Effect of burnishing methods on surface integrity of polymeric materials: a review

Nowadays, several industrial sectors are using polymers as an alternative to metals. Polymers offer advantages over conventional metals by allowing weight reduction for parts, high corrosion resistance, less environmental impact, usually less expensive, and similar stiffness, strength, durability, among others. Therefore, improving the surface integrity of these materials is essential. In recent years, the burnishing methods have proven to be excellent mechanical surface treatments, that improves the surface integrity of polymeric materials. In this work, a literature review of the implementation of the burnishing methods on several polymeric materials is presented, which focuses mainly on the experimental methodologies carried out, burnishing methods employed, polymeric materials studied, measuring instruments used, and the effect of the burnishing parameters on surface integrity. The effects of the burnishing methods predominantly focused on thermoplastic polymers, with approximately 68% of the reviewed studies, while around 32% have been concentrated on thermoset polymers. Additionally, the most investigated effects on the burnished workpieces were roughness and hardness, while the most implemented burnishing parameters were burnishing force, speed, and feed. This literature review provides an understanding of the behavior of the polymeric materials treated by the burnishing methods, as well as the summarized information can be used in the future research.