Abstract: With the demand of improving the form accuracy of free-form surface by computer-controlled polishing, a theoretical investigation is presented on the material removal for the velocity-dwell-mode polishing process. Especially, the material removal profile as the sub-aperture tool polishes at the path corner is modeled. The material removal profile perpendicular to the polishing path can be calculated by integrating the wear index, the polished depth at unit length of polishing path, along the tool path in the contact region. The effects of the straight path and arc path on the polished profile at the bisector of the path arc angle are discussed in different cases. On the basis above, the polished profile at the path corner is modeled and a series of experiments are conducted to verify the proposed model. According to the experimental results, the material removal at the path corner is uneven, and the path radius and arc angle both affect the material removal profile during the velocity-dwell-mode polishing. The proposed model is potentially useful for the planning of tool path and process parameters in the polishing process.

Key words: computer-controlled polishing;freeform surface;material removal;path corner