US3023550A

US3023550A - Buffer wheels

Info

Publication number: US3023550A
Application number: US771883A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph R Kristofik
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
Current assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
Priority date: 1958-11-04
Filing date: 1958-11-04
Publication date: 1962-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1979-03-06

Description

March 1962 J- R. KRISTOFIK 3,023,550

BUFFER WHEELS Filed Nov. 4, 1958 Fig. l

Resinous Adh e s v e u um O I Fig. 3

WITNESSES INVENTOR 2A Joseph R.Kristofik BY MTTOR zEY 3,023,550 BUFFER WIEELS Joseph R. Kristofik, Dearborn, Mich., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 4, 1958, Ser. No. 771,883 7 Claims. (Cl. 51-193) This invention relates to buffer wheels, and particularly to flexible r resilient buffer wheels embodying heat conductive material to enable the surfaces to run cooler.

Buffer wheels commonly in use are usually formed of layers of flexible non-abrasive felted or woven material, such, for example, as cotton fabric, quilted or stitched together and superficially charged at the periphery with abrasive or polishing material.

The primary disadvantage of such buffer wheels is that they have relatively short life. This is particularly true when the buffer wheels are operated at high speeds required to obtain satisfactory bufiing or polishing action. Intense heat is created during operation and since the non-abrasive material is a. poor conductor of heat, the

material will burn' or char in a short time. Furthermore,

theheatcreated tends .to .breakdown the abrasive or polishing material, adversely affecting itsbufiing qualities. In normal operation, owing to the relatively short life of such buffer wheels, it is necessary to operate .the wheel lntermittently and to stop the buffing operation frequently so that the buffer wheel can be replaced.

The object of this invention is to provide a member adapted to buff a workpiece which member comprises a 7 lay r of metal associated with a plurality of layer of fibrous sheet material, the said metal and fibrous sheets being combined in heat-conducting relationship whereby heat generated during bufiing is conducted away from the bufling surface and the workpiece.

Another object of this invention is to provide a buffer wheel composed of a plurality of layers of relatively thin sheets of metal foil and layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material, which buffer wheel has prolonged life and improved buffing action.

Other objects of this invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

For a better understanding of the nature and the objects of this invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description and drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-section of composite sheet material suitable for use in preparing the buffer wheels of this 1nvent1on;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of a disc for preparing buflfer wheels; and

FIG. 3 is a side view, wheel on a spindle.

In accordance with this invention there is produced a novel buffer wheel which has prolonged useful life and improved bufiing action. The buffer wheels of this invention comprises a highly heat conductive metal in association with conventional non-abrasive fibrous sheet material usually employed in preparing buffer wheels.

The heat conductive metal employed in this invention is preferably one that can be easily and readily fabricated into relatively flexible sheets of a thickness of from about mil to 10 mils. Furthermore, the metal, in sheet form, should be soft and not hard so that when employed in the buffer wheel of this invention its abrasive action will not be harsh and score the workpiece. Examples of suitable metals that meet these requirements are aluminum, magnesium, copper and base alloys thereof.

Aluminum metal is preferred because of its good heat conducting properties, its availability in thin flexible sheets, and its relatively soft abrading or bufiing properties.

partly in section, of a buffing 3,023,55il Patented Mar. 6, 19162 is? k The invention will be detailed hereinafter with respect to aluminum; however, it will be understood that sheets of the above listed metals and other heat conducting metals and alloys meeting the above listed requirements may also be employed.

The non-abrasive fibrous sheet material employed in association with the heat conductive metal to produce the buffer wheels of this invention is any conventional sheet material employed in preparing bufler wheels. Usually the thickness of the material will be from about 1 mil to 25 mils. The sheet material may be felted or woven from vegetable fibers such as cotton and sisal, or animal fibers such as wool, or synthetic fibers. The invention will be detailed hereinafter with specific reference to cotton fabric. It will be understood that the other mentioned materials may be employed.

Aluminum is used in sheet form preferably as foil. The thickness of the sheet will be such that the sheet has good flexibility and will have a relatively soft abrading action. Usually, foils of a thickness of the order of about mil to 10 mils will be satisfactory. In foil form the aluminum may beemployed in combination with cotton fabric by adhesively bonding it to either one or to both sides of each layer of the cottonfabric.

Other combinations of heat conductive metal and cotton fabric may also be employed. For example, a layer of aluminum may be vapor deposited on one or both sides .ofthe cotton fabric and suitable bufiferswheels prepared therefrom. a

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, aluminum foil is employed as the heat conducting metal and woven cotton fabric is employed as the non-abrasive.

, ferred, in order to provide the most uniform polishing action throughout the buffer wheel, that it be formed by alternating the layers of the aluminum foil and cotton fabric.

