A process of providing abrading workpieces using an abrading machine floating workpiece substrate carrier apparatus comprising:
- a.) providing a workpiece substrate carrier frame moveable in a vertical direction that supports an attached rotatable workpiece carrier spindle having a hollow rotatable carrier drive shaft that has a vertical rotatable carrier drive shaft axis of rotation;
- b) providing a rotatable drive housing having a rotatable drive housing rotation axis and attaching the rotatable drive housing to the rotatable carrier drive shaft wherein the rotatable drive housing rotation axis is coincident with the rotatable carrier drive shaft axis of rotation;
- c) providing a rotatable flexible annular elastomeric tube device having an axial length, an annular top surface, an annular bottom surface and an axis of rotation that extends along the axial length wherein the elastomeric tube device annular bottom surface is moveable relative to the elastomeric tube device annular top surface;
- d) providing a floating circular rotatable workpiece carrier plate having a workpiece carrier plate top surface, an opposed nominally-horizontal workpiece carrier plate flat bottom surface, a workpiece carrier plate rotation axis that is nominally-perpendicular to the workpiece carrier plate flat bottom surface and a workpiece carrier plate outer periphery annular surface located between the workpiece carrier plate top and bottom surfaces;
- e) attaching the rotatable annular elastomeric tube device annular top surface to the rotatable drive housing and attaching the elastomeric tube device annular bottom surface to the workpiece carrier plate top surface wherein the elastomeric tube device axis of rotation is nominally-coincident with the vertical rotatable carrier drive shaft axis of rotation;
- f) providing a rotatable drive housing bracket and attaching it to the rotatable drive housing and providing a workpiece carrier plate bracket and attaching it to the workpiece carrier plate wherein the rotatable drive housing bracket and the workpiece carrier plate bracket are in vertical and horizontal sliding contact with each other at a bracket sliding joint and wherein the rotary drive housing bracket can be rotated by the rotatable drive housing to transmit torque, measured about the rotatable drive housing rotation axis, through the bracket sliding joint to the workpiece carrier plate bracket to provide rotation of the workpiece carrier plate about the workpiece carrier plate rotation axis, and wherein the workpiece carrier plate is movable vertically in a direction along the workpiece carrier plate rotation axis, and wherein the workpiece carrier plate is movable horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the workpiece carrier plate rotation axis;
- g) providing at least two rotatable idlers having rotation axes wherein the rotatable idlers have outer periphery cylindrical or spherical surfaces that are rotatable about the rotatable idlers rotation axes;
- h) attaching the at least two rotatable idlers to the movable workpiece substrate carrier frame wherein the at least two rotatable idlers' rotation axes are nominally parallel to the vertical rotatable carrier drive shaft axis of rotation and wherein the at least two respective rotatable idler's outer periphery cylindrical or spherical surfaces are in contact with the floating circular workpiece carrier plate outer periphery annular surface, wherein the at least two rotatable idlers maintain the floating circular workpiece carrier plate rotation axis to be nominally concentric with the carrier drive shaft axis of rotation;
- i) providing that the floating circular workpiece carrier plate is moveable relative to the movable workpiece substrate carrier frame in a nominally-vertical direction along the floating circular workpiece carrier plate rotation axis wherein the at least two respective rotatable idler's outer periphery cylindrical surfaces are in vertical sliding contact with the floating circular workpiece carrier plate outer periphery annular surface;
- j) attaching at least one workpiece having opposed workpiece top and bottom surfaces to the workpiece carrier plate flat bottom surface;
- k) providing a rotatable abrading platen having a flat abrasive coated abrading surface that is nominally horizontal.
- l) moving the workpiece substrate carrier frame and the attached workpiece carrier spindle vertically to position the flat workpiece bottom surface of at least one workpiece that is attached to the workpiece carrier plate flat bottom surface close to flat-surfaced abrading contact with the rotatable abrading platen abrading surface after which the movable workpiece substrate carrier frame and the workpiece carrier spindle are held stationary at that position and wherein the workpiece carrier plate is moved in a vertical direction relative to the stationary workpiece substrate carrier frame by adjusting the pressure in the sealed enclosed elastomeric tube device pressure chamber wherein the at least one workpiece bottom surface is positioned in flat-surfaced abrading contact with the rotatable abrading platen abrading surface.