Silicon Technology Corporation

Accretech Usa, Inc.

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Sulzer Brothers Limited

Tsk America

Robert E Steere, Iii

Thomas E Leonard

Vincent Gonsalves

Colby Steere

Wesley E Charles

Thomas Lewandowski

Michael Spielzinger

George S Kachajian

An apparatus for hydrotesting a hollow component includes a generally cylindrical main body having a bore therethrough that defines first and second open ends, the bore including a central axis; first and second end plates fixed to the main body for closing the first and second open ends, the first end plate including a vent port and a pressure port that open into the bore radially distal from the central axis, the second end plate including a vent port and a pressure port; an alignment disc disposed in the bore and fixed atop the second end plate, the alignment disc including a vent port and a pressure port that open into the bore radially proximal the central axis, the vent port and the pressure port of the alignment disc being in fluid communication with the vent port and the pressure port, respectively, of the second end plate; and a movable sealing cap disposed in an opening in the first plate and movable along the central axis of the bore.

Hydro test apparatus and method for ammunition

A polishing bar is provided with a plurality of backings that are carried via blocks of impact absorbent material on a bar of greater stiffness. Each backing is shaped with two surfaces at an angle to each other. A polishing tape is disposed over the angled surfaces of each backing. The portion of the polishing tape over the forward surface of the backing is employed to polish the angled edge of the top wafer of a rotating bonded wafer pair.

Method and apparatus for polishing the edge of a bonded wafer

The wafer edge processing unit may be a stand alone unit or may be incorporated in existing grinding machines. The processing unit employs a plurality of tapes which are coated with differing grades of grit to sequentially polish the edge of a rotating wafer or to remove an edge bead from a processed wafer or the other substrate. The tapes are mounted on a backing block which is rotated to move the tapes from a line contact with the top bevel of the wafer to a line contact with the bottom bevel of the wafer. Fresh surfaces of the tapes are presented to successive wafers by rotating the spools on which the tapes are mounted. The wafer may be moved in small increments along a Y-axis and/or an X-axis relative to a tape during polishing to improve the polishing operation.

Machine for grinding-polishing of a water edge

A wafer edge grinding or polishing machine is provided with a pair of chucks for engaging a wafer therebetween, a fixed reference surface and a sensor which is movable with a movable chuck. Measurements are made by the sensor relative to the fixed reference plane when the movable chuck is in engagement with the opposite chuck without a wafer therebetween in order to obtain a standard measurement value. With a wafer between the chucks, the sensor obtains an actual measurement value relative to the fixed reference surface. A calculator determines the difference between the standard and actual measurements values and displays the difference as the thickness of the wafer. Multiple sensors may be used to obtain multiples readings which are averaged by the calculator to obtain a thickness measurement.

Method for measuring wafer thickness

The notch polishing machine employs a plurality of polishing tapes which can be sequentially introduced into the notch of a wafer to polish both sides of the notch, i.e. the top and bottom surfaces. Each tape is pulled off a supply reel and passed into a mounting block sized to fit into the wafer notch. Each block is also mounted to be oscillated to effect a polishing action. Also, all the blocks are mounted in common to be pivoted between a position angularly disposed relative to the top of the top of the wafer and a position angularly disposed relative to the bottom of the wafer.

Wafer notch polishing machine and method of polishing an orientation notch in a wafer

The blade track control system employs a pair of bearing pads and a pair of sensors. Each bearing pad is provided with a supply of compressed air of constant pressure to provide an aerodynamic bearing surface film against a rotating saw blade. Each bearing pad is mounted on a structure, a portion of which may be flexed in order to deflect the saw blade from a datum plane into a cutting plane. Each sensor detects a deviation in the saw blade from the cutting plane and emits a signal which effects a movement of the bearing pad toward or away from the blade in order to effect a corresponding deflection of the saw blade back to the cutting plane. The two bearing pads are mounted independently of the sensors and each is moved relative to the saw blade by deflecting a cross bar on which the bearing pad is mounted in cantilevered fashion.

Blade track control system

A seal assembly for a wafer grinding machine is mounted on a housing in which a grinding wheel is contained. The seal assembly is formed of a pair of flexible strips which are secured over an opening in a plate mounted on a housing enclosing the grinding wheel for sealingly engaging a respective planar surface of a wafer which is introduced through the opening by a rotatable chuck. The edges of the sealing strips define a V-shaped gap to ensure that the edges are disposed in biased relation against each other and against a wafer which passes between the strips. A tube provided with perforations is disposed to blow air to clear debris from the wafer.

