ELID CG-Grinding

ELID CG-Grinding of Ceramic Spherical Lens Molds.162... 

We have performed efficient, high-precision grinding of SiC and Si3N4 ceramic spherical lens molds with cup wheels by the ELID process (henceforth called ELID CG-grinding) and have investigated the ground surface characteristics in detail. 

From a geometrical point of view, the parameters of dimensional error and shape accuracy in ELID CG-grinding consist mainly of the following (1) inclination deviation of the workpiece axis from the wheel axis, (2) position deviation of the wheel-workpiece contact point from the workpiece rotation center in the a plane, and (3) position deviation of the wheel axis from the a plane. Among these, (1) and (2) affect the dimensional error of the lenses, and (3) influences the shape accuracy of the lenses. In contrast, wheel wear has no impact on the shape accuracy of the lenses that are produced. 

Based on the above-mentioned experimental results, extremely smooth surfaces were successfully achieved. These results also indicate that ELID CG-grinding can be successfully used to fabricate spherical lenses and molds with a more stable process, at higher efficiency and of better surface quality, compared to conventional grinding. 

Efficient and precise grinding of spherical lens molds with cup wheels using the ELID process was proposed and tested in the present study. Our investigations revealed that ELID CG-grinding can be used to successfully... 

ELID high-precision grinding of microspherical wheels with cup wheels (ELID-CG grinding) has the potential to achieve high spherical accuracy and finish i a 20 nm. 

ELID-CG grinding can be successfully used to fabricate microspherical lenses with a more stable process, higher efficiency, and better surface quality than conventional grinding. 

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