Abrasive wheels with workpiece vision feature
First Claim
1. An abrasive wheel for operational rotation about its axis to remove material from a workpiece, said abrasive wheel comprising:
- a mounting aperture;
an abrasive grain-containing matrix;
a periphery that defines a notional cylinder during the operational rotation;
at least one void extending axially through the matrix, wherein during the operational rotation, the void defines a notional window through which the workpiece may be viewed;
the wheel being substantially monolithic; and
the wheel having a flexibility in the range of about 1-5 mm in the axial direction in response to an applied axial load of 20N.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Abrasive grinding wheels having an irregular (i.e., gapped) perimeter shape and/or holes extending therethrough permit one to view the surface of a workpiece being ground in conventional surface finishing, snagging and/or weld blending operations. The grinding wheels may each include one or more gaps disposed in spaced relation about the otherwise circular perimeter of the wheel. Holes also may be provided in addition to, or in lieu of, the gaps, and similarly spaced equidistantly about the wheel. The gaps and/or holes may be configured in many diverse shapes. Gap and hole positions may be selected so as to retain the balance of the wheel. Advantageously, when the wheels are rotated about their axes, one is able to monitor the condition of the surface of the workpiece as it is being abraded, without removing the grinding wheel from the surface.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. An abrasive wheel for operational rotation about its axis to remove material from a workpiece, said abrasive wheel comprising:
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a mounting aperture;
an abrasive grain-containing matrix;
a periphery that defines a notional cylinder during the operational rotation;
at least one void extending axially through the matrix, wherein during the operational rotation, the void defines a notional window through which the workpiece may be viewed;
the wheel being substantially monolithic; and
the wheel having a flexibility in the range of about 1-5 mm in the axial direction in response to an applied axial load of 20N. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 49)
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44. A method of fabricating an abrasive wheel that is operationally rotatable about its axis to remove material from a workpiece, said method comprising:
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a. providing an abrasive grain-containing matrix;
b. forming the matrix into a wheel;
c. forming at least one void extending axially through the matrix, wherein during the operational rotation, the void defines a notional window through which the workpiece may be viewed;
d. forming the wheel as a monolith; and
e. sizing, shaping, and forming the wheel to have a flexibility in the range of about 1-5 mm in the axial direction in response to an applied axial load of 20N.
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45. An abrasive wheel for operational rotation to remove material from a workpiece, said abrasive wheel comprising:
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a mounting aperture;
an abrasive grain-containing matrix;
a periphery that defines a notional cylinder during the operational rotation;
a plurality of voids extending axially through the matrix, wherein during the operational rotation, the voids define a notional window through which the workpiece may be viewed;
the plurality of voids including at least one viewing hole, and at least one unobstructed gap extending radially inwardly from the perimeter of the notional cylinder;
wherein the wheel has a flexibility in the range of about 1-5 mm in the axial direction in response to an applied axial loan of 20N, andthe wheel being substantially monolithic. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48)
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Specification