Optical Manufacturing

Diamond Turning

Overview

The Edmund Optics^® diamond turning facility is staffed with experts with 10+ years of experience in diamond turning a variety of materials utilizing various techniques including, but not limited to, standard turning, fly cutting, and post polishing nickel.

Single point diamond turning is a manufacturing technique for producing precision optical components including off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors, off-axis elliptical (OAE) mirrors, spherical and aspheric lenses, and flatwork. Edmund Optics^® offers build-to-print or custom capabilities to meet your specific application needs and diamond turns components out of metals, crystalline materials, and plastics. Whether standard or custom, our expert optical design and diamond turning staff can develop customized solutions incorporating custom sizes and shapes, a variety of metal mirror coatings, or other modifications.
Contact us today to speak with an expert or receive an expedited quote.

Diamond Turning Capabilities
	Commercial	Precision	High Precision
Reflected Wavefront Error (P - V @ 632nm)	λ	λ/2	λ/8
Surface Quality	80-50	60-40	40-20
Surface Roughness (RMS) Metals*
	150Å	100Å	<30Å

*Exact values are dependent on the specific materal and size

Surface Roughness (RMS): Crystalline Materials and Plastics
<50Å for Diameters 1/4" – 8"

Additional Diamond Turning Specifications
Geometries		Off-Axis Parabolas, Off-Axis Ellipses, Off-Axis Toroids, Spherical Surfaces, Aspheric Surfaces, and Planar Surfaces
Angles		0 - 90°
Diameter (Off-Axis): Diameter (On-Axis):		2 - 254mm 8 – 254mm
Coatings		Uncoated, Aluminum, UV Enhanced Aluminum, Protected Gold, Bare Gold, Protected Silver, Anti-Reflection, and Custom (upon request)
Materials		Metals (Aluminum, Copper, Brass, and Nickel-Plated Surfaces), Crystalline Materials (Germanium, Silicon, Calcium Fluoride, and Zinc Selenide), and Plastic (Acrylic and Zeonex)

Build-to-Print Manufacturing

Edmund Optics has build-to-print manufacturing capabilities and can diamond turn off-axis parabolic mirrors, off-axis elliptical mirrors, and other precision metal optical components to meet your exact specifications. Our diamond turning staff are experienced at optimizing designs for manufacturability and cost reduction.

Figure 1: Build-to-Print Capabilities Available

Manufacturing Equipment

Moore Nanotech^® Multi-Axis UPL Diamond Turning Machines

Metrology

Zygo^® VeriFire™ High Resolution InterferometersInterferometers are instruments used to measure small displacements, refractive index changes, and surface irregularities. They split light from a single source into two separate beams that travel different optical paths before recombining. Interference fringes are then formed, which provides information on the difference in optical path length between the two paths. Interferometers are often used to measure the surface accuracy of optics.
Zygo^® NewView White Light InterferometersInterferometers are instruments used to measure small displacements, refractive index changes, and surface irregularities. They split light from a single source into two separate beams that travel different optical paths before recombining. Interference fringes are then formed, which provides information on the difference in optical path length between the two paths. Interferometers are often used to measure the surface accuracy of optics.
Zeiss Contura G2 CMMsCMMs, or coordinate measuring machines, are instruments used for measuring the physical dimensions of optics. They can be computer controlled or manually operated.
Talysurf PGI 1240 ProfilometersProfilometers are instruments are used to measure the surface topography of optics, which provides information on curvature, flatness, and roughness.
QED ASI Aspheric Stitching InterferometersInterferometers are instruments used to measure small displacements, refractive index changes, and surface irregularities. They split light from a single source into two separate beams that travel different optical paths before recombining. Interference fringes are then formed, which provides information on the difference in optical path length between the two paths. Interferometers are often used to measure the surface accuracy of optics.

Application Notes

Technical information and application examples including theoretical explanations, equations, graphical illustrations, and much more.

Metallic Mirror Coatings
Read

Off-Axis Parabolic Mirror Selection Guide
Read

Roughness of Off-Axis Parabolic Mirrors
Read

Understanding Optical Specifications
Read

Additional webpages that describe related products, capabilities, or concepts.

Off-Axis Parabolic First Surface Metal Mirrors
Read

How can we help meet your
budget, performance, and schedule requirements?

Diamond Turning

Overview

Build-to-Print Manufacturing

Figure 1: Build-to-Print Capabilities Available

Manufacturing Equipment

Metrology

Learning Resources

Application Notes

Related Pages