Workpiece Grinding Method with Spacing Step
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing workpiece grinding methods for hard materials like silicon carbide, gallium nitride, and sapphire result in prolonged grinding times due to high grinding loads, which increase the duration of the spark-out process, thereby reducing throughput.
Innovation Solution
A workpiece grinding method that involves an approaching step to establish contact between the grindstones and the workpiece, followed by a spacing step to reduce the grinding load by separating the chuck table and grinding wheel while maintaining contact, and a stopping step to conduct spark-out with reduced load, thereby shortening the spark-out time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the grinding load is increased to grind hard materials such as silicon carbide, gallium nitride, or sapphire, then the grinding capability is improved, but the length of time necessary for completing the spark-out is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by alternating between a grinding step with high grinding load and a spark-out step with reduced grinding load. The moving mechanism repeatedly adjusts the spacing between the chuck table and grinding wheel, creating cycles of high-load grinding followed by low-load spark-out. This periodic variation in loading enables effective removal of kerfs and flattening of the ground surface while preventing excessive prolongation of the overall process time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamics by making the grinding load variable rather than constant. The moving mechanism dynamically adjusts the spacing between the chuck table and grinding wheel during the grinding process, transitioning from a first spacing (higher load) to a second spacing (lower load). This dynamic adjustment of the grinding system's parameters allows optimization of both grinding capability and spark-out time.
2Power
If the grinding load is increased to grind hard materials, then the material removal rate is improved, but the throughput of grinding is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic action to alternate between high-power grinding phases and lower-power spark-out phases. By cycling through multiple rounds of grinding and spark-out with adjusted spacing, the system maintains high material removal rates during grinding while using the reduced-load spark-out phases to quickly remove kerfs and flatten surfaces, thereby improving overall throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic adjustment of grinding load through the moving mechanism allows the system to operate at high power during material removal while transitioning to lower power during spark-out. This dynamic control optimizes the balance between material removal rate and overall process throughput, preventing the prolongation of total grinding time despite using high grinding loads for hard materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method reduces the time necessary for completing the spark-out process and prevents the prolongation of the overall grinding time, enhancing the throughput of the grinding process.
Implementation Method 1
a spindle which has a tip part to which an annular grinding wheel having a plurality of grindstones arranged thereon in the state of being dispersed in an annular pattern is mounted
Data Source
AI summary
Prior to a stopping step in which spark-out is conducted, a spacing step of operating a moving mechanism to space a chuck table and a grinding wheel from each other while maintaining a state in which a plurality of grindstones and a workpiece are in contact with each other is carried out. In the spacing step, a grinding load is reduced. Thus, as compared to the case where the spacing step is not conducted, the length of time necessary for completing the spark-out is shortened, and the length of time necessary for grinding the workpiece can be restrained from being prolonged.