MULTIPLE SMOOTH ELEMENTS BONDED TO A GROUND; NOVEL TOOLS AND METHODS FOR SURFACE IMPROVEMENT OF METALS AND OTHER MATERIALS

Abstract

The Present Invention introduces novel methods and tools for improving the surfaces of metals and other flowable materials with smooth-surfaced tools, such as fibers and spheroids bonded to a ground. The new tools deform and compress rather than remove material, thereby increasing surface hardness, density, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, impermeability and corrosion resistance. Benefits include economies in production and maintenance, an improved work environment, and reduced costs for energy, stock materials and precious metal reclamation.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to surface treatment of objects by using multiple smooth-surfaced elements bonded to a ground to compress material at high points on a workpiece into a material body, thus smoothing the surface without removal of material, and additionally, according to tool design and use, remove surface material not by abrasion, or cutting, but by adhesion.

More particularly, most surface modification processes involve material removal by sanding or grinding, such that high points are removed until the whole of the surface is at the level of the low points prior to smoothing. This is typically accomplished by using progressively-finer gained cutting materials.

By comparison, the new tools accomplish surface improvement by displacing material at a surface, or removing it by dragging it from the surface, i.e., by adhesion, in an orderly manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Surface Modification by Granular Cutters

Granular cutters, or abrasives, suitable for work ranging from heavy grinding to fine polishing, cut away the outermost atoms of a workpiece with grains selected for their size, sharpness and hardness. Since erosion, or removal of material from the workpiece is inherent in the abrasive process, the manufacturer of the workpiece compensates for the material to be cut away by including additional material in the original workpiece. The eroded material is often reclaimed, especially for materials of high value such as gold and silver, via costly, ecologically damaging processes.

The grains are incorporated into tools by processes such as:

• • Bonding to substrates such as paper, cloth, and plastic film with a bonding medium, examples of these tools being abrasive sheets, belts and disks;
  • Embedding in rigid materials to form tools such as grinding wheels and sharpening stones;
  • Mixing into transferable matrices, or ‘compounds’, applied to lathe mounted buffs;
  • Mixing into transferable creams and pastes;
  • Combining with water and/or other ingredients into a slurry for tumbling, in which the work to be burnished is placed in rotating barrels filled with a slurry of water and loose abrasive grains.

Disadvantages of Surface Modification by Granular Cutters

Many applications of granular cutters, such as tool and weld grinding, purposely benefit from stock removal. However, granular cutters are used for many applications where erosion of the material is an unfortunate unnecessary byproduct especially regarding inherent reclamation costs and safety issues, examples being the tools' high speed, noise, dust generation and high energy use. Examples of processes with these disadvantages are polishing by manual or robotic lathes in which the lathes generally revolve at feed rates in excess of 200 M/m, and repeated use of household metal polishing products which erode precious metals such as silver or gold along with details such as engraved names and, in the case of plated objects, erosion of the precious metal film through to the base metal, sometimes to the point of destroying the object's structural integrity.

Concerning the ability of surfaces to resist microbial infestation as in food processing and hospital machining, while granular cutters appear to make surfaces cleaner because they make them lustrous, they may also open fissures beneath the surface which can harbor dangerous microbes.

Surface Modification by Burnishing

The term “burnishing”, despite its roots in antiquity, is used differently in various references. According to my present invention, “burnishing” refers to smoothing of a surface by moving molecules from higher points to lower points by pressing a smooth-surfaced tool against the surface with high local pressures while moving the tool with respect to the surface.

Burnishing in the Prior Art

FIG. 1 Hand burnishing is accomplished by the operator's hand forcing the tool against the work, thereby compressing and reforming the material surface. Examples of hand burnishers are 101, an artist's hand burnisher used by intaglio print makers, jewelers and other hand-craftsmen; 102 a dentist's hand burnisher, used to smooth and compress silver amalgam fillings; and 103, a gilder's hand burnisher used to work metal leaf. A limitation of the single tool process is the small surface area affected and the large amount of hand work necessary to effect that area.

Single tool burnishing has been mechanized with CAD-CAM and robotic processing with a single tool burnisher, an expensive, highly technical process suited to high production work, and high cost-low volume work such as scientific experimentation and military projects. See METHOD OF BURNISHING METAL PARTS U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,684.

FIG. 2 ROTARY BURNISHING TOOL U.S. Pat. No. 1,010,127 shows a machine driven burnishing tool comprising of individual burnishing elements, e.g., ball bearings, retained in a “mechanically operated” tool.

Yet another burnishing process is by tumbling, by which small, hard smooth spheroids or other shapes incorporated into a slurry are disposed in a rotating barrel. Tumbling is limited because of barrel size constraints, and the fact that the workpiece's entire surface is indiscriminately burnished, which may not be the desired goal, for which costly engineering design of the workpiece must compensate, and because the process allows little worker control.

Pads for polishing wax and acrylic resins applied to floors, shoes and other objects are made of cotton, wool, polyester, horsehair and the like, which are harder than the waxes and resins which they burnish. See_CLEANING AND BUFFING PRODUCT U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,121. These pads, in context, are specifically for soft resin covered surfaces as described above, while the tools of my new invention apply to a wide variety of materials including metals.

In other non-woven cleaning pads, where abrasives are not included in the product, the cleaning process is by the removal of soft material from a surface of material harder than the pad, not by burnishing. From EP 0397374 B1 LOW DENSITY NONWOVEN FIBROUS SURFACE TREATING ARTICLE:

• • The suitability of the article for a particular application is mainly determined by the abrasive character of the article. Articles intended to be more abrasive will generally have larger, harder, and/or a greater quantity of abrasive particles adhered to the fibers. Articles intended to be used for polishing and cleaning surfaces typically will have smaller, softer, and/or fewer abrasive particles adhered to the fibers, and in some cases may have no abrasive material at all.

Scratchers; Brushes, Bonnets and Buffs

Brushes for polishing wax and acrylic resins applied to floors, shoes and similar objects deform by each sharp fiber of the brush in which filaments are purposely at right angles to the workpiece surface, create a sharp groove in the workpiece surface. Made of natural or synthetic materials which are harder than the waxes and acrylics used for surface enhancement of wood, leather and similar materials. See POLISHING BUFF U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,294 (bold emphasis mine):

• • “A buffing pad wherein a layer of fabric has tufting material stitched therein and extending outwardly from one side thereof”

Yet another example of the action by brushes are the bristles of wire brushes.

FIG. 3 is from a photomicrograph of the working end of a steel brush bristle showing the sharp, cutting end at the right which cuts into a surface, creating a ‘brushed’ surface.

Uses of Fiberglass for Surface Improvement in the Prior Art

FIG. 4 In this figure from the prior art, ‘Fiberglass Scratch Brush U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,644, Blemish Repair Kit,’ the hardness and sharpness of the glass fibers 12 in the image, cut a surface similarly to metal bristle brush fibers, above.

FIG. 5 shows a fiberglass disk embedded with resin as described in FIBRE-GLASS BURNISHING WHEEL at the Franklin Institute (image made by me) in which the working edge of the disk is populated by end cutters 1901 as described in the document's description:

• • “Grooves are cut in the thick edge of the wheel with a carbide-tipped tool and it is in these grooves that the actual grinding operation is done. The abrasive action is due to a combination of the glass and high speed.”

In tools of my present invention, the sharp fiberglass ends do not touch the work surface, the work being accomplished by the smoothness and hardness of the glass fibers sides.

Uses of Microspheres for Surface Improvement in the Prior Art

FIG. 6 is a copy of FIGS. 1 and 1A of U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,786 to Pangburn for a NAIL TREATMENT METHOD. Pangburn employs glass beads adhered to a substrate for the specific purpose of reforming fingernail surfaces for better application of lacquers. Pangburn teaches roughening the surface of the nail, not smoothing it, and accordingly does not suggest burnishing. In Pangburn, the glass beads are illustrated as sharp grains rather than smooth spheroids.

Another example in the prior art which refers to smooth tools is SHAPING METALS EP 0642398 B1, which limits the context of the patent specifically to the use of an ‘anti-lubricant,’ and the use of such tools at high velocity—an entirely different concept than that of my present invention (emphasis mine):

• • The rubbing action of a wire brush will be concentrated at many small contact points, such as a point on a bent wire surface or at the tip of a wire. This will tend to leave a heavily lined/grooved surface. However, if a small sphere is attached to the tip of each wire, as shown in FIG. 5, then the resulting surface finish is very smooth. If a number of spheres (29) made of suitably hard material are joined to a central hub (30) via flexible wires (301) and the whole assembly is then spun at high velocity, like a wheel, then the arrangement can be used effectively as a grinding wheel to machine hard surfaces (31)—especially in the presence of an anti-lubricant in accordance with the method of the invention.

Therefore, a need exists for a method to improve surface finishes that is safer, simpler, cleaner and more economical than the processes now in use. Abrasive finishing is complex, dirty, and expensive, and requires that the workpiece be designed to include material to be removed in the finishing process.

In SHOT PEENING, U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,464 to Winter et al., and SPHEROIDAL PEENING PARTICLES ADHESIVELY BONDED TO A WOVEN CLOTH, U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,241 to Winter et al., a “flap wheel” comprising a number of flaps of fabric embedded with hard spheroids is shown. When the wheel is rotated at high speed so that the flaps impact a workpiece, the spheroids act as tiny peening hammers. Burnishing is not mentioned.

Adhesion in the Prior Art

Adhesion between a tool and a workpiece is generally regarded as negative. Galling is one such condition. This new invention's tools use adhesion as an advantage by controlling the rate and manner of surface material removal by adhesion.

Definitions Related to the Invention

Introduction

Abrasive treatments involve removal of material, while treating a surface with smooth tools modifies a surface by either deforming material from high spots to lower spots on the surface, or removing material by adhesion. However, since the results of these processes often appear similar, the literature is ambiguous. Burnishing, which is an aspect of the present art, is commonly ambiguous, as is evident in BURNISHING TAPE FOR MAGNETIC DISKS U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,311; the method involves “dispersing abrasive grains and a binder to prepare a slurry.”; In METHOD OF SMOOTHING A CONTAINER U.S. Pat. No. 7,921,529, the inventor supplies his own definition of burnishing, which instead describes a silversmithing process correctly known as planishing. Yet another use of the term, ‘burnish,’ describes attaching decals to a surface, for instance in applying stick-ons to boats. These tools are spatulas or rollers that one pushes against the stick-on to attach it to the boat hull. There is no plastic deformation occurring. See, e,g, application IN-MOLD LABELS U.S. Ser. No. 12/802,625, which uses the term thus: “0040 . . . The use of a burnishing tool (such as a rubber roller) helps to ensure that the label is applied smoothly.”

Yet another use of the term ‘burnishing,’ is more correctly described as drawing or rolling; from MEDICAL LEADS WITH SEGMENTED ELECTRODES AND METHODS OF FABRICATION THEREOF US 20100269338A1:

• • “ . . . FIG. 3B is a cross-section of a twisted wire . . . . FIG. 3C is a cross-section of the twisted wire of FIG. 3B after burnishing . . . the exterior surface of each wire may be accomplished by burnishing the wire.”

As can be seen from review of these figures, outer circular wire strands of a cable having a central strand are reformed so as to more closely conform to the central wire and display a circular outer sectional shape. This is not burnishing as used herein.

Certain floor and automobile paint and wax buffing steps, which use wool bonnets, fiber pads, and/or brushes to develop a high finish, are sometimes referred to as ‘burnishing.’ These processes operate by the application of additives which employ fine abrasive particles, and use additives such as liquid polymers or waxes, that fill surface flaws. Furthermore, the tools drag the soft material along a surface rather than compressing in into the surface.

Abrasion and Adhesion

As with abrasion and deformation, abrasion and adherence may produce similar finishes, as is evident is FIG. 26.

Finding the common definitions inadequate to describe my present invention, the definitions below combine the common definitions, in italics, with my own comments.

Definitions

Burnish

As used herein, to “burnish” means to deform a surface by plastic deformation with a smooth-surfaced tool of a material harder than the workpiece, the dimension of the tool being larger than the distance between adjacent high points on a surface, so that the material of the surface is moved from high points to lower points, thereby smoothing the surface without cutting or scraping it away. In the process, surface tensile stresses remaining after initial fabrication of the workpiece may be replaced with compressive forces, which is generally beneficial to parts that are repetitively stressed in service.

This definition is consonant with that from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: To cause to shine; to make smooth and bright; to polish; specifically, to polish by rubbing with something hard and smooth.

An excellent general description of burnishing, consonant with that used herein, is found in METHOD OF BURNISHING METAL PARTS U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,684, which teaches a single tool burnisher.

• • It should be recalled that burnishing is a technique that performs surface plastic deformation by pressing a rotary or sliding tool against the surface of a part. As it moves, the tool compresses the microscopic peaks in the surfaces concerned into the adjacent hollows, thereby enabling said surfaces to be densified.
  • Burnishing thus serves simultaneously to smooth surfaces and to put such surfaces into compression. The resulting mechanical forces, both on the surface and down to a certain depth, enable the lifetime of materials and structures that are subjected to cyclic changes (fatigue) or to contact corrosion to be considerably increased. This technique appears to be even more effective than shot blasting for obtaining surface compression stress, and it very considerably increases fatigue life, resistance to corrosion under tension, and resistance to the effect of corrosion due to rubbing. (col. 1, lines 14-32)

FIG. 7 Burnishing, one basic principle of the present invention, is graphically described in this figure—a conceptual cross section illustrating the process of altering a surface by plastic deformation. Prior to treatment, a workpiece 701 exhibits asperities 702 on the surface, for example, tool marks remaining after a machining operation. A smooth-surfaced tool 703 is urged against the workpiece with significant force as indicated at 704, while being moved along the surface as indicated at 705.

As smooth tool 703 is urged against and moved along the surface, the force exerted by the tool 703 on the asperities 702, as indicated by arrows 707, causes the asperities 702 to be pressed into the work surface by plastic deformation; forces indicated by arrows 708 are transferred into the workpiece as indicated at 709, resulting in the smoothed area after work as shown at 710. It is important to understand that materials which flow, such as ductile metals, allow the material of the asperities to flow into the workpiece mass, so that the material of the asperities or high spots flows into the adjoining low spots, effectively smoothing the surface.

Thus, one aspect of the invention comprises a method of smoothing the surface of a given object exhibiting asperities by plastic deformation, the method first comprising the step of making a tool by affixing a plurality of smooth-surfaced members of a material harder than the material of the surface of the object to a substrate, and then urging the smooth-surfaced members against the asperities on that surface with substantial local pressure, and simultaneously moving the tool with respect to the surface, so that the asperities are reduced, and the surface is smoothed, by plastic deformation. At the same time, the surface may be compressed to a degree by force exerted on the atoms of the surface by the smooth-surfaced members.

Burnisher

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: ‘Burnisher: A tool with a hard, smooth, rounded end or surface, as of steel, ivory, or agate, used in smoothing or polishing by rubbing.’ For the purposes of my present invention, the material of which a burnishing tool is made need only be harder and smoother than the workpiece, e.g., soft wood can be burnished with a burnisher made of harder wood.

Burnishing Compound

An embodiment of my present invention similar to abrasive polishing compound, but with the grease binder combined with burnishing elements in the place of abrasives. During use, high local pressure is effected as the workpiece is pressed against a buff, which may vary considerably in hardness.

Composite Tools

Tools of my present invention in which the functions and/or structures of the binder and ground are served by a single material such as in the Composite Wheel of FIGS. 95-7 wherein the resin serves as binder and ground.

Controlled Adhesion

Yet another principle of the present invention involves material removal by adhesion between smooth elements and a workpiece, by urging the tool against the workpiece at a combination of pressure and speed sufficient to drag material from the surface in a predictable, orderly manner as in FIG. 99B, and as distinguished from galling, which removes metal from a surface irregularly, as a result of mechanical breakdown. The controlled adhesion method is also distinguished from cutting material from the surface as with an edge tool or abrasive medium.

The action described here above is a function of the amount of friction between the workpiece and the tool in FIG. 7, 703 at the interface 706, by the materials of which the tool and the workpiece are made, and the presence of lubricants, which may or may not be used.

Significantly, the function of friction in the new tools determines the new tools' two abilities; plastic deformation and controlled adhesion. Extremely low friction results in the tool gliding across a workpiece with the force 704 predominant, resulting in maximum deformation with minimal removal of material by adhesion. Conversely, extremely high friction results in asperities being mostly dragged from a surface by adhesion, with minimal deformation by the forward movement of the tool 705. Thus, by controlling for the level of friction between the tool and the work, the amount of deformation and adhesion is controlled.

Fiber/Fabric

Any contiguous thread-like material, grouping of thread-like materials such as woven fabric or metal screening. In comparison, a grain or spheroid would be discontiguous.

Examples of fibers and fabrics useful in connection with present invention include the following:

FIG. 8 shows a fabric of smooth non-woven glass fibers; Manniglas 1900 by Lydall Corporation.

FIG. 9 is from a photomicrograph of Manniglas 1900. Note the glossy, smooth edges of the fibers which, when incorporated into tools of my present invention, operate as burnishers.

FIG. 10 is from a photomicrograph of carbon fibers. Note the smaller diameter of the fibers relative to the fibers of Manniglas 1900, which are shown at the same magnification in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows a piece of fiberglass insulation, another non-woven fiber made of smooth non-woven glass fibers that is usable for burnishing.

Yet another type of fiber by my definition is ERG Duocel® foam, an example of open cell foams.

A variation of this type of fiber is the non-woven 3M abrasive pad made of fibers combined with abrasive grains. The same fiber pad, when embedded with media of my present invention could operate as a burnishing tool.

FIG. 12 shows a variety of perforated, embossed and expanded metal sheets that present multiple smooth faces to the workpiece and which can be used as media for the new tools.

FIG. 13 shows a cross section of a woven fabric 1301 based on an image from cicboats.com. The arrows 1302 show the outermost fiber surfaces, which act as burnishers as they come in contact with a workpiece.

FIG. 14 is from a photomicrograph of a metal screen with the high points of the fibers 1302 usable as media in tools of the present invention.

Flap Peening

From the ‘3M Roto Peen Catalog,’ flap peening is described as “For small and/or hard-to-reach surfaces, the captive shot method is more convenient and effective. The shot is integrated into a rotating brush or flap. The spinning brush or flap is held near the surface so that the captive shot strikes the metal surface with each revolution.”

FIG. 15 shows a sample parcel 3001 made of 0.013″ brass having ben treated with the 3M Roto Peen Flap Assembly TC 330 3M. Since the spheroids in the flap peening process recoil from the point of impact, pressure is instantly released from the surface, no surface smoothing has occurred, and the processed workpiece shown here appears to have been peened with a tiny hammer. Another tool applying the principle of Flap Peening is from U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,189 High-intensity roto peen flaps, the description of which states: “Used for cleaning and de-scaling steel and concrete. A cleaner, cost-effective alternative to blasting.”

Grind

For the purposes of my present invention, grinding means the cutting away of material from a surface by relatively coarse abrasive grains adhered to one another, compared to ‘polishing’ which is the cutting away of material from a surface, with relatively fine grains.

