Advanced Process Development (APD)
Are you an optical manufacturer on the cutting edge of a new advancement? Need a team of scientists, engineers, technicians and mathematicians at your disposal? Look no further. With unparalleled research in precision grinding, deterministic sub-aperture polishing, and metrology solutions for developmental ceramics and crystals as well as industry standard optical glasses and I.R. materials, OptiPro can develop the right solution for you. We have a dedicated metrology lab and 18 customized CNC machines in-house that can develop processes for your aspheric and freeform optics. Just ask any member of the OptiPro community of trailblazers. We’re committed to helping bring your innovation to life.
APD Capabilities
OptiPro Systems, in conjunction with the U.S. Army and Navy, Penn State Electro-Optics Center and the University of Rochester have been developing manufacturing solutions for advanced precision optical applications. Through Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants, this area of the company has grown into the Advanced Process Development (APD) lab.
The APD lab has made a focused effort to develop advanced CNC machines for fabricating aspheric and freeform optics. In addition to developing these state-of-the-art manufacturing platforms, the APD lab has performed a great deal of research in refining grinding, polishing, and metrology solutions for developmental ceramics and crystals as well as industry standard optical glasses and I.R. materials. These challenges have driven OptiPro to add many resources to their department. The lab now has 18 CNC machine platforms for precision grinding, high-speed polishing, and deterministic sub-aperture polishing. There is also a dedicated metrology lab that includes an OptiTrace 5000 surface profilometer, two UltraSurf non-contact metrology systems, two Zygo interferometers, a Zygo New View, and a ZEISS CMM. These resources are allocated for our team of engineers and technicians to help provide solutions for difficult applications. This team comprises personnel from the optics industry and academia, including mechanical engineers, process engineers, scientists, and mathematicians with over 50 years of combined experience.
The APD’s role has now expanded to help our current and future customers develop robust processes using OptiPro’s CNC optical manufacturing platforms to meet their production needs. Many customers have already taken advantage of this special service to refine their existing processes for speed and efficiency. Other companies have contracted OptiPro to deliver “turnkey solutions” in order to safeguard resources that were dedicated to production.
Contact APD if you would like to learn more about how our team can turn your concepts into optimized production solutions.
