Fixed abrasive lapping with flexible 3M Trizact diamond tile abrasive pads

Lapping is an important dimensioning and finishing technology that is used in many different industries including metal, electronic, and optical component fabrication, as well as silicon wafer production. In each of these applications lapping is used to produce substrates of a controlled thickness, shape, and surface roughness. 3M^TM Trizact^TM Diamond Tile has been successfully used to lap a variety of glass types (Schott N-BK7^®), Fused Silica (Corning^® 7980), crystals, and IR materials on double sided machines for many years. Only more recently was a flexible version of this pad readily available, which allows for use in the lapping, or smoothing, of spherical lenses.