Abrasive article having precise lateral spacing between abrasive composite members
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorClyde D. Calhoun
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of forming an abrasive article comprising the steps of providing an embossed carrier web having a plurality of recesses formed in the front surface thereof; filling the recesses with an abrasive composite slurry that includes a plurality of abrasive grains dispersed in a hardenable binder precursor, hardening the binder precursor to form individual abrasive composite members, laminating a backing sheet to the front surface of the embossed carrier web. The resulting article includes a plurality of precisely spaced abrasive composite members, positioned in a predetermined pattern and orientation on a backing sheet.
Claims22
An abrasive article comprising:
- a backing sheet having adhered thereto a plurality of unconnected precisely placed abrasive composite members, each comprising abrasive grains dispersed in a binder, each of said abrasive composite members surrounded by regions free of abrasive composite members;
- and
- said abrasive composite members each positioned on the backing sheet such that there is a precise spacing between the abrasive composite members and said abrasive composite members having a substantially identical orientation relative to the backing sheet, the spacing measured at the backing between adjacent abrasive composite members being at least two times the minimum surface dimension of the adjacent abrasive composite members, and the average area spacing of said abrasive composite members being from about 100 composites/cm.sup.2 to about 10,000 composites/cm.sup.2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.