A II-VI diamond-turning technician is cutting spherical parts on a two-axis lathe.
Zinc selenide (ZnSe) asphere lens
A long-working-distance parabolic mirror is cut with II-VI Infrared’s slow-tool servo.
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Diamond Turning Overview
The II-VI diamond-turning facility was established in 1988, with a Pneumo MSG500 flycutter purchase. Today, we are an industry leader in diamond-turned components for commercial, military and aerospace customers. Our facility is recognized as one of the largest and most advanced in the world, and offers:
- Single- and dual-axis flycutting
- Two-axis turning
- Slow- and fast-tool servos for non-rotationally symmetric geometries
- High-purity aluminum plated (Alumiplate™) mirrors
- Prototype to production quantities
- Thermal cycling
- Dedicated cleaning
- 14,000 square-foot facility
- 24/7 operation
Diamond Turning Advantages
- Diamond turning can produce complex geometries not possible using conventional optical polishing techniques.
- Deterministic process achieves accuracy and repeatability not possible using conventional optical polishing techniques.
- Certain materials, which are difficult to polish, are easily diamond-machined.
- Optical and mechanical interfaces of bolt-together assemblies are generated and controlled throughout the diamond-turning process (i.e., scan lens housings and off-axis parabolas).
- New servo system designs enable the manufacture of non-rotationally symmetric geometries,
High-Volume Flycutting
II-VI uses single-point diamond flycutting machines with CNC controllers capable of producing high-volume plano (flat) geometries. We have the capability to produce surface finishes on OFHC copper of less than 50 Angstroms RMS, surface finishes on 6061 aluminum of less than 60 Angstroms RMS, and figure accuracies of λ/4 peak-to-valley at 0.6328µm on both materials.
Products include:
- Laser beam delivery mirrors
- Laser cavity mirrors
- Steering and head mirrors for military/aerospace
- Variable radius mirrors (VRMs)
- Faceted lenses and mirrors for laser beam integration
- Pyramidal polygons for laser scanning
- Components for space and cryogenic applications
Two-Axis Turning
Our two-axis lathes are CNC controlled with positional resolutions as low as 4.3 nm. Our largest format lathe is the Nanoform 700 which is capable of producing on-axis parts up to 700 mm in diameter and weighing up to 200 pounds. The most recent addition to our facility is a Nanoform 250 which is capable of surface finishes less than 20 Angstroms RMS and figure accuracies of λ/6 peak-to-valley at 0.6328µm.
Products include:
- Parabolic beam-focusing optics
- Spherical mirrors for laser cavities
- Aspheric focusing lenses
- Telecentric lenses for micro-via drilling
- Reflective beam expanders
- Cylindrical optics
- Custom aerospace components
- Reflective telescopes and seeker/sensor optics
- Components for space and cryogenic applications
Free-Form Turning
Non-rotationally symmetric geometries have become more common since the development of slow tool servo (STS) and fast tool servo (FTS) technologies. Both require adding a high-resolution encoder to the spindle of a standard diamond-turning lathe for precise angular position data. With STS, the entire Z-axis moves back and forth throughout each spindle revolution. STS programs are defined in three dimensions X, Z, and C (linear, linear, and rotational) and the stroke length is limited only by the travel of the slide. It is ideal for producing large toroidal and off-axis parabolic geometries. The FTS is a piezo-electric actuated diamond tool that mounts to a standard diamond-turning lathe. The stroke of the FTS is calculated in real time as a function of the X and C (linear and rotational) positions. It has a very high frequency response and 70µm of travel, which is ideal for producing faceted and stepped geometries.
Products include:
- Faceted beam integrators (reflective and transmissive)
- Optical arrays
- Long working distance parabolas
- Toroidal optics
- Free-form phase correction optics
- Cylindrical optics
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