Ground

(noun, as distinct from the past participle of the verb, ‘grind.’) From: thefreedictionary.com/ground: ‘10. (Art Terms): b. the support of a painting.’ For the purpose of my invention, the ground is the material to which the multiple smooth elements are attached by a bonding medium. Grounds for media of the new tools include grounds of various rigidities common in the prior art now used for abrasive grains, examples being; papers, meshes, woven and non-woven fabrics, resin impregnated fabrics, felts, polymer films and foams, polishing cloths and plated rigid planes of various materials.

Polish

Since the definition of ‘friction’ and ‘burnish’ are themselves confusing, I shall only use the word ‘polish’ in prior art references to fine abrasive stock removal.

Scratch

From: oxforddictionaries.com: Score or mark the surface of (something) with a sharp or pointed object. For the purposes of my present invention, scratching is a type of surface deformation whereby material is removed by cutting, abrasion being cutting by many small, sharp gouges.

An example of the ambiguity between the terms, ‘polish,’ and ‘scratch,’ is this excerpt from the definition of ‘polish’:

• • From Google Books: Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, A Weekly Technical Newspaper, Being the Incorporation of Electrochemical and Metallurgical Industry and Iron and Steel Magazine Volume IV, Jan. 1 to Jun. 30, 1921 NEW YORK McGRAW-HILL COMPANY, INC.:
    • Polishing . . . It is the cutting action of the wire ends that cleans, not the rubbing with the sides of the bristles.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Present Invention introduces novel methods and tools for surface treatment of metals and other flowable materials with smooth fibers and spheroids bonded to a ground. Rather than removing material as done by abrasives, the new tools deform and compress material, resulting in increased surface hardness, density, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, impermeability and corrosion resistance. Since the new tools produce negligible waste and can operate at dramatically slower speeds, I foresee that the workplace environment will be quieter, cleaner, brighter and safer, and that other benefits will include economies in production and maintenance, as well as reduced costs for energy, stock, and precious metal reclamation.

The media of the invention can be of any smooth material harder than the material of the surface of the intended workpiece. Fiberglass, glass beads, carbon fiber, ceramics, steel, and carbide are among the most universally effective media.

Many of the tool forms of the present invention are similar to those produced in the prior art employing abrasives, such as films, belts, discs, cylinders, wheels, flap wheels and brushes; polishing, cutting and grinding compounds; non-woven pads such as 3M pads; 3M Microfinishing Films and Micron Sheets; Micromesh™ foam-backed cloth; metal wools, and others.

In contrast with abrasives, which depend on erosion by fragmentation of the tools' abrasive grains to expose new sharp edges to the workpiece, tools of the present invention do not erode, thereby retaining their original forms, allowing the new tools to be customized with specific shapes for specific operations.

In assembly lines, I foresee that the cleanliness and flexibility of the new tools will allow finishing and detailing to occur in the line rather than in separate costly facilities expressly created for the abatement of danger, dirt and noise, and that surface improvement usually done away from the production line by noisy, dirty shot peening, or inadequately done by roto peening, is now possible in the line of production with one clean operation.

During the production of my prototypes I observed that, due to the smoothness surface of the media, lathe tools, saws and knives did not become dulled while shaping the prototypes, leading me to conclude that manufacture of the new tools uses less energy and extends the life of production machinery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Prior Art: Three traditional burnishing tools.

FIG. 2 Prior Art: A drawing from ROTARY BURNISHING TOOL U.S. Pat. No. 1,010,127.

FIG. 3 Prior Art: From a photomicrograph of one steel brush fiber of FIG. 14 showing the sharp, cutting end.

FIG. 4 Prior Art: A drawing from Fiberglass Scratch Brush, taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,644, Blemish Repair Kit, which uses sharp ends of glass fibers for abrading a surface.

FIG. 5 Prior Art: A fiberglass disk embedded with resin as described in FIBRE-GLASS BURNISHING WHEEL at the Franklin Institute (image made by me). The cut ends at the disk's outer margin 501 abrade a surface.

FIG. 6 Prior Art: A drawing from Pangburn U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,786, 1994.

FIG. 7: A conceptual cross section of the smoothing process according to the invention.

FIG. 8 Prior Art: Manniglas® 1900 Non-woven Glass-fiber.

FIG. 9 Prior Art: From a Photomicrograph of non-woven glass fibers showing that the fibers are smooth.

FIG. 10 Prior Art: From a Photomicrograph of carbon fibers showing that the fibers are smooth.

FIG. 11 Prior Art: Non-woven fiberglass batting.

FIG. 12: Examples of perforated metal sheet.

FIG. 13: Cross section of woven fibers.

FIG. 14: Closeup view of stainless steel mesh.

FIG. 15: From a photomicrograph of flap peened parcel.

FIG. 16: From a photomicrograph of a parcel to be processed with a compound containing glass spheroids, before work showing intersection of scribed lines 1601.

FIG. 17: From a photomicrographic closeup of FIG. 16 showing intersection of scribed lines.

FIG. 18: Deforming the parcel of FIG. 47 with the compound containing glass spheroids.

FIG. 19: The parcel of FIG. 16 showing intersection of scribed lines processed with the compound containing glass spheroids, after work.

FIG. 20: From a photomicrograph of FIG. 20.

FIG. 21: From a photomicrograph of a parcel to be processed with standard polishing compound containing abrasive grains before work.

FIG. 22: From a photomicrograph of the parcel of FIG. 22 processed with polishing compound containing standard abrasive grains after work.

FIG. 23: Closeup of FIG. 23 showing intersection of scribed lines.

FIG. 24: View of brass 5 cm ø tube section with bead-blasted raw stock.

FIG. 25: Finish achieved on the tube section of FIG. 24 with an EVA disk with fiberglass cloth media.

FIG. 26: Finishes on a stainless steel parcel produced by a wheel comprised of smooth glass microbeads compared with the stainless steel surface of a Kenmore ELITE refrigerator produced by standard abrasives.

FIG. 27: Expandable drum spring coil tool with coiled steel media on a flexible core.

FIG. 28: An Almen strip type parcel being deformed perpendicular to the strip's length.

FIG. 29: An Almen strip type parcel being deformed parallel to the strip's length.

FIG. 30: An Almen strip type parcel held in a steel support being flap peened on a lathe.

FIG. 31: Comparison of parcels 2801, 2901 and 3001.

FIG. 32: From a photomicrograph of the pre-treated surface of parcel 2901.

FIG. 33: From a photomicrograph of the treated surface of parcel 2901.

FIG. 34: The Expandable Drum Spring Coil treating a pipe interior.

FIG. 35: Interior of a pipe with a failure near a joint.

FIG. 36: side view of the same failed pipe with failure.

FIG. 37: Cross section of a pipe interior with fissures.

FIG. 38: A computer simulation based on the image of FIG. 37 approximating the condition of the fissures treated with a tool of the present invention.

FIG. 39: A prototype tool comprised of a wheel with a coiled spring as the medium.

FIG. 40: Bead blasted brass casting with oxidized surface.

FIG. 41: Smooth media of various profiles.

FIG. 42: An element from a decorative brass candelabra part.

FIG. 43: The element from a decorative brass candelabra part being treated with a burr with fiberglass media.

FIG. 44: The assembled decorative brass candelabra part after treatment.

FIG. 45: Tooling of the present invention being used to treat the rust on a sanding machine platen.

FIG. 46: From a photomicrograph of the FIG. 46 tool surface after use.

FIG. 47: A tool formed by adhering a sheet of fiberglass fabric to a foam ground.

FIG. 48: A parcel treated with the tool of FIG. 47.

FIG. 49: A prototype comprised of woven carbon fiber fabric on a sheet of EVA foam.

FIG. 50: A tool formed by adhering a sheet of metal screen mesh to a ground.

FIG. 51: Edge view of a tool with woven fiberglass fabric as both medium and ground.

FIG. 52: Wire mesh tool with wrapped edges.

FIG. 53: A tool made of fiberglass building insulation impregnated with resin.

FIG. 54: Rotary tools comprised of spirals.

FIG. 55: Three tools comprised of woven carbon fiber mounted on EVA foam sheet at different angles.

FIG. 56: A brass tube divided into swatch segments.

FIG. 57: The brass tube of FIG. 56 being rotated on a lathe being treated with woven carbon fiber tools.

FIG. 58: The effects of the three tools of FIG. 55 on the brass tube of FIG. 56.

FIG. 59: Results of the three tools of FIG. 56.

FIG. 60: 1 mm glass beads embedded in acrylic binder on a ground.

FIG. 61: From a photomicrograph of FIG. 60.

FIG. 62: From a photomicrographic edge view of a tool comprised of multiple layers of glass beads on a fabric ground.

FIG. 63: A frying pan before using tool 6201 to remove burnt food.

FIG. 64: The pan of FIG. 63 after treatment with the multi-layer smooth tool.

FIG. 65: A chamois cloth with spheroidal media.

FIG. 66: From a photomicrograph of the glass microbeads bound to the chamois cloth of FIG. 65.

FIG. 67: A wheel type tool prototype comprised of EVA foam surfaced with glass microbead media.

FIG. 68: Closeup surface view of the wheel tool of EVA foam surfaced with glass microbead media.

FIG. 69: A prototype sponge with spheroids.

FIG. 70: From a photomicrograph of the sponge of FIG. 69's surface.

FIG. 71: An oscillating tool with a tool of the present invention.

FIG. 72: A fibrous tool of stainless steel mesh.

FIG. 73: A fibrous stainless steel mesh tool permanently integrated into to a standard oscillating tool backup pad.

FIG. 74: The oscillating tool pad of FIG. 73 being used to remove aged resinous finish.

FIG. 75: The wood surface of FIG. 74 with the aged varnish removed.

FIG. 76: A prototype spindle mounted wheel comprised of a wheel-form ground and woven fiberglass media.

