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OPTIMAX NEWSLETTER
Q3 2009 |
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Optimax
continues to grow through education and technological advancements.
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- Optimax on the Road: Optimax
presents at technical conferences and industrial tradeshows to
share information
regarding new manufacturing capabilities and get direct
customer
feedback.
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- Optimax Awarded Phase II of the SBIR
Grant: Optimax
has just been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research
(SBIR) Grant on the topic of manufacturing an Aerodynamic Infrared Dome
using our VIBE technology.
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Optimax
has planned updates and enhancements for the web site this year. For
the latest on Optimax, please visit the Optimax Web Site
regularly.
Cheers,
| Rick
Plympton |
Optimax
Systems, Inc.
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| VP Sales |
6367
Dean Parkway
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| Optimax
Systems, Inc. |
Ontario,
NY 14519-8939
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Optimax Gives Back to the Educational Community
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In
previous newsletters, Optimax has introduced you to various outreach
activities that we are involved in as a founding member of FAME
(Finger Lakes Advanced Manufacturers’ Enterprise). In addition to these
efforts, Optimax supports the local educational community by means of
numerous programs. Our involvement includes tours, participating as
panelist members and board members, sponsoring school activities and
being called upon to represent the business community and company by
guest appearances for numerous presentations.
21st Century
technicians require an advanced skill set and knowledge due to a
greater understanding of science and technology needed on the job. At
Optimax, we believe that building a successful workforce begins with us
reaching
out. Recruiting the workforce of the future is a high
priority, and one way to inspire the passion in them is to invite them
to a hands-on experience at our facility.
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Year-to-date,
Optimax has hosted six tour groups. Local
high schools and colleges have
brought in groups of technology-oriented
students to introduce them to the advanced manufacturing
environment. The Urban League of Rchester has
also brought groups to Optimax. These tours
were geared toward students involved in
a technology program consisting
of hands-on
after school technical instruction in fileds |
related to Engineering Design, Architectural
Design, Information Technology and Manufacturing
Concepts. The RIT tour was composed of students currently taking a
manufacturing systems class. The University of Rochester group
consisted of optics students participating in a senior optics class
co-taught by Rick Plympton. As the students arrive, they are wowed by a
video of Rick Plympton’s LASIK eye surgery that helps create interest
and discussion of applications for optical components. [Note: LASIK Video above is 150MB in size and requires Quicktime to view]
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Multiple career
fairs and similar events have kept the Human Resources Team busy during
the spring season. They have presented about careers in manufacturing
to individuals ranging from middle school students to adult
professionals. Members of the Human Resources Department have served as
panelist members on the Wayne High School Senior Project Board and as a
keynote speaker on behalf of FAME and advanced manufacturing. The team
has also worked with the Wayne Central High School’s School-to-Work
Shadow Program to bring in a student twice a week through March and
April. This young gentleman was required to complete 40 hours of
shadowing and chose to complete half of this requirement with Optimax.
The
opportunity to reach out to students and working professionals is
important to us and Optimax likes to leave a parting gift of
appreciation. A favorite giveaway is the Optimax
in Space poster, which
is a neat reminder of the many applications that need optics. Serving
the community in ways beyond education is important to the Optimax
workforce as well. A volunteer EMT and firefighter are proudly in our
ranks and numerous employees have participated in volunteer work as
well. These
activities include running in races to support charity and serving as
helpers to distribute gifts to underprivileged families. It is
rewarding to see Optimax employees own their belief in outreach and
Optimax looks forward to more opportunities to do so during 2009.
If
you would like to receive a FREE Optimax in Space poster, please e-mail
sales@optimaxsi.com
with a subject line of: FREE Optimax in Space
Poster – July 2009. |
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Optimax on the Road
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Optimax
presents at technical conferences and industrial tradeshows to share
information regarding new manufacturing capabilities and get direct
customer feedback. The addition of highly knowledgeable and highly
skilled members to our workforce strengthens our ability to develop
solutions for tomorrow’s demanding optical requirements. Through the
on-going collaboration of our R&D team, Optimax will have the
opportunity to present technical papers on various subjects related to
optical component fabrication and fine finishing of optical surfaces.
For example:
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Last
month,
Joe Spilman, Sales Engineer, attended Optics and Photonics for Advanced
Energy Technology topical meeting on June 24-25, 2009. This was held at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where Joe presented: |
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- "Increasing Fused Silica
Transmission for Solar Applications with
Improved Optics Manufacturing Techniques"
- J. Spilman, A.
Gould, T. Nitzsche, J. Watson, A. Haefner, R. Wiederhold and J.D. Nelson |
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| Coming
up at SPIE
Optics and Photonics in August, 2009, Optimax will be
exhibiting as
part of the New York Cluster, booth
# 514.
Jessica DeGroote Nelson will be
present at the
technical sessions as, on behalf of Optimax, she will be presenting
the following
papers: |
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Sunday, August 2, 2009 in Conference 7433: "The cost of tolerancing"
- Rich Youngworth (Light Capture), Dave
Aikens (Savvy Optics), Jessica DeGroote Nelson (Optimax)
- Tuesday, August 4, 2009 in Conference
7426: "Varying
electro-kinetic interactions to achieve predictable
removal
rates and smooth surfaces on ZnS" -
J.D. Nelson, J. Drucker, A.
Haefner, B. Wiederhold
- Tuesday, August 4, 2009 in Conference
7426: "Increased
UV transmission by improving the manufacturing
process for
fused silica" - J.D. Nelson, T. Nitzsche, J.
