Lapping Performances of a Stainless Steel Mesh Lap

―Optimization of the Composite Lap Between Compressed Short Metal Fibers and Epoxy Resin―

Abstract

In a rough lapping process of substrates made of SiC or sapphire, a cast-iron lap is generally used. However, the cast-iron lap has some problems, which it has low corrosion resistance and low removal rate. We developed a fiber lap as an alternative lapping tool for solving these problems. The fiber lap is a tool containing stainless-steel fibers in the epoxy resin. A stainless-steel mesh (called as a “mesh lap”) was used as a lapping tool to optimize the dimensions of the fibers. As a result, the removal rate of the mesh lap was very high compared with the cast-iron lap. Then, the lapping mechanism on which a high removal rate could be obtained was investigated. The lapping performances of the mesh lap can be changed depending on the wire diameter and the pitch interval. The difference in the lapping performances was examined by observing the moving behavior of the abrasive grains on the tool. It was found that there were two types of abrasive-grain behaviors, meandering motion and linear motion. Finally, by reflecting the results obtained using the mesh lap on the fiber lap, we improved the lapping performances of a fiber lap.