FIG. 77: shows a cross section of a flexible edged disk.

FIG. 78: shows a prototype of the face of a PSA disk made of glass bead media.

FIG. 79: From a photomicrograph side section view of PSA disk of FIG. 78.

FIG. 80: A disk comprised of a semi-rigid, fiber reinforced disk with fiberglass media.

FIG. 81: A replaceable shell of the new invention with a backup wheel.

FIG. 82: A burr of the new invention.

FIG. 83: Another burr of the new invention.

FIG. 84: A burr of the new invention being used to burnish the inner bowl of a silver spoon.

FIG. 85: The spoon of FIG. 85 after processing with a new burr.

FIG. 86: A contoured wheel of the new invention mounted in a lathe chuck.

FIG. 87: A reversible contoured wheel with woven fiberglass media.

FIG. 88: The reversible contoured wheel of FIG. 87 from the lathe chuck side.

FIG. 89: The reversible contoured wheel of FIG. 87 with the wheel reversed on the arbor.

FIG. 90: A felt lapping wheel comprised of smooth media of the new invention on a lathe.

FIG. 91: A mill finish brass parcel finished with the lapping wheel of FIG. 90 showing the finished surface section.

FIG. 92: A wheel or buff comprised of flexible smooth media.

FIG. 93: A wheel comprised of EVA foam with metal mesh medium.

FIG. 94: A cross section of an Expandable Smooth Tool Drive Mechanism.

FIG. 95: A prototype composite wheel made of epoxy and spheroids, with a test parcel.

FIG. 96: A side view of the prototype composite wheel of FIG. 95.

FIG. 97: From a photomicrograph of the surface of the prototype composite wheel of FIG. 95.

FIG. 98: From a photomicrograph of a parcel before treatment with the composite wheel of FIG. 95.

FIG. 99A: From a photomicrograph of the parcel of FIG. 98 after treatment with the composite wheel of FIG. 95.

FIG. 99B: From a photomicrograph of waste water lubricant containing the material removed by Controlled Adhesion from the parcel of FIG. 99A.

FIG. 100: A section of a belt comprised of a flexible, or non-flexible, fabric or film ground with parcels comprised of a matrix with multiple embedded smooth media.

FIG. 101: An acrylic foam block with glass bead media.

FIG. 102: A magnified view of the acrylic foam block with glass bead media.

FIG. 103: From a photomicrograph of the acrylic foam block with glass bead media showing the individual glass media and acrylic binder.

FIG. 104: A scrub brush of the prior art with bristle tips of smooth media.

FIG. 105: A detail of the scrub brush of the prior art with bristle tips of smooth media.

FIG. 106: From a photomicrograph of the scrub brush of the prior art with bristle tips of smooth media.

FIG. 107: Grouped smooth ended bristles of a metal work brush.

FIG. 108: From a photomicrograph of a smooth ended bristle of a metal work brush.

FIG. 109: A brush back with embedded glass fibers with spheroidal ends.

FIG. 110: shows a brush configuration common in the prior art comprised of a handle and ferrule, but with fibers comprised of spheroidal ends.

FIG. 111: A spheroid attached to a rod, fiber or bristle with a matrix, or tool holder.

FIG. 112: A prototype smooth media compound.

FIG. 113: From a photomicrograph of the prototype smooth media compound.

FIG. 114: A test object before treatment with slurry comprised of smooth media on a glove.

FIG. 115: Burnishing with slurry comprised of smooth media on a glove.

FIG. 116: A glove after being used with standard metal polish, with characteristic black residue comprised of silver metal abraded, and eroded from, the test object's surface.

FIG. 117: A tool made with a felt covered stick wrapped with beaded chain smooth media.

FIG. 118: A composite wheel made of assembled lamina, a single lamina and a side view of one possible form at a lamina's outer margin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Surfaces Produced by the New Tools

The basic principle of my novel method of finishing surfaces is the use of tools comprised of smooth elements bonded to a ground urged against and moved along a workpiece surface to smooth asperities in the surface by plastic deformation. The structure of the tools and mechanisms employed to move the tool with respect to the surface of the workpiece are generally similar to abrasive papers, belts, discs and wheels of the prior art. However, the new tools produce surfaces that are not achievable with those tools of the prior art.

The functions of the invention's three elements—smooth media, binder and ground—can be performed by separate materials, or materials that are able to serve two or all three of the functions. One example of material serving multiple functions is fiberglass cloth, which can act as both a smooth medium and ground.

A variety of finishes are achieved by varying the tools' speed and pressure. The new finishes can replace current finishes achieved in the prior art by abrasives, and also contribute a series of new, previously unachievable, finishes. While the tool forms which follow are comprised with one type of smooth media, the forms are manufacturable with a variety of smooth media made of any material harder than the intended workpiece, and attached to the ground in any useful manner.

To recall, the present invention's basic principle is graphically described in FIG. 7, which is a conceptual cross section illustrating the process of altering a surface by plastic deformation. Prior to treatment, a workpiece 701 exhibits asperities 702 on the surface, for example, with tool marks remaining after a machining operation. A smooth-surfaced tool 703 is urged against the workpiece with significant force as indicated at 704, while being moved along the surface as indicated at 705.

As smooth tool 703 is urged against and moved along the surface, the force exerted by the tool 703 on the asperities 702, as indicated by arrows 707, causes the asperities 702 to be pressed into the work surface by plastic deformation. Forces indicated by arrows 708 are transferred into the workpiece as indicated at 709, resulting in the smoothed area after work as shown at 710. It is important to understand that materials which flow, such as ductile metals, allow the material of the asperities to flow into the workpiece mass, so that the material of the asperities or high spots flows into the adjoining low spots, effectively smoothing the surface.

Significantly, the friction between the workpiece and the tool 703 at the interface 706 is intentionally minimized compared to abrasives, for which friction at the interface is intentionally maximized. According to design, lubricants may or may not be used to control friction at the interface 706.

Thus, the invention comprises a method of smoothing a surface of a given object exhibiting asperities by plastic deformation, the method first comprising the step of making a tool by affixing a plurality of smooth-surfaced members of a material harder than the material of the surface of the intended work object to a substrate, and then urging the smooth-surfaced members against the asperities on that surface with substantial local pressure, and simultaneously moving the tool with respect to the surface, so that the asperities are reduced, and the surface is smoothed, by plastic deformation. At the same time, the surface may be compressed to a degree by force exerted on the atoms of the surface by the smooth-surfaced members.

FIGS. 16 through 23 demonstrate of the new tools' ability to create reflective surfaces without removing design details.

FIG. 16 shows a parcel, before processing as shown in FIG. 19, of mill finished copper with intersecting lines scored with a pointed tool at 1701.

FIG. 17 is from a photomicrograph of the pre-processed lines' intersection 1701.

FIG. 18 shows the parcel of FIGS. 17 and 18 being burnished on a lathe with compound containing smooth media.

FIG. 19 shows the results of the burnishing process; a smoothed surface with no loss of detailing at the lines' intersection 1701.

FIG. 20 is from a photomicrograph of the burnished parcel at the lines' intersection 1701. Note that my current invention has burnished the metal surface of the parcel and improved the definition of the scratches at the intersection by removing loosely adherent burrs while not eroding the edges of the lines.

FIG. 21 shows, for comparison, a parcel before processing with standard abrasive compounds, of mill finished copper with intersecting lines 2201 scored with a pointed tool.

FIG. 22 is the parcel of FIG. 22 after polishing at 3450 RPM with White Diamond and then Black Rouge abrasive compounds. The effects of erosion on the definition of the scratches compared to my present invention in FIGS. 20-21 is clear. Note the intersections at 2201.

FIG. 23 is from a photomicrograph of the polished parcel of FIG. 22 at the intersecting lines 2201 in which the vertical line is largely obliterated compared to the similar line in FIGS. 20 and 21 which is finished with the new compound of the invention. It is apparent that use of the method of the invention provides advantages with respect to conventional finishing techniques; the compound of the new invention has improved the surface while preserving the scored lines, which in practice would be logos and texts inserted into the metal before finishing.

FIGS. 24 and 25 demonstrate the ability of smooth sided flexible burnishing tools to create new types of finishes which approximate surface finishes heavily used in industry in the prior art, but without stock removal.

FIG. 24 shows the raw finish produced on a brass 5 cm 0 tube section by bead-blasting @80 psi with #6 glass beads.

FIG. 25 shows the finish achieved on the section of FIG. 52 with an EVA disk with fiberglass cloth media according to the invention @490M/min.

FIG. 26 shows a comparison of finishes produced by a wheel according to the invention comprised of glass microbeads on a stainless steel parcel, and the finish on a Kenmore ELITE stainless steel refrigerator case. View A shows the stainless steel parcel being worked with the wheel. B shows the face of the parcel after work with the new wheel. C is a closeup of the surface produced by the new wheel in A and B. D shows the existing surface of the Kenmore ELITE refrigerator revealing that a similar finish has been produced by the new tool, but with little or no waste byproduct and a more compact work surface.

Burnishing to Improve Metal Structure

Surfaces worked with tools of my present invention are improved similarly to surfaces created by peening in the prior art, e.g., the replacement of tensile stress in metal with compressive forces. However, since my new tools operate by moving along a surface under high local pressure rather the textured surface generated by roto-peening shown in FIG. 16, my new tools create a burnished worked surface with superior qualities.

In FIGS. 27 to 32, parcels 2901, 3001, and 3101 were made of 0.013″ brass cut to the same size as standard Almen strips as used to evaluate the amount of peening provided in a standard peeing operation; see Winter et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,241. Each strip was worked for one minute by hand. The resultant structural qualities and surface appearance depends upon the pattern of the media comprising the burnishing tool.

FIG. 27 shows an expandable drum spring coil tool according to the invention. This design takes advantages of the expandability of coils 2801 to operate in pipes and holes, and the flexibility of the tool core 2802 in adapting to workpiece contours. The core in this prototype is of a polymer foam which is part of a holder for abrasive cylinders of the prior art. However, the expandable drum may be comprised of other materials and methods.

FIG. 28 shows an Almen strip type parcel held in a steel support being burnished perpendicular to the strip's length 2901 with the tool of FIG. 28 on a lathe turning at 2450 RPM.

FIG. 29 shows an Almen strip type parcel held in a steel support being burnished parallel to the strip's length 3001 with the tool of FIG. 28 on a lathe turning at 2450 RPM.

FIG. 30 shows an Almen strip type parcel 3101 held in a steel support, being flap peened on a lathe at 3450 RPM. The flap peeing device is a 3M Roto Peen Flap Assembly.

FIG. 31 compares parcels 2901, 3001, and 3101. Parcel 2901 shows that burnishing perpendicular to the strip's length results in a convex arch, indicating selective stress modification predominantly along the axis of the strip perpendicular to the strip's length. Parcel 3001 shows that a concave arch results from burnishing parallel to the length of the strip, indicating selective stress modification predominantly parallel to the length of the strip. Parcel 3101 shows that flap peening with the 3M Roto Peen Flap Assembly results in a pillow form indicating stress modification of the strip in all directions relative to the length of the strip. Burnishing provides the option of applying stress relief selectively to a workpiece by controlling for the direction of the burnishing process.

Regarding fluid flow, the surface texture created by flap peening creates resistance, while burnishing produces a surface with improved fluid flow, contributing to the maintenance of oil and gas wells, high pressure steam and gas turbines, nuclear reactors and other systems where optimal fluid flow is critical. As an example, the following article in the EJoumal of Advanced Maintenance site; jsm.or.jp/ejam/Vol.2.No.2/GA/13/article, which is concerned with the most advanced reactor maintenance processes, now addresses PWSCC (Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking) with existing peening technologies. My Present Invention is a substantial contribution to their processing options.

The effectiveness of my new invention in improving fluid flow is shown in the following two images:

FIG. 32 is from a photomicrograph of the pre-treated surface of parcel 3001.

FIG. 33 is from a photomicrograph of the treated surface of parcel 3001 on which burnishing has been done parallel to the direction of work, resulting in a smooth surface—an improvement in fluid flow quality over the textured flap peened surface of parcel 3101.

Improved Cleanliness in the Medical and Food Industries

Tools of my present invention close fissures in surfaces, making them more impervious to organic foreign matter ripe for contamination by microorganisms in, for example, food and hospital machinery.

Currently, the recommended procedure for finishing in the medical and food industries is the #4 Dairy or Sanitary Finish:

From ofrmetals.com:

• • ‘Great care should be taken in removing the surface defects in the metal, like pits, that could allow bacteria to grow. #4 Dairy or Sanitary Finish, which is commonly used for the medical and food industry and almost exclusively used on stainless steel. This finish demands great care in removing surface defects like pits, that could allow bacterial growth.’ and, ‘a #4 Dairy or Sanitary Finish is produced by polishing with a 180-240 grit belt or wheel finish softened with 120-240 grit greaseless compound or a fine non-woven abrasive belt or pad.’

Despite the above recommendation, it is my opinion that the traditional abrasives described above do not seal pits that harbor microorganisms. While cutting away the surface material may remove shallow pits, the material removal also may expose fissures that lurk deeper in the metal body, exacerbating the opportunity for infestation.

Burnishing for Pipes and Tubes

My Present Invention improves the production of pipes by burnishing and compressing their inner surfaces rather than, as happens during abrasive polishing, removing the surface material and therefore exposing subsurface pores. Burnishing also improves the quality of the welds used to join pipe sections by reducing stress in the weld zone. During maintenance, burnishing cleans and smooths a pipe in the same action while simultaneously reducing porosity, thereby retarding corrosion and microbial infestation, thereby extending the effective maintenance interval. Peening, which also reduces surface pores, creates a rough, flow-resistant surface, while burnishing reduces surface pores while creating a smooth surface with improved flow qualities.

FIG. 34 shows the Peenburnishing tool of FIG. 28 being used to maintain a pipe interior. Area 3501 has been processed with the tool,

FIG. 35 shows the interior of a failed pipe near a joint. 6701 is the crack.

FIG. 36 shows a side view of the same failed pipe. 6701 is the crack.

FIG. 37 shows a cross section with fissures 3801 from METALLURGICAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC., P.A. at: met-tech.com/preheater-tube-failure, of a pipe interior:

• • ‘The 316Ti stainless steel tube cracked by transgranular stress corrosion cracking due to the presence of sulfur and chlorine in a moist environment at elevated temperatures.’

It is my opinion that manufacturing and maintaining the pipes in FIGS. 35, 36 and 37 with tools of the new invention reduces the fissures and the consequent corrosion and structural collapse.

FIG. 38 is a computer simulation by me, based on FIG. 37, of what this cross section might have looked like at the same point in its life, had the part been treated with the new tooling. The fissures 3901 would have been eliminated during manufacture or reduced with maintenance.

Burnishing for Cast Metal Finishing

Porosity in metal castings is an inherent vice. Standard abrasive grinding and polishing creates a finish that erroneously implies that pores have been reduced or eliminated. To the contrary, sub-surface voids are actually opened, exposing the cast's interior to invasion by chemical or organic elements. In contrast, treatment withs the new tooling according to the invention creates an improved surface while reducing or closing the pores, isolating the casting's interior voids from the outside environment.

FIG. 39 shows a prototype tool comprised of a wheel 3901 with a coiled spring 3902 operating as the medium—useful for general surface smoothing by burnishing. While this prototype is made with the media at the wheel circumference, media may optionally be arrayed on any face of the wheel, and the wheel may be of any profile, as I discuss in the section on contoured tooling, below.

FIG. 40 shows a 15 cm long bead blasted brass casting with oxidized surface. The right side 4101 is the raw casting with naturally occurring oxides. The left side 4102 is finished with the coiled spring burnisher of FIG. 27. Some of the brittle surface oxides were removed, a lustrous surface was created with little loss of surface detail, and pores were closed. The oval on the viewer's right is the sprue cutoff unrelated to the invention.

FIG. 41 shows burnishing media of various profiles 4201 bonded to a wheel edge. The tool is an improvement upon the prior art of FIG. 2 ROTARY BURNISHING-TOOL U.S. Pat. No. 1,010,127, in that the burnishing elements are of a variety of forms beyond steel spheres, and are affixed to the wheel with adhesives and mechanical methods beyond being locked in races. The elements may be of any useful profile, and arrayed across a tool in any useful arrangement.

Electroplating

I first created the new tools to treat plated objects. As compared to abrasive polishing, the new tools remove either no, or dramatically less, material, leading to substantial reduction in the needed thickness of deposited metal plate, substantially less processing time and more efficient use of equipment, while the produced plated parts benefit from improved surface density and reduced porosity. The following Figures explain this more fully.

FIG. 42 shows an element from a decorative brass candelabra part.

FIG. 43 shows the same part being treated with a burr with fiberglass media according to the invention after having been immersion plated—an extremely thin, weak type of plating. With standard abrasive polishing techniques this plate layer would have instantaneously disappeared due to abrasive erosion.

FIG. 44 shows the finished, assembled candelabra part. The plate, although extremely thin and weakly adherent, is satisfactorily burnished.

Enhancing Surfaces by Burnishing, Instead of Removing, Oxides

While hard, brittle oxides are removed with the new tools by adhesion, non-adherent, softer oxides such as rust are also removed. However, the oxide molecules adhering to the iron substrate remain, resulting in a more passive surface on the treated workpiece with reduced tendency toward further oxidation.

FIG. 45 shows a sheet of the new tooling wrapped onto a sanding block being used to clean the rusty surface of a sanding machine platen. Treating oxidized surfaces with the new tooling removes the loose oxide and compresses the adherent, passive, protective oxides surface oxides, leaving the surface resistant to further oxidation compared to the raw metal surface produced by abrasive or chemical cleaning.

FIG. 46 From a photomicrograph of the FIG. 45 tool surface shown after work. While some residual oxide of the work remains, in contrast to abrasive media which would be eroded, the glass bead burnisher media remains entirely serviceable.

Fibers as a Burnishing Medium

Filaments of glass, carbon fiber and other smooth materials operate as media for the new tools. Fibers assembled as woven, non-woven and knitted fabrics, or made individually into spirals such as springs, present multiple burnishers to a surface in the form of many smooth high points. Such fibers modify the work surface according to the radius of each fiber at the point of intersection with the work and the resultant pressure at the point of contact. In contrast to these smooth fibers are steel wool fibers, which are scrapers.

FIG. 47 shows a tool formed by adhering a sheet of fabric to a ground, in this case, fiberglass cloth 4701, bonded with low viscosity epoxy resin to 1 mm thick EVA foam 4702.

FIG. 48 shows a parcel treated with the tool of FIG. 48. Note the burnished quality of the treated area 4801.

FIG. 49 shows a prototype comprised of woven carbon fiber fabric 4901 consolidated with resin on a 10 mm sheet of EVA foam 4902.

FIG. 50 shows the prototype of a tool comprised of stainless steel screen mesh bonded to an EVA foam pad with low viscosity epoxy resin. The screen mesh may be of any weave and gauge. The ground may be of any useful material.

Smooth Media Made of Perforated and Expanded Sheets

FIG. 13 shows perforated and expanded sheets with the smooth faces between the openings functioning as the media. Different shape openings and edges effect the burnishing process in various useful ways.

Unbacked Media

FIG. 51: In this tool, the medium, in this case woven fiberglass fabric, serves also as the ground. The binder is low viscosity epoxy resin.

