Abstract

It is the thesis of this paper that shear mode grinding (SMG), (ductile grinding, nanogrinding, fractureless grinding) is just a particular form of polishing. It may be unique in that it can involve a hard wheel of very precise dimensions compared to the soft laps usually used in polishing. Such a wheel would permit the fabrication of a precision surface on a brittle material such as glass at a precisely located and oriented position on a part. The technological and economic consequences of such a process seem important but the technical obstacles to implementing the technique are for the moment formidable. It is in production in Japan. This paper provides a bit of understanding of that process obtained by making an end run around the obstacles to view the process from the vantage point of lapping.

© 1990 Optical Society of America