At Lapping Services, investment decisions are simple, if it doesn’t make our customers’ lives easier, faster, or more predictable, it doesn’t get signed off.

The benefits of the Speedfam 9B:-

This machine gives us the ability to process smaller, high-precision components with exceptional control over:

• Flatness
• Parallelism
• Surface finish
• Batch-to-batch consistency

Where this really helps our customers 👇

• Tighter tolerances without heroics – repeatable processes, not crossed fingers.
• Improved yield – less scrap caused by distortion, uneven removal, or inconsistent machining upstream.
• Flexible batch sizes – ideal for development work, trials, and lower-volume production without punitive costs.
• Process stability – predictable outcomes mean fewer surprises later in assembly or service.

In short, it allows us to be reactive to the parts you supply, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all process. That means we can work with your machining reality, not against it.

The Speedfam 9B isn’t about shiny kit for the sake of it, it’s about protecting your tolerances, your timelines, and your margins.

If you’ve got a component that’s nearly there after machining but needs that final push into spec, this is exactly where the 9B earns its keep.

(And yes, it’s very satisfying to watch when it’s dialled in 😄)

 

A lot of high-performance components today are non-magnetic by necessity, not choice, for example titanium, austenitic stainless, aluminium alloys, specialist bronzes, ceramics. These materials are great in service, but awkward on the shop floor.

When you can’t rely on magnetic work holding, you’re forced into one of two worlds:

• over-constrained fixtures that introduce stress
• or controlled free-state processing that lets the part tell the truth

For tight parallelism, free-state processing is usually the only honest option.

Why free-state matters 👇

• No clamping stress means no elastic recovery after processing
• Material removal is truly symmetrical, not influenced by holding forces
• Thin or compliant parts stay flat instead of being bullied into shape
• What you measure is what the customer gets, not what it relaxes into later

The Speedfam 9B allows us to lap components unsupported and unconstrained, relying on controlled pressure, carrier geometry, and platen flatness rather than brute force, this critical when you’re chasing parallelism measured in microns, not optimism.

For non-magnetic parts, this means:

• Parallelism achieved by process control, not fixturing tricks
• Consistency across batches, even when upstream machining varies slightly
• Reduced risk of parts “moving” once they leave the machine

If a component must perform in a free state, it should be finished in a free state.

For more news see our Blog: – Blog – Lapping Services