CNC Glass Machining

CNC Machining of Complex Optical Component Geometries
Specialty Bevels, Chamfers, Counterbores, Steps, Slots, and More
Wide Range of Materials Including Optical Glass, Ceramics, Corundum, Tungsten Carbide, and Composites
Supported by Advanced Metrology

Overview

Edmund Optics^® utilizes a wide range of CNC machining equipment including ultrasonic machining and high speed cutting (HSC) technology from DMG MORI® for the machining of freeform optics and complex optical component geometries. CNC machines offer the highest amount of precision and flexibility when it comes to fabricating components beyond basic shapes. Our true 5-axis precision machine centers have the capability to machine lightweight structures and high aspect ratio components with specialty bevels, precision holes and inserts, and mounting interfaces. In addition to optical glass, we can machine a wide range of demanding materials including ceramics, corundum, tungsten carbide, and even composites. Some high-tech materials, such as Tungsten Carbide and composites, cannot be machined using conventional machining and can only be shaped using ultrasonic machining.

Capabilities

DMG MORI^® ULTRASONIC 5-Axis Precision Machine Centers greatly reduce tool wear compared to other optics manufacturing equipment, which decreases cycle times and makes tighter tolerances achievable. They are ideal for optical components with high aspect ratios and complex geometries, such as inflected aspheres and freeforms, along with parts with bevels, holes, channels, and other features. The Precision Machine Centers can manufacture tooling for glass molding and other processes more quickly than traditional diamond turning techniques, therefore reducing lead times.

DMG MORI^® ULTRASONIC Capabilities
Part Geometry	Bevels, Deep Holes, Chamfers, Counterbores, Steps, Slots, Notches, Non-Rotationally Symmetric Designs, and More
Dimensional Accuracy	Linear: 2-8µm Parallelism: 2µm Concentricity: 7µm
Surface Roughness	0.5µm
Component Diameter Maximum	175mm
Materials	Optical Glass, ZERODUR^®, Ceramics, Corundum, Tungsten Carbide, and Composites

Manufacturing Equipment

DMG MORI^® ULTRASONIC 5-Axis Precision Machine Centers
5-Axis CNC Grinding Machines
5-Axis CNC Polishing Machines
3-Axis CNC Profiling Machines
4-Axis CNC Slicing Machines
3-Axis CNC Milling Machines

Metrology

Zeiss Contura G2 CMMs
QED ASI™ Aspheric Stitching Interferometers
Zygo^® White Light Interferometers
OptiPro UltraSurf 4X 100 Non-Contact Profilometer
Talysurf PGI 1240 Profilometers
Trioptics MOT Prism Master
OGP SmartScope^® Flash™ 302

Example Applications

CNC machined precision optical components from EO are ideal for a wide variety of applications including advanced space telescopes and liquid chromatography systems.