Monitoring of the material removal rate in flat lapping

Lapping processes have not been the subjects of extensive research in spite of the dependence on lapping to achieve accurate thickness and surface quantity in a number of industries. This paper is based on an investigation of the flat lap production process for the tape head closure used in computer mass storage. Laboratory experiments of the flat lapping process show that two main factors cause the variations in the flat lapping process: inconsistency in the production procedure and the variation of the material removal rate (MRR). The variation of MRR is an inherent characteristic of lapping. The changing MRR makes it difficult for operators to estimate the correct lapping time. The results of this work have shown that a linear force sensor may be applied to the flat lapping process and used to effectively monitor the material removal rate with an acceptable error.