and that inside it is also the primary cause for edge effect in magnetorheological finishing (MRF). The change of physical dimension and removal ratio of the removal function is investigated through experiments. The results demonstrate that the situation is different when MRF "spot" is at the leading edge or at the trailing edge. Two methods for reducing the edge effect are put into practice after analysis of the processing results. One is adopting a small removal function for dealing with the workpiece edge, and the other is utilizing the removal function compensation. The actual processing results show that these two ways are both effective on reducing the edge effect in MRF.