Diamond and Diamand Lapping Film?

One use is for fiber-optic data cable splicing, the ends of the fibers are lapped after cleaving and before making up the connector. There's a special jig to do this, the film isn't much use without it.

If you do woodworking, you might try lapping your chisels and gouges with it for that extra sharp edge. Stick a sheet to some glass or other flat surface and use it like a stone.

stan

Bob, such films are routinely used to polish optical fiber connector ends. You generally squirt a bit of distilled water on a plate of glass, flop the film onto the plate where it sticks down nicely via capillary action, and then squirt a bit more water on the film. Then figure-8 the connector end, etc. I polished some solid-state laser rods using this technique once upon a time, too, etc. Your 0.5 micron sheets are toward the "final polish" end of the spectrum; tho you do see 0.3 micron for the final polish, too. Usually people have ~ 3 grades on hand to go from rough to final (optical qual), like 5 mic, 1 um, 0.3 um. The stuff is fairly cheap, in some volume. Many of the makers and vendors of these film routinely send out 1-2 sheet samples if you ask them; often enough to do the job, one-off... C. Hale

Thank you for the information

There is always someone on this list who knows the answer to anything.

Thanks, Bob Durango

Thank you for the information

There is always someone on this list who knows the answer to anything.

Thanks, Bob Durango

Are these ultrafine polishing papers any good for putting a pure mirror shine on metals? I've been wondering about this, but I figured they were so fine they wouldn't be able to microscratch the metal, but if they're diamond...?

The plain (not diamond) lapping films from 3M will do this -- based on the worn tape recorder heads which I re-lapped using them. (The kit came from Nortronics -- a thick glass backing plate, with a vinyl layer above that to offer just a little give, and the lapping films clamp above that. The whole thing was used under running water, with the head run along a piece of aluminum angle-iron and clamped in a block to support it properly (unless it is a head the size of those used on the big Ampex machines, which some of mine were.)

Enjoy, DoN.