Patent ID: 6506102
Filing Date: 2003-01-14
Classification: B24B

Abstract:
A system for magnetorheological finishing of substrates, comprising:a) a frame; b) a carrier wheel rotatably mounted on said frame, said wheel having a hollow interior, the outer surface of said wheel defining a carrier surface for magnetorheological fluid in a work zone, said carrier wheel being an equatorial section of a sphere; c) a magnet system mounted on said frame for stiffening said magnetorheological fluid on said carrier surface, said magnet system being disposed within the projected envelope of said sphere and including an electromagnet having windings about a core; first and second yoke pieces attached to opposite ends of said core and extending substantially parallel into proximity with an inner wall of said carrier surface; and first and second pole pieces attached respectively to and between said first and second yoke pieces and extending toward each other to define a magnetic gap therebetween adjacent said inner wall for creating a magnetic field in a work zone on said carrier surface.