Micropolishing assembly for micropolishing piston rings

Abstract

A flexible micropolishing machine for micropolishing a piston ring comprising an arbor for accepting at least one piston ring, a means for rotating the arbor, a flexible roller arm located adjacent the arbor, and an indexable abrasive material located between the flexible roller arm and the at least one piston ring wherein the flexible roller arm is movable toward the arbor such that flexible roller arm applies a micropolishing pressure to the indexable abrasive tape thereby micropolishing the piston ring.

1 . A flexible micropolishing system for micropolishing a piston ring comprising:
 an arbor for accepting at least one piston ring;   a means for rotating said arbor;   a flexible roller arm located adjacent said arbor; and   an indexable abrasive material located between said flexible roller arm and said at least one piston ring wherein said flexible roller arm is movable toward said arbor such that flexible roller arm applies a micropolishing pressure to said indexable abrasive tape thereby micropolishing said at least one piston ring.   
   
   
       2 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 1  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller. 
   
   
       3 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 2  wherein said flexible roller is manufactured from urethane. 
   
   
       4 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 2  wherein said flexible roller has hardness in a range from 40 to 60 durometer. 
   
   
       5 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 1  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller manufactured from a soft material capable of conforming to the shape of said at least one piston ring. 
   
   
       6 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 1  wherein said arbor accepts a plurality of piston rings and said flexible micropolishing machine is capable of micropolishing said plurality of piston rings. 
   
   
       7 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 1  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller which is rotatable at varying speeds. 
   
   
       8 . The flexible micropolishing system of  claim 7  wherein said indexable abrasive material is an abrasive tape and said indexable abrasive tape is indexable at the same speed as said flexible roller to provide abrasive material to said piston ring. 
   
   
       9 . A flexible micropolishing arm for micropolishing a piston ring comprising:
 a flexible roller arm; and   an indexable abrasive material system located between said flexible roller arm unit and said piston ring wherein said flexible roller arm unit is movable toward said piston ring such that flexible roller arm unit applies a micropolishing pressure to said indexable abrasive material system thereby micropolishing said at least one piston ring when said piston ring is rotated.   
   
   
       10 . The flexible micropolishing arm of  claim 9  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller. 
   
   
       11 . The flexible micropolishing arm of  claim 10  wherein said flexible roller is manufactured from urethane. 
   
   
       12 . The flexible micropolishing arm of  claim 10  wherein said flexible roller has a hardness in a range from 40 to 60 durometer. 
   
   
       13 . The flexible micropolishing arm of  claim 9  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller manufactured from a soft material capable of conforming to the shape of said at least one piston ring. 
   
   
       14 . The flexible micropolishing arm of  claim 9  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller which is rotatable at varying speeds. 
   
   
       15 . A flexible micropolishing machine for micropolishing a piston ring comprising:
 a rotating arbor for accepting a plurality of piston rings;   a head stock and tail stock for rotating said arbor about a central axis;   a slidable roller arm located adjacent said arbor, said roller arm including a flexible roller; and   an indexable abrasive material located between said slidable roller arm and said plurality piston rings wherein said slidable roller arm is movable toward said arbor such that slidable roller arm applies a micropolishing pressure to said indexable abrasive tape thereby micropolishing said plurality of piston rings.   
   
   
       16 . The flexible micropolishing machine of  claim 15  wherein said flexible roller has a hardness of in a range from 40 to 60 durometer. 
   
   
       17 . The flexible micropolishing machine of  claim 15  wherein said flexible roller arm includes a flexible roller manufactured from a soft material capable of conforming to the shape of said at least one piston ring. 
   
   
       18 . The flexible micropolishing machine of  claim 15  further including an oscillation mechanism for laterally moving the said indexable abrasive material during micropolishing. 
   
   
       19 . The flexible micropolishing machine of  claim 18  wherein said oscillation mechanism laterally oscillates said indexable abrasive material during micropolishing. 
   
   
       20 . The flexible micropolishing machine of  claim 19  wherein said oscillation mechanism laterally oscillates said indexable abrasive material in a range from 0.010 to 0.080 inches during micropolishing.