Abstract: A method of polishing objects using an apparatus comprised of a rotary positioning device comprising a turret; a base mounted on the turret; a drive wheel connected to a rotatable shaft, the drive wheel having a perimeter, and the rotatable shaft disposed in a housing. The polishing wheel assembly may include an elongated arm including a proximal end joined to the base, and a distal end; a rotatable polishing wheel supported at the end of the elongated arm; and a polishing belt comprising an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface engageable with the perimeters of the drive wheel and the polishing wheel. The method is comprised of contacting the outer surface of the polishing belt to a contact region of the surface of the object; and controlling the contact region by rotating the elongated arm around the turret axis.
Type:
Application
Filed:
January 7, 2010
Publication date:
May 6, 2010
Applicant:
V.I. MFG., INC. DBA OPTIPRO SYSTEMS
Inventors:
Michael J. Bechtold, Joseph Meisenzahl, David E. Mohring, Darryle E. Fowler, Robert Henderson, Thomas Williams, Alex DiNicola, Christopher Wood, Scott Bambrick
Abstract: A polishing apparatus comprising a base for affixing structures thereto, a drive wheel, a polishing wheel assembly, a polishing belt, and at least one routing wheel engaged with the polishing belt. The polishing wheel assembly includes an elongated arm including a distal end, and a rotatable polishing wheel supported at the distal end of the elongated arm. The polishing belt is made with an abrasive outer surface to perform the polishing, and an inner surface for engagement with the perimeters of the drive wheel and the polishing wheel. The routing wheel is engaged with the outer surface of the polishing belt, such that the contact arc of the polishing belt with the polishing wheel differs from an arc of the polishing wheel perimeter extending from a first tangent line between the drive wheel and the polishing wheel to a second tangent line between the drive wheel and the polishing wheel.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 2, 2007
Date of Patent:
February 16, 2010
Assignee:
V.I. Mfg. Inc.
Inventors:
Michael J. Bechtold, Darryle E. Fowler, David E. Mohring, Thomas Williams, Robert Henderson, Alex DiNicola, Christopher Wood, Joseph P. Meisenzahl, Scott Bambrick