OPTIMAX
Cylinders
A cylinder is an optic with a circular surface in one direction and is
flat in the orthogonal direction; one or more surfaces must be
cylindrical. Cylindrical optics are used in medical instruments,
graphic arts, laser printers, and semiconductor processing equipment.
Optician Advice
An option to keep in mind for beam shaping diode laser output is the use of a cylindrical-spherical lens. This adds some complexity to the manufacturing, but is still easier than making a high precision bi-cylindrical lens.
Short radius cylindrical surfaces are processed on arbor machines; in general, r<100mm.
Convex radii<2mm become extremely difficult to process due to poor mechanical strength and difficulty with fixturing. Concave cylinders with radii<3mm also present challenges due to space limitations.
Plano convex cylinders designed with radii between 25 and 100mm will be the least expensive and have the best figure and finish quality. Plano concave cylinders in that same range will have similar benefits, but may be more expensive.
If you're designing lenses for an OEM application that will require 100s or 1000s of lenses per year, the optimal radius range for minimizing manufacturing cost is 50-150mm. The optician will make a polishing arbor with a diameter that is two times the radius and a length that's roughly four times the radius. It is possible that one polishing arbor may yield dozens of parts with extremely closely matched radii.
Long radius cylindrical surfaces are processed on X-Y machines. In contrast to short radii, long radius cylinders are processed in relatively small numbers and the processing time is significantly longer. Long radius cylinders are the most difficult to fabricate and test. Full aperture metrology options for long radius cylinders become limited at radii>350mm. Element costs for long radius cylinders are typically more than a short radius cylinder of the same length.
Manufacturing Technology
Optimax utilizes deterministic CNC machine tools for predictable removal rates and adherence to tight tolerances. To control wedge, precision tools that maintain the optic axis are used. Optimax grinds and polishes most optical materials such as glass, fused silica, and crystals for UV and IR applications.- Cylinders are available in the following shapes: bi-convex, bi-concave, plano-convex, plano-concave, and meniscus.
- Cemented assemblies, such as doublets and triplets, are available.
- Most common optical materials for UV, Vis and IR: Fused Silica, N-BK7 or S-BSL7, N-SF6 or S-TIH6, CaF2, ALON, and Spinel
Testing Cylinders
Optimax uses several interferometric techniques to verify the plano axis and power axis of the optic. These techniques include plano reference flats, spherical transmission lenses, and diffractive optical elements. Mechanical attributes such as wedge are verified with micrometers or interferometric methods. Appropriate lens tolerances are provided by Optimax in the Manufacturing Tolerance Chart to ensure proper lens function.Coating Capabilities
Our coating chambers include four electron-beam coaters supported by a Perkin-Elmer lambda 900 Spectrophotometer. Optimax offers BBAR, V-coat, and mirror coatings; custom coatings are also available. For more details please see our coatings data sheet.Quality Assurance
Optimax inspects 100% of all optics. Test data is provided with prototype orders. The use of state-of-the-art metrology guarantees customer satisfaction.Fast Delivery
Optimax specializes in manufacturing a wide variety of optical components. In all cases, on-time delivery is crucial. A money back guarantee is offered for all expedited deliveries.Optician Advice
Short Radius vs. Long Radius Cylindrical Surfaces
To minimize cost, the designer should attempt to incorporate one plano surface on each cylindrical lens. Plano surfaces are much less expensive to fabricate and allow for greater flexibility in the manufacturing and testing methods of the cylindrical surface. Bi-cylinders, in contrast, take longer to fabricate and require more expensive tooling than lenses with only one cylindrical surface.An option to keep in mind for beam shaping diode laser output is the use of a cylindrical-spherical lens. This adds some complexity to the manufacturing, but is still easier than making a high precision bi-cylindrical lens.
Short radius cylindrical surfaces are processed on arbor machines; in general, r<100mm.
Convex radii<2mm become extremely difficult to process due to poor mechanical strength and difficulty with fixturing. Concave cylinders with radii<3mm also present challenges due to space limitations.
Plano convex cylinders designed with radii between 25 and 100mm will be the least expensive and have the best figure and finish quality. Plano concave cylinders in that same range will have similar benefits, but may be more expensive.
If you're designing lenses for an OEM application that will require 100s or 1000s of lenses per year, the optimal radius range for minimizing manufacturing cost is 50-150mm. The optician will make a polishing arbor with a diameter that is two times the radius and a length that's roughly four times the radius. It is possible that one polishing arbor may yield dozens of parts with extremely closely matched radii.
Long radius cylindrical surfaces are processed on X-Y machines. In contrast to short radii, long radius cylinders are processed in relatively small numbers and the processing time is significantly longer. Long radius cylinders are the most difficult to fabricate and test. Full aperture metrology options for long radius cylinders become limited at radii>350mm. Element costs for long radius cylinders are typically more than a short radius cylinder of the same length.