Novel orthogonal velocity polishing tool and its material removal characteristics from CVD SiC mirror surfaces.

A new and patented polishing tool called Orthogonal Velocity field Tool (OVT) was built and its material removal characteristics from Chemical Vapor Deposition Silicon Carbide (CVD SiC) mirror surfaces were investigated in this study. The velocity field of OVT is produced by rotating the bicycle type tool in the two orthogonal axes, and this concept is capable of producing a material removal foot print of pseudo Gaussian shapes. First for the OVT characterization, we derived a theoretical material removal model using distributions of pressure exerted onto the workpiece surface, relative speed between the tool and workpiece surface, and dwell time inside the tool- workpiece contact area.