The smoothing ball-burnishing process has commonly been used as a post-processing method to reduce the irregularities of machined surfaces. However, the mechanism of this process has rarely been examined. In this study, a simulation procedure is proposed to predict the surface roughness of a burnished workpiece under varying burnishing forces. The roughness of the workpiece surface was firstly approximated by parabolic functions. The burnishing process was then numerically simulated through two steps, namely the elastic–plastic indentation of the burnishing ball on the workpiece’s surface, and the sliding movement of the burnishing tool. The results of the simulation were verified by conducting small ball-burnishing experiments on oxygen-free copper (OFC) and Polmax materials using a load cell-embedded small ball-burnishing tool. For the OFC material, the optimal burnishing force was 3 N. The obtained experimental surface roughness was 0.18 μm, and the simulated roughness value was 0.14 μm. For the Polmax material, when the burnishing force was set at its optimal value—12 N, the best experimental and simulated surface roughness were 0.12 μm and 0.10 μm, respectively.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.