Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Richard M Olson

Jon R Pieper

Michael V Mucci

Gary L Holmes

Robert V Heiti

Scott R Culler

Gregory A Berg

A process for polishing a workpiece. The process comprises the steps of:

Method of providing a smooth surface on a substrate

An abrasive article is presented which includes a backing having a front and back surface, and an abrasive coating bonded to the front surface of the backing. The abrasive coating comprises a homogeneous mixture of a plurality of abrasive particles, a binder and a grinding aid. The binder serves to bond the abrasive coating to the backing and the grinding aid comprises at least 1% by weight of the abrasive coating, but not more than 50% by weight. It is preferred that the abrasive coating consists essentially of a plurality of precisely shaped abrasive composites. Methods of making and using the abrasive articles are also presented.

Abrasive articles and methods of making and using same

A coated abrasive article comprising a backing bearing on at least one major surface thereof abrasive composites comprising a plurality of abrasive grains dispersed in a binder. The binder serves as a medium for dispersing abrasive grains, and it may also bond the abrasive composites to the backing. The abrasive composites have a predetermined shape, e.g., pyramidal. The dimensions of a given shape can be made substantially uniform. Furthermore, the composites are disposed in a predetermined array. The predetermined array can exhibit some degree of repetitiveness. The repeating pattern of a predetermined array can be in linear form or in the form of a matrix. The coated abrasive article can be prepared by a method comprising the steps of: (1) introducing a slurry containing a mixture of a binder and a plurality of abrasive grains onto a production tool; (2) introducing a backing to the outer surface of the production tool such that the slurry wets one major surface of the backing to form an intermediate article; (3) at least partially curing or gelling the binder before the intermediate article departs from the outer surface of the production tool to form a coated abrasive article; and (4) removing said coated abrasive article from the production tool.

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Stillwater, MN, United States of America

Richard M Olson