IWP-based Flexible Polishing Tools for Improving Hydrodynamic Fluid Polishing Performance of BK7 Glass

SONG Jintao; GUO Lei; LI Baozhen; HUI Jizhuang; XU Chen; LIU Xiaohui; JIN Qichao; ZHANG Jing; CHEN Zhenxian

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.005

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (9) : 44-59. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.005

Precision and Ultra-precision Machining

IWP-based Flexible Polishing Tools for Improving Hydrodynamic Fluid Polishing Performance of BK7 Glass

SONG Jintao¹, GUO Lei^1,2,*, LI Baozhen³, HUI Jizhuang^1,*, XU Chen¹, LIU Xiaohui¹, JIN Qichao¹, ZHANG Jing¹, CHEN Zhenxian¹

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Abstract

To address the widely observed problems of rapid tool wear, low material removal rates and unstable surface quality in polishing BK7 optical glass, this study proposes an internal-configuration optimization strategy for flexible polishing tools based on I-graph-wrapped package (IWP) triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) unit cells. Starting from an implicit-function representation of the IWP unit cell, two complementary internal architectures are constructed, namely a skeletal lattice (IWP-1) and a perforated lattice (IWP-2), and flexible polishing tools with different Shore A hardness levels are fabricated via stereolithography (SLA) photocuring additive manufacturing. The use of SLA-based 3D printing not only enables the direct manufacture of architected tools with complex internal lattices that would be extremely difficult to realize by conventional subtractive routes, but also provides a practical "design-for-additive-manufacturing" pathway for embedding mechanically tailorable architectures into flexible polishing tools. To quantitatively characterize macroscopic material removal behaviour under non-Newtonian hydrodynamic polishing conditions, a corrected material removal function is developed according to the coupling Hertzian contact theory, the Preston equation and the effective number of active free abrasives, in conjunction with an elastic-plastic deformation analysis of individual abrasive particles. This model links local contact pressure, relative sliding velocity and abrasive engagement to the global removal footprint, allowing the influence of internal tool topology to be mapped onto observable polishing performance. Static finite element analysis of the tool-workpiece contact region are carried out in Abaqus to elucidate how different IWP-based internal structures regulate the contact pressure field and reshape the tool influence function, thereby improving contact-pressure uniformity and mitigating local stress concentration at the tool-workpiece interface. On this basis, a CFD-DPM/DEM fluid-solid coupling model is established in Ansys Fluent to simulate the flow-field distribution and abrasive-particle dynamics within the polishing gap. The simulation results show that the IWP cell architecture promotes a more homogeneous spatial distribution of abrasives in the contact region, enhances the renewal efficiency of the polishing slurry and stabilizes the hydrodynamic film, all of which are beneficial for reducing local fluctuations in the removal rate and improving process consistency over repeated runs. Guided by these numerical insights, orthogonal experimental design with three factors (structural type, tool compression and tool hardness) and three levels is implemented for BK7 glass polishing tests, enabling the systematic exploration of the combined effects of internal architecture and macroscopic loading conditions on both efficiency and surface integrity. The experimental data demonstrate that flexible polishing tools optimized with IWP unit cells can significantly improve both the contact-pressure distribution uniformity and the material removal homogeneity compared with conventional internally solid tools. In particular, the IWP-1 tool achieves an optimal surface roughness of Ra = 0.033 μm at a compression of 2 mm and a hardness of 60 on the Shore A scale, while the IWP-2 tool attains a best surface roughness of Ra = 0.075 μm under a compression of 2 mm and a hardness of 35 Shore A. These findings indicate that IWP-1, with its more compliant yet highly uniform stress-transmission characteristics, is more suitable for high-precision finishing stages, whereas IWP-2, offering higher effective stiffness and stronger abrasive retention, is better suited to higher-efficiency pre-polishing or intermediate conditioning stages, highlighting their complementary roles within a multi-step process chain. Overall, the results confirm that IWP unit-cell-based flexible polishing tools, enabled by SLA-based additive manufacturing, offer clear advantages in simultaneously balancing polishing efficiency and surface quality, and provide a feasible structural design concept and theoretical basis for high-efficiency, low-damage polishing of hard-brittle optical glass and, by extension, other advanced optical materials with stringent surface-quality requirements.

Key words

IWP unit cell structure / flexible polishing tool / hydrodynamic polishing / tool influence function / BK7 glass / process optimization

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SONG Jintao, GUO Lei, LI Baozhen, HUI Jizhuang, XU Chen, LIU Xiaohui, JIN Qichao, ZHANG Jing, CHEN Zhenxian. IWP-based Flexible Polishing Tools for Improving Hydrodynamic Fluid Polishing Performance of BK7 Glass[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(9): 44-59

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (51805044); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2024M762450); Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province (2025JC-YBMS-389); Qinchuangyuan "Scientists+Engineers" Team Construction Project of Shaanxi Province (2022KXJ-150)