FIG. 52: While many smooth media according to the invention are supple at tool edges, metal screen meshes may be sufficiently rigid at the edges to damage the work. As an example of an embodiment which addresses this issue, the edges and the corners in this prototype are wrapped to avoid damage to the work surface.

FIG. 53 shows a batt of fiberglass building insulation impregnated with low viscosity epoxy resin to produce a tool of the new invention. The medium, in this case woven fiberglass fabric, also serves as the ground.

FIG. 54 shows rotary tools comprised of spirals of any usable material, an example being metal spring stock. 5401 shows circumferential spirals, 5402 shows radial spirals.

FIG. 28 shows a non-woven sheet of Manniglas 1900 used for insulation in the prior art. Now, impregnated with low viscosity epoxy, the fiberglass material becomes a new tool with itself as the ground.

Fabric Bias and Smooth Media Tools

The attack angle of smooth sided fiber tooling according to the invention relative to a workpiece creates a continuum of useful qualities, from moderate burnishing with the fibers moving parallel to the work, to maximum burnishing with the fibers moving at 90° to the work. The effect of smooth sided fiber tooling depends on the pressure of the tool on the work, the weave, knit, or non-woven configuration of the fabric, the fabric's fiber density and the quantity and type of lubrication, if any, between the fiber tool and the work.

FIG. 55 shows three tools comprised of a heavier carbon fiber warp bound with a weft of thinner material present in the cloth only to bind the carbon fibers together. The fabric is mounted on EVA foam sheet, with the carbon fibers parallel to the length of the tool 5501, at 45° to the length of the tool 5502, and perpendicular to the length of the tool 5503.

FIG. 56 shows a 5 cm ø brass tube divided into swatch segments and oxidized to emphasize, in the experiments below, the effect of the tools on the swatches.

FIG. 57 shows the tube of FIG. 57 being rotated on a lathe with the tools of FIG. 56 operating on the rotating tube at ˜60 M/m, which is very slow for finishing speeds in the prior art. As explained below, tap water was employed as a lubricant for some of these tests.

FIG. 58 shows the cylinder of FIG. 57. after work.

FIG. 59 shows the effects of the alignment of the weave and employment of water as a lubricant. Specifically in swatches 5901 the fibers of the tool are parallel to the direction of motion, and lubricant is applied with swatch 5901w (for “wet”) and is not applied with swatch 5901d (“dry”). In swatches 5902 the weave is at 45° to the direction of work, and in swatches 5903 the direction of work is perpendicular to the fibers. Thus, FIG. 59 illustrates that that a particular tool can be customized to a particular work according to the weave and the option of lubricated and un-lubricated work, to produce varying degrees of lustre and smoothing, and different surface patterns, according to the design and operation of the fabric burnisher. The surface oxides have been progressively removed because the oxides are brittle and do not flow, i.e., deform, and therefore are separated from the surface by adhesion.

Spheroids and Other Smooth Faced Particles as Media

In addition to the use of smooth fibers as burnishing media, surface improvement is achieved by the use of smooth surfaced particles of any material harder than the intended workpiece, examples being spheroids of glass, zirconium, ceramic, steel, plated steel and polymers such as polypropylene, and attached by any adhesive means such as used in the prior art to affix adhesive particles to a ground such as paper, woven or non-woven fibers, polymer films and foams.

FIG. 60 shows 1 mm glass beads embedded in acrylic binder on a ground. My finger, left, gives a sense of scale.

FIG. 61 is from a photomicrograph of the 1 mm glass beads embedded in acrylic binder of FIG. 61.

FIG. 62 is from a photomicrographic edge view of an embodiment 6201 comprised of multiple layers of glass beads 6202 on a fabric ground 6203 with an acrylic binder. The resultant tool is a tough, bendable sheet. According to the binder used, the internal strength of the bead layers may also serve as the ground, making the fabric ground optional.

FIG. 63 shows a frying pan 6301 before using tool 6201 to remove burnt food from area 6303. While the new tools improve the surface of a cooking implement, waste material adhered to the surface of the implement is dragged away from the pan surface by adhesion.

FIG. 64 shows a small section of the pan 6301 after treatment with the multi-layer burnishing tool 6201, the area 6202 having been cleaned of the burnt food.

FIG. 65 is a chamois cloth with spheroidal media 6501 applied to the cloth's surface.

FIG. 66 is from a photomicrograph of the glass microbeads bound to the chamois cloth of FIG. 66 with spray adhesive.

Other Embodiments

In addition to the embodiments described above, the following describe tools and prototypes which, although made with a particular medium of the present invention, may be used with any applicable medium of the present invention.

FIG. 67 is a wheel type tool prototype comprised of EVA foam surfaced with media in the form of glass microbeads.

FIG. 68 shows the surface of the tool of FIG. 67, the binder of which has, through work, fractured into islands having cross dimensions of approximately ˜1-5 mm. These islands, which remain attached to the EVA disk ground, operate as reinforcements for retaining the spheroids on the surface thereby extending the tool's life while allowing flexibility at the tool's surface. The islands may also be created during manufacture by segmentation of the binder and media.

Burnishing media may also be secured to a metallic ground by brazing, similarly to the process described in HIGH-INTENSITY ROTARY PEENING PARTICLE SUPPORT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,852 A.

FIG. 69 shows a prototype sponge with spheroids bonded to the sponge surface with acrylic emulsion, after approximately six hours of kitchen use. It is my opinion that this embodiment improves on 3M abrasive pads with sponge backing by my present invention's aggressive ability to remove soil from a surface without removing material from the substrate.

FIG. 70 is from a photomicrograph of the sponge of FIG. 70 showing the rinsed sponge surface after a week used in a kitchen sink. Note the cleanliness and durability of the surface relative to sponges of the prior art.

Yet another tool of the prior art, the Blitz Silver Polishing Cloth-93118WEB, is comprised of a cloth embedded with abrasives. By replacing the abrasives with smooth media, burnishing is achieved without erosion of the workpieces' surfaces as occurs with the abrasive-embedded cloths. As a result, precious metals are not removed, engraving details are not degraded, and plated films are not eroded by repeated polishings to the point of complete removal of the plated layer and subsequent exposure of the metal substrate. Such cloths may be made of fiberglass of other smooth fabric. Cloths of my present invention may also be infused with thiourea or other chemical tarnish removers.

FIG. 71 shows an embodiment for an oscillating tool with a tool of the new invention comprised of fiberglass 7201 with a hook-and-loop back attachment commonly used in the prior art, and which is interchangeable with pressure sensitive adhesives and other backup pad connectors.

FIG. 72 shows a fibrous tool of stainless steel mesh 7201 with a hook-and-loop back attachment (in the rear—not visible in this view) which is interchangeable with pressure sensitive adhesives and other tool-to-backup pad connectors.

FIG. 73 shows a prototype embodiment of a fibrous stainless steel mesh permanently integrated into to a standard oscillating tool backup pad. Any smooth media can similarly be integrated into backup pads. 7301 is the medium, 7302 is a tube section which binds the medium at the tool center, creating the mounting lug space, 7303 is an optional tape which absorbs vibratory movement of the medium thereby preventing deterioration of the backup pad foam 7304.

FIG. 74 shows the oscillating tool 7101 being used to remove aged, brittle resinous finish 7401 on a substrate by adhesion. On the left, an original wood surface is covered with aged, brittle varnish. On the right, the smooth tool is removing the varnish. In contrast to the use of abrasives for this process, the substrate is unaffected or improved by the new tool. More particularly, the brittle, aged varnish fractures into dust due to the varnish's adhesion to the new tool, while the fibers making up the wood of the substrate are long grained and flexible, allowing them to flex and be smoothed, but not dragged away by adhesion.

FIG. 75 shows the wood surface substrate with the aged varnish removed 7501 and the underlying wood unaffected. This experiment illustrates the beneficial use of smooth media tools as a low-cost, cleaner, safer replacement for abrasives and chemical paint removers.

FIG. 76 shows a prototype spindle mounted wheel comprised of a wheel-form ground made of EVA polymer 7601 supplying surface flexibility. The media is, in this case, woven fiberglass 7602. The binder is low viscosity epoxy which bonds the fiberglass to the wheel yet leaves the consolidated glass fiber surface exposed for work.

FIG. 77 shows a flexible edged disc 7701 with a periphery 7702 on an arbor 7704. The disk is held onto the arbor by two nut-and-washer sets 7705 Due to the non-erosive nature of smooth media 7703, this tool will maintain its original form. The core 7702 may be of any useful material and hardness, one example being EVA foams.

Vehicle in the Form of a PSA Disk.

FIG. 78 shows a prototype of the face of a PSA disk 7801 made of glass bead media 7802 with an area with beads lost due to work 7803.

FIG. 79 is from a photomicrograph side section view of PSA disk 7801 showing the 1 mm glass beads 7802 adhered to a cotton ground 7903 with acrylic emulsion, then adhered to a 1 mm foam ground 7904 with spray adhesive.

Vehicle in the Form of a Fiber Reinforced Disk.

FIG. 80 shows a disk 8001 comprised of a semi-rigid, fiber reinforced disk of the type manufactured by Norton Abrasives, and by the 3M corporation, but with fiberglass media 8002 replacing the abrasives of the prior art.

Replaceable Shell on a Backup Pad

Replaceable shells with surfaces comprised of smooth media are pressed or otherwise formed into compound curves to conform to standard supports.

FIG. 81 shows an example of a tool in the form of a replaceable shell 8102. 8101 is the backup wheel. The grounds of the replaceable shells are vacuformed, pressed, or otherwise formed of polymer, metal, paper or any other applicable material. Due to the non-eroding quality of the new tools, these replaceable compound curved shells are particularly advantageous for this current invention. However, these replaceable compound curved shells are also suitable for the application of abrasive grains to their surfaces. The shells are mounted to the backup wheel by any useful means including Velcro, mechanical connectors and adhesives.

Burrs with Smooth Media

FIG. 82 shows a prototype burr with a head 8201. The head is of EVA polymer. The media 8202 is woven fiberglass bonded to the head with low viscosity epoxy. The shaft 8203 is solid nylon rod. The fiberglass ends at the shaft are, in this prototype, bound with vinyl tape 8204. This burr's parts are replaceable by any applicable materials.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,547 B2 PNEUMATIC SANDING ROLL FOR FLEXIBLE ABRASIVE CLOTH SLEEVE refers to an abrasive configured to be attached to a pneumatic burr. Tool forms which are developments of replaceable media can also be comprised of smooth media rather than abrasive grains, thereby providing further tool flexibility. Generally, although tools of the new invention media are non-eroding, attachment systems used in the prior art to replace exhausted abrasives are useable with the new tools, such systems being PSA adhesives, mechanical center connectors and other common attachment systems.

FIG. 83 is a view of a prototype burr 8301 comprised of EVA foam, a shaft of aluminum tubing 8302, and woven fiberglass Bonded Burnishing medium 8303. The shaft and the fiberglass are both bonded with low viscosity epoxy. This view, during the model making process, shows the head wrapped with Saran Wrap while the binder solidifies.

Because the new tools often work at low RPM's, these and other burr shapes can be fabricated as desired of a wide range of materials such as plastic foams, tubing, and other material not required to operate under the stresses of high speed tools.

FIG. 84 shows the completed prototype burr being used to burnish the inner bowl of a silver spoon.

FIG. 85 shows the spoon treated with a new tool whereby little or no metal is removed in the process. The new tool was run at 350 RPM, dramatically slower, safer and cleaner than abrasive bearing polishing lathes of the prior art which run at 3450 RPM—ten times the speed needed for my new invention in this trial.

Contoured Disks and Wheels with the New Tools

Consequent to the non-erosive nature of the new tools, tools utilizing my new invention maintain their original forms which remain intact for the life of the tool.

FIG. 86 is a prototype of contoured wheel constructed of EVA foam and surfaced with fibrous Bonded Burnishing media, in this example woven fiberglass. The wheel is mounted in a lathe chuck, viewer's left.

Contoured disks of the present art are improvements based on prior art produced by Alpha Professional Tools of Oakland, N.J.: alpha-tools.com, wherein media of the new tools replace attachable abrasive disks, and a wide variety of profiles and hardnesses not previously produced are possible due in part to the slower speeds required.

Reversible Contoured EVA Disk with Recessed Center

FIG. 87 shows a reversible wheel mounted in a lathe chuck with multiple profile contours and a recessed center, permitting work to be done across the wheel faces without damage to the work due to collision with the arbor mount.

FIG. 88 shows the wheel of FIG. 88 from its opposite side relative to the arbor.

FIG. 89 shows the wheel reversed on the arbor, allowing even greater exploitation of the wheel's contours for work.

Lapping Wheel

FIG. 90 shows a felt lapping wheel with smooth media on a lathe. The felt wheel supplies a firm but resilient surface—midway between a buff and a hard wheel. The tool is made by impregnating the wheel surface with glass microspheres in a resin binder. My hand is holding the parcel of FIG. 92.

FIG. 91 shows a parcel of mill finish brass 9101 processed with the lapping wheel of FIG. 91. The result is the refined surface 9102.

Sewn Buff with Applied Spheroidal Media

A sewn muslin or other fibrous buff of the prior art is impregnated at the working surface with binder, for example acrylic emulsion or epoxy, to which is applied spheroidal media, the tool operating flexibly in the manner of a muslin buff of the prior art to which polishing compound has been applied. In an improvement to the standard compound impregnated muslin buff which are typically used at 3450 RPM, the new tools are effective at roughly 100 RPM and upward, according to application.

Sewn Buff Comprised of Lamina Impregnated with Spheroidal Media

A sewn buff is comprised of laminated sheets of spheroidal media. As in the prior art, the buffs's hardness at the working margin is dependent upon the flexibility of the individual lamina and the stitch frequency.

Spirally Wound Buff

FIG. 92 shows a wheel or buff comprised of a flexible smooth medium 9201 spirally wrapped around a tubular core 9203, the assembly bound optionally by stitching or adhesives or other means, and sized to fit an arbor 9204. As the wheel rotates in direction 9205, the end of the sheet is at a trailing edge 9202 shown here as optionally separated from the roll body, causing the sharp cut fiber ends to not cut the workpiece surface. Prior art related to this embodiment are cylindrical abrasive rolls.

Wheel with a Metal Mesh Face

FIG. 93 shows a prototype for a wheel comprised of EVA foam 9401 with a metal mesh 9402. The sheet is butt-joined to the cylinder by resin or other means so to prevent sharp cut ends of the sheet from contacting the work. The metal mesh edges 9403 are rendered non-cutting by either preconditioning of the edge by burnishing with a harder material tool, or by folding of the edge away from the work surface (not shown).

Planarization Device

Embodiments of planarization devices are made by replacing the abrasives in appropriate stages of the planarization process of the prior art withs tools of the new invention resulting in reduced machine speeds, reduced material waste, improved electrical connectivity and prolonged tool life. An example of such a system in the prior art is POLISH METHOD FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE PLANARIZATION U.S. Pat. No. 7,172,970 B2, which teaches “that the HSP-CMP process with the fix abrasive polishing pad can be performed to provide a planarized surface with accurate dimension control.”

Pipe Conditioners

FIG. 94 is a cross section of an Expandable burnisher Drive Mechanism for extending a pipe's or tube's useful service life. A head 9401 with smooth media 9402, forced against the inner surface 9403 of a pipe by a flexible pressurizable bladder 9404 fed by pressurized fluid entering as shown by the arrows 9413 though a channel 9412, rotates and/or reciprocates as shown by the arrows 9413, the head mechanism moving back and forth within the pipe as shown by the arrows 9414 to clean and burnish the inside surface of the pipe. During each cycle of the process, the head mechanism is held in place within the pipe by a non-rotating stabilizer head 9405 comprised of a flexible bladder 9406 with an optional durable anchoring band 9407, which progressively locks the mechanism to the inner pipe walls as each section by pressurized fluid flowing as shown by the arrows 9408 within the stabilizer head. At the end of each cycle, the entire mechanism is moved along the pipe. The head mechanism is driven by a flexible shaft 9409 while fluid flowing as shown by arrows 9410 entering though channels 9416 flushes detritus (not shown) away from the media into the pipe beyond the head 9415, leaving the newly serviced area 14711 clean and freshly burnished, the burnishing process smoothing and compacting the pipe walls thereby extending the pipe's useful service life.

The pressure forcing both the burnishing and stabilizer heads against the pipe walls is optionally operated mechanically, pneumatically, hydraulically or any combination thereof.

After the process is complete, the mechanism is removed by deflating the head bladders, and drawing the head and the flexible shaft through the pipe from either end of the pipe.

Composite Tools

Smooth media held in a solid matrix can be of any useful configuration now made with abrasives in the prior art, one example being sharpening stones, and composed of any useful media of the present invention held in matrices of resins or other suitable grounds.

FIG. 95 shows a prototype composite wheel made of epoxy and spheroids, using water as a lubricant with a test parcel 9502 held in my hand, left. According to wheel hardness and speed, lubrication, and the pressure between the work and the tool, the surface is improved by a combination of smoothing, surface compression, and material removal by controlled adhesion, along with the controlled removal of material free of abrasive waste—advantageous in the processing of precious materials such as gold. In my experiments the removed material can be collected and recycled directly without costly reclamation. Furthermore, since the tool's shape remains relatively unchanged during work, down-time for tool dressing or replacement is dramatically reduced.

FIG. 96 is a side view of the prototype composite wheel made of epoxy and spheroids (the various bubbles are prototype imperfections).

FIG. 97 is from a photomicrograph of the surface of the prototype composite wheel made of epoxy and spheroids, showing the glass beads embedded in the epoxy. The combination of the glass bead media and the epoxy also serve as the ground.

FIG. 98 is from a photomicrograph of intersecting incised lines in a parcel before treatment with a composite burnishing wheel.

FIG. 99A is from a photomicrograph of the parcel in FIG. 98 after treatment with the composite wheel with water lubricant at under 150 M/m. Note the complete preservation of the incised line details while the surface coarseness of the four quadrants of outer surface have been significantly reduced. The resultant surface is due to a combination of Controlled Adhesion and burnishing, making the surface lustrous while maintaining the sharpness and definition of the incised lines, which is useful for improving surfaces incised with logos and other designs.

FIG. 99B is from a photomicrograph of slurry containing the material removed by Controlled Adhesion from the parcel of FIG. 99A. With the exception of a few glass spheroids that have broken away from the prototype wheel, the material is pure, uncontaminated with abrasive waste as would be present with material removed by abrasives. With industrially produced tools of this type, the spheroids in the slurry would be dramatically reduced or eliminated, leaving pure, recyclable material

FIG. 100 illustrates the section of a belt comprised of a flexible or non-flexible fabric or film ground 10001, with parcels 10002 comprised of a matrix 10003 with multiple embedded fibrous or spheroidal media 10004, arrayed along the face of the belt so that the belt can be mounted on any belt-type device such as a belt sander and/or the face of an expandable wheel.

Cutting Tool Tips

Yet other embodiments adapted as grounds for the present art are tools having forms such as milling cutters, rotary files, drill bits and flexible linked tools such as chain saw blades. With burnishers at the multiple working tips, bound using similar technologies now used for attachment of carbide cutter tips, and generally operating at considerably slower speeds, these tools are, in my opinion, usable with smooth media instead of as cutters as the forms now are used in the prior art.

Composite Hand Held Tools

The heads of hand held burnishing tools such as those in FIG. 1 may be produced more economically and with greater variability in their forms by replacing their single-burnisher ends with, for example, smooth spheroids in resin bonding material.

Composite Machine Mounted Tools

The heads of machine mounted burnishing tools such as those produced by Lambda Technologies Group are produced more economically and with greater variability in their forms by replacing the burnisher ends with composites comprised of smooth media. Similarly, ROTARY BURNISHERS U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,594 shows the prior art of multi-headed dental burnishers made of solid materials such as tool steel. My present invention replaces these and similar tool heads with composites made of media with, for example, smooth spheroids in resin bonding material.

Tool for Honing of Razor and Other Blades

See prior art; RAZOR SHARPENING SYSTEM U.S. Pat. No. 8,801,501. Honing of razor blades both manually and mechanically, is done either with or without abrasives. The operation, machine production and cost of such tooling is improved by the honing elements being replaced by smooth media of the present invention.

Foams

A New Foaming Process

A simplified and less costly method for producing foams for the present invention is a direct consequence of the addition of smooth burnishing media to the foam mix. During production of a foam member impregnated with smooth media, the media, being smooth, is continually and uniformly distributed in the mix by the turbulence of the aqueous solvent boiling away in production of the foam. In an experiment, where heat was provided by microwave oven, a homogenous solidified foam product was produced in contrast to the clumping which occurs when manufacturing foams containing abrasives, due to the jagged abrasive grains locking to one another. In the prior art, this problem required the addition of blowing agents and metal fragments to the mix to break up the clumps of abrasive grains and disperse them uniformly in the foam product: From COMPOSITE RETICULATED FOAM-TEXTILE CLEANING PAD U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,287:

• • . . . it contains, ‘(B) at least one blowing agent which releases gas on heating, and (C) at least one metal powder or metal compound, for example a metal oxide, individually, or a mixture thereof, which has microwave activity.

FIG. 101 shows an acrylic foam block impregnated with glass spheroids which, during work, assumes the shape of a workpiece. Within several hours after work on a particular shaped workpiece is done, the foam tool reassumes its original form, ready to be used on another, unrelated shape. This memory quality allows the use of the foam tool for a variety of specific shapes without having to use a new foam tool for another workpiece.

FIG. 102 shows a magnified view of the foam of FIG. 102.

FIG. 103 is from a photomicrograph of the foam of FIG. 102, showing the glass spheroids, and acrylic binder which also functions as a ground.

Brushes

In contrast to brushes in the prior art which operate on the principle that sharp bristles scratch with their sharp ends, my present invention operates as burnishers and at a wide range of velocities, the lowest speeds being just above zero M/m.

FIG. 104 shows a ground comprised of a scrub brush of the prior art to which media are bonded to the bristle ends 10401 with any viable binder, in this prototype, epoxy resin.

FIG. 105 shows a detail of the bristles 10401 of the brush of FIG. 104.

FIG. 106 is from a photomicrograph of the scrub brush of the prior art with bristle tips of smooth media with the bristles 10601 with the bonded glass beads 10602.

The forms of brushes which may incorporate smooth media include among others; engine cylinder hones, and industrial hand and machine mounted rotary, spiral and straight brushes.

Solid Brush Bristles

Yet another method for making the new tools is with brush bristles. While brushes of the prior art use the sharpened ends of bristles to abrade materials, such as the common steel bristle brush, or sharp bristles that create fine striations in a surface, bristle ends which are rounded and smooth create tools of the present invention, which smooth a surface by plastic displacement rather than by abrasion or scratching as done with the prior art.

The prior art shown in FIG. 3 clarifies this difference by showing the sharp, cutting bristle end of a common steel bristled work brush. See also under Definitions: ‘Scratch.’

In contrast to the prior art are the following tools comprised of smooth media:

FIG. 107 shows bristles of a common steel work brush altered by abrasive treatment of the bristles' sharp tips with a 3M Scotch-Brite Deburring Wheel to create radii at those tips. The resulting new tool, rather than creating fine gouges at a surface, smooths the surface by plastic deformation.

FIG. 108 is from a photomicrograph of a smooth ended bristle of a metal work brush as in FIG. 107.

FIG. 109 shows a cross section of a brush comprised of a brush back 10901 as a binder, with embedded glass or plastic fibers, with the fibers' tips 10902 formed so to create a spheroidal tip.

FIG. 110 shows a brush configuration common in the prior art comprised of a handle 11001, a ferrule 11002, but with fibers comprised of glass with spheroidal melted ends 11003 operating as tools of the present invention.

FIG. 111 shows a spheroid 11101 attached to a rod, fiber or bristle 11102 by any means and at any scale, further attached to any matrix or tool holder 11103 singularly or in groups, the tools being hand or power driven in a rotary, reciprocating or other motion. In the prior art, a similar construction is used for hair brushes to avoid abrading the scalp—a distinctly separate tool used for a distinctly different purpose. See HAIR BRUSH EP 0141532 B1, HAIR BRUSH US 2004/0200021 A1, METHOD FOR BOUNDING THE TIPS OF BRISTLES U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,792.

Compounds

FIG. 112 shows a prototype compound 10 cm across 11201 comprised of tallow and glass spheroidal media, on a common poly food container lid 11202, for scale. During manufacture, the smooth media are mixed into standard burnishing compound mixtures of the prior art up to now used with abrasive media. One example of such a compound of the prior art is POLISHING COMPOUND U.S. Pat. No. 2,129,377. Such compounds are generally poured into ingot-like shapes which are pressed against rotating fabric buffs, thereby impregnating the buff with the compound which is consumed during use and must frequently be reapplied. Bonded Burnishing burnishing compounds are cast into similar forms and similarly consumed during use.

FIG. 113 is from a photomicrograph of the prototype Bonded Burnishing compound of FIG. 112. In this example, the spheroids are ˜ø90-140 μm. The surface modifications achieved vary with spheroids of various dimensions.

Spheroidal Vehicle in Cream Media

This vehicle uses flexible burnishing media in place of fine abrasives in metal polishing creams of the prior art such as Wright's, MAAS, Brasso, Blue Magic Goddard's Simichrome and the like. Additives such as thiourea and other tarnish removers and inhibitors remove surface oxides, allowing the media to operate on the unoxidized metal surface. An early patent for an abrasive cream is METAL-POLISHING COMPOUND U.S. Pat. No. 548,310 A which uses the abrasive qualities of coal ash and Cream of Tartar.

Spheroidal Vehicle in the Form of a Slurry

This embodiment combines smooth media with aqueous, resinous, or other liquid and cream carriers and dispersed onto platens, faceplates, brushes, polishing cloths, polishing pads, gloves and other tools for treatment of work surfaces such as microchip wafers and floors as well as for treatments by manual techniques. A major advantage being the reduced erosion and waste produced. Slurries in combination with applicable tools of my present invention differ by application from slurries used in tumbling barrels of the prior art, wherein burnishing is already a standard practice. The slurries are often combined with tarnish removal agents:

FIG. 115 shows a test object before treatment with smooth media slurry on a glove.

FIG. 116 shows the slurry on a glove during treatment. Note the absence of black residue on the glove of FIG. 118.

FIG. 117 For contrast, this shows a glove soiled with the black metal residual waste produced by standard metal polish.

Burnishing Stick

FIG. 118 shows a tool made of a felt covered stick 11801 wrapped with beaded chain 11802. Such media made of interconnected individual smooth elements can be described as both fibers and spheroids. The chain may be attached to the stick by mechanical or adhesive means.

Solid Tools

The new tools are also made of solid homogeneous material, for instance glass, disks, bars and other shapes are laminated into groups. The work surface of the lamina may be without a pattern or comprised of any useful pattern in any useful frequency, the individual elements of the pattern presenting themselves consecutively to the work through spinning, as with a wheel, or by hand work, as done in the prior art by files or sharpening stones.

FIG. 119

shows a wheel lamina 11901 of a solid medium with a castellated surface laminated into a group 11902. 11903 shows a cross section of one type of castellation. Any suitable geometric and non-geometric configurations of multiple smooth faces are usable.

Limitations

Claims

1. A method of smoothing a surface of a given object by plastic deformation, said surface exhibiting asperities, comprising the steps of:

making a burnishing tool by affixing a plurality of smooth-surfaced members of a material harder than the material of the surface of the object to a substrate;

urging said smooth-surfaced members against the asperities in said surface with substantial local pressure, and simultaneously moving said tool with respect to said surface;

whereby said asperities are reduced, and said surface is smoothed, by plastic deformation caused by force exerted on the molecules of said surface by said smooth-surfaced members.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said smooth-surfaced members are affixed to said substrate by adhesive bonding.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said smooth-surfaced members are spheroids.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the material of said spheroids is selected from the group comprising metals, glass, carbides, and ceramics.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said smooth-surfaced members are fibers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the materials of said fibers are selected from the group comprising metal, glass and carbon fibers.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said fibers are provided in the form of woven cloth, nonwoven batts, wire, or screen.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is provided in the form of a radially-symmetric member adapted to be rotated, such that said surface to be smoothed is pressed against said smooth-surfaced members on the surface of said rotating substrate.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is selected from the group comprising papers, meshes, woven and non-woven fabrics, resin impregnated fabrics, felts, polymer films and foams, polishing cloths and plated rigid planes of various materials.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is selected from the group comprising films, belts, discs, cylinders, wheels, flap wheels and brushes; non-woven pads; foam-backed cloth; and metal wools.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the pressure at which the smooth-surfaced members are urged against the surface to be treated increased to the point that material of the surface is removed by adhesion to the smooth-surfaced members.