Due to the rapid development of various industries requiring high precision, moving toward achievement of new technologies in manufacturing processes is inevitable. MAF is an emerging process, that has achieved an acceptable place among a variety of ultra precious polishing methods through published papers in scientific gatherings. In this project, In addition to further understanding of this process and its benefits, it was decided to design a machine tool with ability to polish the outer surface of cylindrical pieces made of non-ferromagnetic metals such as aluminum and copper. This machine was made on basis of a two-axis CNC milling bed, while used a pneumatic cylinder and gripper to rotate work pieces. The effect of important parameters such as gap between tool and work piece, tool rotational speed, tool rotation direction changing frequency and magnetic field intensity on final surface roughness was studied. A PLC and three-phase inverter were used to make ability of adjustment frequency of tool rotational direction changing. The magnetic Abrasive powder was combination of Fe powder as ferromagnetic particles, SiC powder as abrasive and silicon oil (unbounded powder). Machine automatic movements in x and y axis were controlled by a software controller named "Mach 3". This software operates like as a real controller and is capable to control different types of CNC machines. Among the input parameters, tool rotational direction changing frequency is being investigated in this polishing method for the first time. Low production cost is another important benefit of this system. When the machine was made and prepared, several tests were designed and performed with response surface design method using Minitab software. The final surface roughness was measured as the output variable in these experiments by use of surface roughness measuring instrument. To examine the effect of magnetic field, experiments were conducted in two different fields: 1-A single magnetic field was generated by tool and 2-A magnetic field was generated by use of tool and a magnet inside of work piece. Also the regression equation was derivation to determine the relative influence of each input factor on the output variable. The results showed that frequency factor ,in comparison with the others, has the greatest influence on improving the quality of surface. Also, the minimum gap and maximum tool rotational speed values were effective for producing smooth surface. In addition, the increasing intensity of the magnetic field will have a significant impact on improving work piece surface finish. It caused more surface pressure on abrasive particles and pushed them on the work piece surface. So the material removal rate and final surface quality were improved. To better understanding, results are also proposed as graphs and contour. To better results present, the work piece surface was imaged using accurate microscopes. These images show surface profile in nanometer scale. Key words: Magnetic abrasive finishing, Abrasive powder, Tool rotation direction changing frequency, Final surface roughness, Design of experiments.
