Review

Nanofinishing of freeform/sculptured surfaces: state-of-the-art

¹ Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science, Indore 452003, India
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal 462003, India

^* e-mail: liladhar@iitk.ac.in

Received: 15 December 2017
Accepted: 27 February 2018

Abstract

Freeform surfaces are being used in a multiplicity of applications in different kinds of industries related to Bio-medical (Bio-implants), micro channels in micro fluidics, automotives, turbine blades, impellers of artificial heart pumps, automobiles etc. Different parts in these industries need nano-level surface finish as their functional inevitability. It is very difficult and challenging to achieve high level of surface finish, especially on the components having freeform (or sculptured) surfaces, complex shapes, and 3-D features. Surface finish is a significant factor, which affects life and functionality of a product. Many traditional and advanced finishing processes have been developed for finishing of freeform/sculptured surfaces but still it has not been possible to achieve uniform nano level surface finish specially in case of freeform surfaces. To overcome the limitations of the existing nanofinishing processes, researchers are developing new processes for uniform nanofinishing of freeform surfaces. In this article, an attempt has been made to review different nanofinishing processes employed for freeform surfaces useful in different types of applications. In addition, experimental work, theoretical analysis and existing challenges of the finishing processes have been identified to fill the research gap.