Breakthrough in the machining of aspherical lenses
26-Jul-2002
Using a new production technology Schott Guinchard of Switzerland has been successful in speeding up the machining and polishing of high-precision aspherical lenses and further improving their quality. The precision of the new process is 0.1 - 0.6 µm PV with a surface roughness of <10 angstrom RMS for lenses between 10 and 200 mm in diameter.
Magneto-Rheological Finishing (MRF) solves one of the classical problems in the high-precision machining of optics: tool wear with local polishing. This means that the result of the work can be calculated by means of computer simulation before the actual polishing process is carried out.
Instead of traditional grinding tools a liquid transformed into a solid in a magnetic field is used to machine and polish such materials as glass, fused silica, calcium fluoride or sapphire.
The company's flat substrate polishing capacity has also been expanded to enable it to process components with a diameter of up to 470 mm instead of 280 mm as previously. Added capacity in the company's cleanrooms provides facilities for the packaging of optical components directly following ultrasound cleaning and inspection.
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