Abstract—Lapping is a process, generally performed on hard metal plate used in conjunction with abrasive suspensions such as diamond, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide or boron carbide, etc. Selection of the metal lapping plate depends upon the required material removal rate, the surface roughness required on the finished job, the type and hardness of the material being lapped and also on some extent on the skill of the worker for hand lapping. During the process, the material removal takes place from both, the workpiece and the lapping plate, which makes the lapping plate out of flatness and even the surface finish of the lapping plate is getting affected. So it is necessary to adopt a quick and simple method to measure plate flatness for measuring and monitoring the same. In this paper, different flatness error caused on the lapping plate because of the excessive wear, and the different conditioning parameters required to be observed, for maintaining plate flatness along with the different methods have been discussed.

Index Terms—Lapping, Conditioning ring, Dial gauge, Flatness

Cite: Pravin R Parate and Ravindra B Yarasu, "Conditioning Parameters for Maintaining Plate Flatness Prior to Lapping," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 12-19, January 2014.