Patent ID: 6135861
Filing Date: 2000-10-24
Classification: B24B

Abstract:
A method of polishing a work piece with a longitudinal axis to remove microscopic spiraling patterns therefrom comprising:rotating the work piece during a roughing cycle and finishing cycle while engaging the workpiece with an abrasive tape suspended between a pair of rollers to provide an abrasive tape/ work piece interface;the roughing cycle comprising:a) rotating the workpiece at a first speed;b) in a first step, engaging the work piece with the abrasive tape while oscillating the tape in an axial direction along said axis a selected distance at a selected frequency for a first selected time interval;c) in a second step, disengaging the tape from the work piece, advancing the tape, re-engaging the tape and repeating the first step;d) repeating steps (b) and (c) a selected number of times while rotating the workpiece, ande) axially indexing the tape with respect to the workpiece and repeating steps (a), (b), (c) and (d);the finishing cycle comprising:f) rotating the workpiece at a second speed higher than the first speed;g) advancing the abrasive tape to provide a fresh adhesive surface;h) engaging for a second selected time interval the work piece with the fresh adhesive surface of the abrasive tape while maintaining the axial position of the tape with respect to the work piece;i) repeating steps g) and h) while rotating the workpiece, andj) repeating steps g) and h) but for a third time interval longer than the second time interval.