Investigation on mechanism of metal foil surface finishing with vibration-assisted micro-forging

Vibration-assisted forming is able to reduce forming force and prolong the tools life significantly. Applying vibration-assisted forming in micro-forming is necessary for better form accuracy of micro metal products. In this paper, vibration-assisted micro-forging was proposed for metal foil surface finishing. Different parameters were investigated at different vibration time. It was found that the surface asperity deformation takes place mainly in the initial stage. The surface roughness reduction is closely related to forming work, which is increasing with vibration time. After vibration-assisted micro-forging, the surface roughness could be reduced by 50%.

► A new process for metal foil surface finishing which combines micro-forming and vibration-assisted forming for the first time was proposed.
► It is found that forming work has a linear relation with plastic deformation amount and surface roughness.
► During the experiment, phenomenon of size effect was detected.
► Plastic deformation takes place in the initial stage of surface finishing.