Patent ID: 8550876

Claim:
A constant force finishing system used to finish a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a finishing tool on which is mounted a finishing material used to apply a finish to a workpiece; a first movement device coupled to the finishing tool and arranged to apply a first movement to the finishing tool, the first movement having a range of distance D 1 ; a constant force device (CFD) in mechanical communication with the finishing tool, the CFD arranged to apply a second movement in conjunction with the first movement to the finishing tool, the second movement having a range of Δ 1 , where D 1 is much greater than Δ 1 ; and a chuck on which is mounted the workpiece during the finishing process, wherein the chuck moves the workpiece relative to the finishing tool, wherein during the finishing process when a surface variation of surface S of the workpiece is encountered by the finishing tool, the first movement device moves the finishing tool within the range D 1 relative to the workpiece when the surface variation is determined to have a size on the order of D 1 , and the CFD moves the finishing tool at most the distance Δ 1 when the surface variation is determined to have a size on the order of Δ 1 resulting in the finishing tool applying a constant force to a surface S of the workpiece throughout the finishing process.