In the construction of the buffer wheels of this invention, the cotton fabric serves to retain and to apply to the workpiece the buffing compound which is employed during the bufiing operation, and the heat conducting metal serves to conduct away from the periphery of the bufling wheel the heat created during use and thereby substantially prolongs the useful life of the bufling wheel. It is preferred that the sheet of aluminum foil be substantially coextensive with the cotton fabric. However, the foil need not necessarily extend to the center of the buffer wheel, and can be disposed for some several inches from the periphery of the buff. Thus, the aluminum foil will be at or near the working pheriphery of the buffer wheel during buffing of the workpiece, and the heat created will thus be uniformly and rapidly conducted away from the workpiece.

A particularly suitable material for the construction of the butter wheels of this invention is that in which aluminum foil having the thickness of from about V2 mil to 5 mils is adhesively bonded to at least one face of a sheet of cotton fabric having the thickness of from about 5 mils to 25 mils. The adhesive employed may 'be any conventional adhesive, a suitable adhesive being a thermoplastic type of adhesive material such as, for ex ample, polyvinyl acetate, glue, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyethylene glycol terephthalate.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing there is shown composite flexible sheet material 10 which is highly suitable for use in preparing the bufling wheels of this invention. The composite sheet material 10 is composed of a layer of aluminum foil 12 adhesively bonded to a sheet of woven cotton fabric 14 by adhesive material 16.

The composite sheet material is cut into a disc 18 and a plurality of these discs are assembled in a manner shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing. As. shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing,-there is a spindle 20 carrying a support plate 22. Mounted on the support plate 22 and having an opening therethrough through which passes the outer end of the spindle 20 is a butter wheel 24 which may be demountably locked to the spindle by top plate 26 and nut 28. The buffer Wheel 24 consists of a plurality of discs 18 laid flatwise layer on layer to provide a butter wheel 24 of the desired thickness. Each disc has a central opening therethrough, The stack of discs are held together by stitching (not shown) around the central opening.

Other methods well known in the art may be employed to prepare the buffing Wheels of this invention. Thus, for example, the composite fabric and foil sheet 10 may be bias cut into an endless band and one longitudinal edge of the endless band folded in pleats about a metal hub or the long strip may be wrapped medially lengthwise about the metal hub to form an annular disc of desired thickness on the hub having mounting openings therein.

Anodized aluminum foil is particularly suitable in preparing the buffer wheels of this invention. Anodized aluminum foil cooperates with the adhesive to provide a more substantial bond between the foil and the fabric, and provides improvements in the huf ng properties of the butfer wheel. 7

Anodizing aluminum foil is well known in the an. Aluminum foil may be anodized for example by the process described in Patent 2,769,265 to Page. Either or both sides of the aluminum foil may be anodized and the total thickness of the anodized coating should not exceed 20% of the thickness of the aluminum foil.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to buffer wheels, it will be understood that buffing devices such as bufiing pads, bufiing sticks, bufting blocks and other shapes may be similarly prepared.

It will be understood that the above description and drawing are illustrative and not in limitation of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A laminated buffing device comprising a plurality of layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material and a plurality of layers of flexible metal foil having a thickness of from about A: mil to 10 mils, the layers of flexible metal foil being adhesively bonded to a face of each fibrous sheet, the sheets being substantially coextensive.

2. A buffer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils and a plurality of layers of aluminum foil sheeting of a thickness of from about mil to 10 mils, said sheets being substantially coextensive.

3. A buffer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils and a plurality of layers of aluminum foil sheeting of a thickness of from about 4 mil to 10 mils, the aluminum foil sheeting being adhesively bonded to a face of each fibrous sheet, the sheets being substantially coextensive.

4. A buifer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils and a plurality of layers of anodized aluminum foil sheeting of a thickness of from about A mil to 10 mils, the anodized aluminum foil sheeting being adhesively bonded to a face of each fibrous sheet, the sheets being substantially coextensive.

5. A bulfer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils and a plurality of layers of metal foil sheeting of a thickness-of from about mil to 10 mils, said sheets being substantially coextensive.

6. A buffer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils, each of said layers of fibrous sheet material containing on its surface a uniformly deposited layer of fine aluminum particles.

7. A buffer wheel comprising a plurality of approximately disc-shaped layers of non-abrasive fibrous sheet material of a thickness of from about 1 mil to 25 mils, each of said layers of fibrous sheet material containing on at least one surface thereof a uniformly deposited layer of line aluminum particles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,961 Zucker Feb. 23, 1926 1,576,223 Robbins Mar. 9, 1926 2,027,863 Hall Jan. 14, 1936 2,492,143 Gipple et al. Dec. 27, 1949

Claims

5. A BUFFER WHEEL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF APPROXMATELY DISC-SHAPED LAYERS OF NON-ABRASIVE FIBROUS SHEET MATERIAL OF A THICKNESS OF FROM ABOUT 1 MIL TO 25 MILS AND A PLURALITY OF LAYERS OF METAL FOIL SHEETING OF A THICKNESS OF FROM ABOUT 1/4 MIL TO 10 MILS, SAID SHEETS BEING SUBATANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE.