Abstract: A grinding wheel is fixedly supported on a machine bed by bearings at each end of the wheel with a friction bearing slide mounted on a swivel plate mounted on the machine bed for movement toward and away from the grinding wheel. A headstock mounted to the slide rotates a cantilevered grinding arbor such that the slide is moved toward the grinding wheel for simultaneously grinding multiple sleeves axially received on the arbor. Sleeves are automatically handled by a first arbor mounted to a sleeve conveyor trolley for unfinished sleeves and a second arbor also mounted to the trolley for finished sleeves. The trolley is operated to deposit finished sleeves and pick up unfinished sleeves on one side of the system, and to pick up finished sleeves and position unfinished sleeves for grinding on the other side of the system. Finished sleeves are deposited onto a pivotally mounted finished sleeve receiving arbor when the arbor is pivoted to a first position.

Abstract: In a powder beam etching machine, slopes are formed in upper and lower edge surfaces of a rib formed along an outer margin of a platen and through-holes are formed around four corners. With such an arrangement, the powders adhered work may readily be removed by injection of air during a cleaning operation.

Abstract: An apparatus for sharpening a blade is provided having a base member with a slot for receiving and guiding a blade to be sharpened, first and second apertures disposed on either side of the slot, first and second resilient biasing members disposed within each of the first and second apertures such that each of the biasing members is substantially entirely enclosed within the base member and protected from debris and contaminants. Sharpening members are connected to the biasing members and are rotatable about a central axis of each respective aperture between a first and second position, which rotation is limited by a stop member as the blade passes from one end of the slot toward the other.

Abstract: An apparatus for polishing the periphery portion of a wafer, by which improvement on the polishing velocity may be effected and besides a more efficient spatial usage of the working layer of an abrasive tape is capable, comprising a tape holding fixed abrasive grains thereon; a feed reel for feeding the tape stored by winding itself; a take-up reel for taking up the tape by winding itself; a rotary drum inside of which both of the reels are equipped in such a manner that they are mountable or demountable, where a portion of the tape in the way from the feed reel to the take-up reel is adaptive to wind the rotary drum around the outer cylindrical surface thereof in close contact in the shape of a helicoid and one of the main faces of the wafer is positioned to be in a plane intersecting the central axis of the rotary drum at an angle.

Abstract: An improved dry barrel finishing machine is described, in which a mass consisting of media and workpieces is flowed in the barrel of the machine for abrasive finishing of the workpieces and in which air suction is used to remove dust resulting from the finishing operation and to cool the barrel and the mass. The mass is flowed by rotation of the barrel by a motor or through the vibration of the barrel by a driving mechanism. Air inlets and outlets are provided in the barrel. An air suction device draws air through the barrel and around the workpieces and media during the finishing operation. The drawn out air picks up dust and media particles resulting from the abrasive finishing operation and cools the media and the barrel.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of releasably connecting a blade to a single wheel plate of a centrifugal blasting wheel without using a separate stop-member to prevent outward radial movement of the blade. An alternative method of releasably connecting a blade to a wheel plate, and an alternative blade, wheel plate and blasting wheel are provided. The invention is useful in releasably aligning blades without the use of stop members. The blade can be accurately aligned in the channel of the wheel plate as a result of positive abutment of the sides of a wedge on the blade against the sides of the channel.

Abstract: A grinding apparatus has a tool support radially offset from a workpiece axis, rotatable about a support axis radially offset from and substantially parallel to the workpiece axis, and having a forwardly axially directed front support face formed at the support axis with an axially forwardly projecting centering formation formed a forwardly convex and part-spherical end surface. An annular grinding tool centered on a tool axis has an annular axially forwardly directed grinding surface engaging the workpiece surface and an axially backwardly directed rear tool face axially confronting the front support face and formed centered on the tool axis with an axially backwardly open recess engaging the end surface of the projection and of part-spherical shape complementary to the projection end surface. This tool is spaced from and out of direct contact with the support except at the recess and projection end surface.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of planarizing a diamond film which generally includes orifices in the surface. The method includes first polishing the diamond film surface to reduce the surface roughness. Next, a filler material is applied to the surface of the film to fill the orifices in the film. Finally, the film is polished to remove excess filler material and expose the diamond film surface. Also disclosed are planarized diamond films diamond substrate having a polished surface of both diamond and filler material and a variation in thickness of less than 8 percent.

Abstract: A polishing method and apparatus for a silicon substrate or the like, the method including disposing a polishing cloth in contact with a surface of a work to be polished, pressing the polishing cloth using pressing rods against the surface of the work to be polished in a region with a smaller area than the area of the surface of the work to be polished while adjusting the pressure of contact, and polishing the entire surface to be polished while moving the work relative to the polishing cloth and putting it under circulating movement with a radius smaller than a diametrical length of the region along the surface to be polished without autorotation.

