It was an action-packed week at SPIE Optifab with over 2,471 attendees and 172 exhibitors! OptiPro’s booth featured six machine demonstrations, including the new AccuSurf™ asphere metrology solution, Nakamura Tome LC-50 automated centering machine, and Revel™ robotic beveling machine. In addition, OptiPro presented two technical talks on the latest technological advancements to help companies make their manufacturing process more efficient.
The latest technology for manufacturing and measuring optical components.
The AccuSurf™ asphere metrology solution was displayed front-and-center in OptiPro’s booth. Featuring the same technology as modern diamond turning machines, AccuSurf™ is ideal for performing high precision 3D Form measurements of aspheric surfaces.
OptiPro also demoed the automated centering capabilities of the Nakamura-Tome LC-50. OptiPro welcomed representatives from Nakamura-Tome to their booth staff, who assisted with answering questions from attendees regarding the LC-50 as well as the NMPG-450 Edge Grinding Machine. The NMPG-450 is ideal for grinding the edge of wafers for a variety of applications, including cell phone displays, optical filters, in-vehicle displays, and much more.
The Revel™ robotic beveling machine was back in our booth after making its first Optifab appearance in 2023. This latest version was equipped with a vision system that could recognize and pick up parts that were randomly scattered in a tray. After apply bevels to round optical blanks, the vision system measured the precision of the bevel.
A machine demo of core drilling 1mm thick, AR coated glass wafers ran on the OptiSonic 530 ultrasonic machining center. A special thanks to AccuCoat for providing the AR coatings!
Finally, two PRO Series machines in our booth allowed visitors to see efficient polishing of spherical and aspheric optics. Attendees interested in polishing aspheres were able to see the PRO 80 UFF in action. In addition, high speed polishing of large spherical optics on the PRO 160P+ showed the capability of this machine to accommodate part sizes up to 160mm and beyond.
Elastic Emission Machining, Automation, OptiSonic the focus of three technical presentations
Michael Rinkus discusses EEM at OptiPro’s booth.
During the Optifab Conference, OptiPro shared their latest advancements in Elastic Emission Machining (EEM), automation, and solutions for limiting sub-surface damage:
- Michael Rinkus, Senior Research Engineer, gave a technical presentation on: “Elastic emission machining of ultra-precision surfaces”. Michael went into detail about the developments OptiPro has made with EEM, a deterministic chemical removal process that has been shown to be one of the most effective methodologies for yielding ultra-smooth and ultra-precise optical surfaces. Michael was also available at our booth throughout the 3 day exhibition to discuss the benefits of EEM.
- Mitch Sedore, Head Automation Engineer, presented on the topic “Automation in optical manufacturing: handling, processing, and inspection”. Mitch discussed OptiPro’s off-the-shelf and custom automation solutions for optics fabrication, focusing on advancements in part handling and in-process measurement.
- Tayyab Suratwala, Program Director, Optics & Materials Science & Technology (OMST) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was scheduled to present on the topic of “Sub-surface mechanical damage of fused silica glass during grinding by various sub-aperture tools with and without ultrasonics”. However, due to the government shutdown, he was not able to attend Optifab. Two of the key findings of his experiment he planned to share include:
– How OptiSonic machining can decrease sub-surface damage by ~20%
– How UltraForm Finishing (UFF) is ~10x faster than other sub-aperture polishing techniques
Clambake-Kickoff Happy Hour at OptiPro’s Booth!
OptiPro was excited to host happy hour at our booth on Tuesday of the show from 3:30-4:30PM, just before the annual Optics Clambake hosted by Sydor Optics and benefitting the MCC Optical Systems Technology Program. The happy hour was very well attended, thanks to everyone who stopped by!
If you missed Optifab this year or want to relive your OptiPro booth experience, check out photos from the event below:
We want to thank everyone who stopped by OptiPro’s booth at SPIE Optifab!
If you are in the market for a solution that can take your optics or ceramics manufacturing to the next level, we encourage you to reach out to us. Whether you are looking enhance production of planos, spheres, aspheres, or freeform optics, OptiPro has the perfect machine for your application.
