Workpiece holder for polishing operation

Claim 1

A workpiece holder for polishing, lapping and grinding operations comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted for rotation, a flat template secured to a face of the carrier and having a plurality of holes therethrough, each hole cooperating with said carrier face to define a discrete cavity, an insert removably retained in each cavity, each insert comprised of a volume compressible fixturing material having a low compression set value and a low compressive modulus that will allow it to compress under a service load to at least 10 percent but not more than 60 percent of its potential range of compressibility, the fixturing material being adapted to be releasably attached to a major face of a workpiece, the fixturing material being secured to the carrier by a thermoplastic resin, the resin being initially placed within each cavity with the cavity at a temperature sufficient to cause the resin to melt, the volume compressible fixturing material then being placed in each cavity over which is then pressed a blank with geometry the same as that desired from the finished workpiece, the fixturing material with the blank then being compressed at a reduced temperature, causing the melted resin first to flow and form a seat to compensate for irregularities and imperfections in the fixturing material, and then to cool and harden in said compensated condition.