Abstract: A removable working tool assembly that can be used with a power driven tool having a drive shaft. The removable working tool assembly includes a drive member which can operably connected to the drive shaft and a support member having a tool surface. One of the drive and support members defines a male connection mechanism while the other one of the members defines a female connection mechanism such that the members can be simply connected and disconnected without the need for tools or any other fastener elements. This allows various support members to be easily changed to facilitate the use of different tool surfaces such as sanders, grinders, scrapers or the like.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus which can effectively polish a bottom wall of a wafer in the notch portion is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes: a table for supporting the wafer thereon; a rotary buff having a thickness so that the periphery thereof can enter the notch portion of the wafer, and is rotated around an axis which is parallel with a plane of the surface of the wafer supported on the table; a first rotating member such as a motor for rotating the rotary buff; a movable linkage for supporting the rotary buff; an adjusting member such as a cylinder device for adjusting the pressure applied to the bottom wall of the wafer in the notch portion from the rotary buff; and a second rotating member such as a pulse motor for turning the rotary buff around a predetermined axis so that the applied pressure from the rotary buff acts on the bottom wall of the wafer in the notch portion in a direction approximately perpendicular to the surface of the bottom wall.

Abstract: An optical connector tip polisher which comprises a stationary block for supporting a wheel spindle stock, a manual slider for supporting an optical connector and a cam mechanism. The stationary block has a base for mounting the wheel spindle. The base has a guide space and a guide opening. The manual slider has a horizontal stock, a post and is a holder. The horizontal stock is fitted in the guide space of the base and restricted against movement in the vertical direction while being movable along a horizontal plane. The post is embedded in the horizontal stock and is movable in unison therewith. The post extends upright through the guide opening of the base. An idling wheel is provided between the inner periphery of the guide opening and the outer periphery of the post to guide the post along the inner periphery. The holder is secured to the post at an intermediate position thereof and holds an optical connector to perpendicularly press the tip of the optical connector against the wheel spindle stock.

Abstract: Device and method are described that reduce the force needed to release a wafer from a wet polishing surface after polishing. Device comprises attachment, such as a wafer carrier, adapted to be mounted to a polishing apparatus to permit attachment surface, configured to mate with two regions of the wafer, to tilt relative to polishing surface. Means for defining adhesive force between attachment surface and one of the two wafer regions, and means for defining adhesive force between attachment surface and other of the two wafer regions which is different than that defined between attachment surface and the one wafer region so as to cause a non-parallel relationship between the one wafer face and polishing surface, are provided. Unbalanced force, such as a vacuum force communicated to a limited region of the surface of the carrier, causes a non-parallel relationship between wafer and polishing pad and facilitates separation and lifting of wafer from polishing surface.

Abstract: A grinding wheel dresser, integratable with a grinding apparatus and useable to repeatedly dress the face of a grinding wheel to a selected contour in alternation with use of the grinding wheel, the dresser having a dressing mechanism, a dressing control mechanism coupled to the dressing mechanism to control the dressing mechanism in dressing the face of the grinding wheel, and an integration mechanism coupled to the dressing mechanism to provide for integration of the grinding wheel dresser with the grinding apparatus. The dressing control mechanism preferably includes a template mechanism providing information representative of the selected contour to which the face of the grinding wheel is to be dressed; a translation mechanism translating the template's information into displacements of the dressing mechanism; and an actuation mechanism, coupled to the translation mechanism, actuating the displacements.

Abstract: An in-situ chemical-mechanical polishing process monitor apparatus for monitoring a polishing process during polishing of a workpiece in a polishing machine, the polishing machine having a rotatable polishing table provided with a polishing slurry, is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a window embedded within the polishing table, whereby the window traverses a viewing path during polishing and further enables in-situ viewing of a polishing surface of the workpiece from an underside of the polishing table during polishing as the window traverses a detection region along the viewing path. A reflectance measurement means is coupled to the window on the underside of the polishing table for measuring a reflectance, the reflectance measurement means providing a reflectance signal representative of an in-situ reflectance, wherein a prescribed change in the in-situ reflectance corresponds to a prescribed condition of the polishing process.

Abstract: A media supply pot for holding an amount of a particulate abrasive includes a vertically disposed valve tube communicating with a source of compressed air and a slidable pop-up valve therein which seals off the media inlet of the supply pot when compressed air is passed through the valve tube. To prevent moisture from entering the supply pot, the valve tube includes an insert in the form of a downwardly sloping cone, the base of which contacts the sidewalls of the valve tube to prevent moisture from passing upwardly along the sidewall of the valve tube and into the supply pot, the insert including a centrally disposed narrow passage which allows the compressed air to flow through the valve tube and out into the supply pot. The narrow passage slows down the supply of compressed air to the pot, and prevents the rapid cooling of the expanding gas and consequent precipitation of entrapped moisture onto the media.

Abstract: A reversible rotary sanding power tool of the high speed, hand-held type includes a tool body, a tool head rotatably mounted on the tool body and adapted for replaceably retaining an abrasive disk, and a reversible, high-speed motor within the tool body and to which the tool head is rotatably coupled so as not to become accidentally disengaged upon operation of the power tool in either of the normal or reverse modes of operation.

Abstract: A media control valve used to meter and dispense an amount of abrasive media from a supply pot to a compressed air line for blast cleaning comprises a vertical media passage communicating with the supply pot and an air flow tube and a restricting orifice in the media passage to meter the amount of abrasive media flowing therethrough the vertical passage into the air flow tube, the media passage downstream of the orifice converging into a slot-shaped outlet into the air flow tube wherein the length of the outlet is directed along the direction of air flow through the air flow tube so as to reduce the perimeter of the outlet placed perpendicular to air flow and consequently reduce turbulence as the air passes across the outlet. The media valve is particularly useful in metering and dispensing sodium bicarbonate media from a supply pot to the air conveying line by means of differential pressure across the orifice.