US Patent 7458878 Grinding apparatus and method

The present embodiments provide methods, systems and apparatuses for use in grinding work pieces, such as wafers. Some embodiments provide methods that position a grind spindle to contact a first grinding spindle to a face of a work piece, remove a portion of the face, and control the removing of the portion of the face according to a control algorithm. This control algorithm can comprise determining a force applied to the work piece during the removing of the portion of the face, adjusting a feed rate of the first grind spindle when the force applied to the work piece has a predefined relationship with a first threshold level; and dressing a portion of the first grinding portion when the force applied to the work piece has a predefined relationship with a second threshold level that is greater than the first threshold.