Burnishing refers to the use of mechanical, chemical or electrochemical functions to enable the workpiece to obtain a bright and smooth surface processing method. The workpiece is machined by a soft wheel with polishing paste to reduce the roughness of the workpiece surface and improve its brightness. The soft wheel is made of leather, felt, canvas and other materials, with certain elasticity. The burnishing paste is made from abrasive and grease (including stearic acid, oil, kerosene, etc.). When polishing, the workpiece is pressed on the soft wheel, the polishing wheel is spinning at high speed, and the mechanical scraping and chemical action of the polishing paste remove the uneven surface. By burnishing, the surface roughness of the workpiece can reach 0.1~ 0.012m.
After burnishing, the surface of the workpiece is very smooth, but the burnishingcannot improve the size accuracy and shape precision of the workpiece. Burnishing is mainly used for surface finishing and pre-processing of electroplating.
Roller burnishing process is a kind of chipless machining. Pressure is applied to the surface of the workpiece by a certain form of roller burnishing tool. By using the plastic deformation of metal at normal temperature, the surface of the workpiece can be rolled horizontally to change the surface structure, mechanical properties, shape and size. Therefore, this method can achieve both light finishing and strengthening.