Seal assembly for a wafer grinding machine

A wafer slicing and grinding machine is provided with a saw blade assembly for the slicing of wafers from an ingot. A grinding stage is also provided for sequentially grinding the rear face of a previously sliced wafer and the front face of an ingot in order to provide a double ground wafer. A transfer chuck and a holding chuck are disposed within the machine to perform movements for effecting a turning over of a wafer for grinding of the rear face of the wafer.

Wafer slicing and grinding machine and a method of slicing and grinding

The tool mounting arrangement employs a bushing within a recessed end of a shaft. The bushing has three lobes with inclined surfaces which abut against an internal conical wall of an annular mounting portion on the end of the shaft. A threaded screw passes through a washer and the grind wheel in non-rotatable relation into threaded relation in the bushing. Turning of the screw causes the bushing to be pulled in a direction out of the shaft so as to radially deform the annular mounting portion into uniform contact with the bore of the grind wheel while the grind wheel is simultaneously abutted square to the shaft axis. The annular mounting portion is provided with equi-spaced circumferentially disposed notches to permit passage of the lobes upon insertion of the bushing into the recess at the end of the shaft. One or more set screws is also provided in the shaft to prevent rotation of the bushing within the recess of the shaft.

Tool mounting arrangement

The grinding wheel is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart micrometer screws which can be adjusted from time to time in order to index the grind wheel into different grinding positions. An indexing mechanism can be mounted on the face of the disk with drive pins extending through the disk into the micrometer screws for simultaneous rotation of the screws. The indexing mechanism is lightweight and can be readily attached to the face of the grind disk.

Wafer slicing and grinding system

The spindle on which the wheelhead rotates is mounted within a spindle housing which, in turn, is mounted by a bearing at one end in a pivotally mounted housing. A pair of hydraulic cylinders engage the opposite end of the spindle housing and are actuated during a cutting stroke so as to impose a force on the spindle housing to effect a lateral displacement of the spindle housing in a plane common to the spindle axis and the pivot axis of the housing. The lateral deflection, in turn, causes a lateral deflection of the wheelhead thereby controlling the lateral deviation of the wheelhead relative to the true cutting plane during the cutting stroke. A sensor is provided between the housing and the wheelhead to sense and control deviations of the wheelhead from the true cutting plane. The arrangement may also be used for saws with wheelheads which are horizontally mounted for the cutting of vertically mounted ingots.

Mounting for an internal diameter saw blade

A grinding wheel is mounted coaxially of an internal diameter saw blade and rotates with the saw blade during operation. The grinding wheel includes a grinding disc and a center rod which is movably mounted within a central bore of the spindle of the slicing machine. Compressed fluid such as air is used to move the grinding wheel from a retracted position to an extended position against the bias of a spring secured to the center rod. The pressurized fluid is introduced into a chamber for moving an annular sleeve-like piston removably secured to the grinding disc. An adjustable stop ring is also mounted on an adaptor within the sleeve-like piston and has ears which can be deflected by screws from access openings in the grinding disc for fine running adjustments of the grinding disc. This stop ring can be accessed upon removal of the grinding disc from the center rod and sleeve-like piston in order to permit coarse initial adjustments in the positioning of the grinding disc.

Slicing and grinding system for a wafer slicing machine

The flat grind stage assembly is programmed so that the grinding wheel is first caused to move along a straight path to form a flat on a wafer while the wafer is held in a stationary position. Thereafter, the grinding wheel is returned to the mid-point of the flat and then moved away from the flat. The wafer is then rotated and grinding commences when the end of the flat is reached so that a circular periphery is ground on the remainder of the wafer while the axis of the grinding wheel remains stationary.

Flat grind stage assembly for an automatic edge grinder

The wafer centering assembly includes a pair of pivot arms which can be pivoted simultaneously to adjust to the diameter of a conveyed wafer. Each pivot arm has a stop which arrest the motion of a wafer such that the axis of the wafer is approximately centered on the axis of a vacuum head.

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Boonton, NJ, United States of America

Robert E Steere, Iii