Watson, A. Haefner, B. Wiederhold
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Then, in
October, 2009, Optimax will be exhibiting at Frontiers in Optics, #
T20, followed by:
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Material Science and Technology 2009: International Symposium on
Innovative Processing and Synthesis
of Ceramics, Glasses and Composites. This conference will be held
in Pittsburgh, PA, where Jessica DeGroote Nelson will be
presenting
an update for our on-going research: |
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-"Increased UV
transmission by
improving the manufacturing processes for fused silica" -
J.D. Nelson, T.
Nitzsche, J. Watson,
A. Haefner, B. Wiederhold |
In addition Optimax made 1000s of lenses
for Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (LLNL) to use in their
National
Ignition Facility (NIF). This facility houses the largest and
highest-energy laser in the USA, using the same fusion energy process
as the sun.
Optimax was invited to participate in the
dedication of NIF in late May, 2009. Joe Pinto and Bob Wiederhold were
able to attend and tour the facility. Upon their return, Pinto
remarked, “There was a sense of Americana felt while at NIF. If NIF
achieves ignition, there will be a superior source of alternate energy
never known before; it will be a great day for our country. In making ½
of all the small optics in this system, Optimax has had a part of that.
Our opticians should be proud. This is what makes great history.”
To view the AP article showing Joe Pinto in front of the target
chamber inside NIF, click here.
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Customer Satisfaction – Staying Focused in Tough Times
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When the economy is
soft, staying focused on what is most important to your business can be
chaotic at best. Internal and external concerns that vie for your
attention seem to pile up daily. In the beginning of 2009, Optimax
chose to make “Customer
Satisfaction” the primary goal for the year.
One way Optimax has determined to not lose focus on customer
satisfaction is through the implementation of Lean principles to the
quoting process. The reevaluation of processes is helping us to
determine which ones are strong and which ones are weak. Those that do
not create value are being changed and eliminated; those that do create
value are being reinforced.
It has always been Optimax’s goal to
respond to RFQ’s within a day. In the early years, a system was created
that allowed this goal to be met consistently. As we have grown, our
process has become more complex. Necessary checks and balances consume
more time. Optimax has claimed the value proposition of being the most
responsive optics manufacturer in the industry. To live up to this, we
are going to focus on having a quick turnaround of our quotes. This is
why we are working to streamline and interrogate the techniques in our
current quoting process.
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| Utilizing
techniques recently gained
from Kepner-Tregoe trainings, a brainstorming session will clearly
identify areas of concern in this process between a joint Sales and
Manufacturing team. Using basic Lean principles such as PDCA (Plan, Do,
Check, Adjust) and Value-Stream Mapping, we anticipate solid and
objective ideas for various Kaizen, or improvement, projects that will
allow for improvement of the quote process. |
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The
desire of this
project is to further improve on the positive feedback from our
customers that was received on the “Customer Satisfaction Survey”
conducted earlier in the year. For this survey, a team of Optimax
employees called many customers to determine how Optimax is holding up
against their expectations. We were pleased with the positive feedback
received. Briefly, this is what we discovered:
With
this feedback, Optimax has better understanding of the things we are
doing right and where there is room for improvement. An interesting
statistic gleaned from these results revealed that many customers are
unaware or uncomfortable with Optimax’s ability to support production
projects. In response to this, we are preparing better literature and
informational tools to create awareness of our capability to
manufacture high quantities.
As Optimax continues to problem
solve and advance in capabilities and services, hearing from our
customers helps us to continuously check our improvement and make
further adjustments. Please write to sales@optimaxsi.com
and offer your
suggestions that will help this process. |
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Optimax Awarded Phase II of the SBIR Grant
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| Optimax
has just been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research
(SBIR) Grant on the topic of manufacturing an Aerodynamic Infrared Dome
using our VIBE
technology. The SBIR program is a competitive program
that ensures that the
nation’s small, high-tech, innovative businesses
are a significant part of the
federal government’s research and
development efforts. Eleven federal departments participate
in the
SBIR program. Optimax’s SBIR grant was funded through the
Navy. |
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SBIR
Grants consist of three phases. Phase I provides funding that
allows
the company to test the scientific and technical feasibility of a
concept and takes about six months to complete. Phase II is
the
expansion of Phase I which gives funding to the company to develop
their concept and see it through to the prototype stage, usually taking
two years. Phase III requires private sector dollars to see
the
prototype turned into a product for sale in the marketplace.
VIBE
is a conformal, high-speed polishing process that utilizes many of the
concepts of conventional lapping (grinding) and polishing and combines
them with a high-speed motion to maximize removal rates. In
Phase I,
Optimax researched the feasibility to use VIBE to efficiently polish
difficult to manufacture shapes and hard polycrystalline
materials.
The research and development department’s Phase I results were met with
success. Optimax soon became eligible to apply for Phase II
of the
SBIR Grant and was awarded the funding in June 2009. The goal
of the
SBIR Phase II is to use VIBE to create a polished transparent
aerodynamic infrared tangent ogive dome out of polycrystalline
alumina. |
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Employee Profile: Alan Gould
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| Alan
Gould - Applications Engineer |
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Alan
joined the Optimax team in 2001 when Optimax purchased Gould Precision
Optics, Inc (GPO). His first role at Optimax was to assist in
the
transition of the Plano and Cylindrical optics manufacturing operations
from the former GPO facility in Binghamton, NY to the newly expanded
Optimax facility in Ontario, NY. When that project was
complete,
Alan developed and led a department that specialized in precision CNC
shaping of non-spherical shapes. In addition to this
department,
Alan also managed the in-house machine shop and the areas that
fabricate cylindrical optics and precision blanks. Currently,
Alan is working as an Applications Engineer supporting Sales and
Manufacturing.
Alan
began his career in optics as a child helping his grandpa, wrapping and
packing
parts for Gould Precision Optics when it was located in the basement of
his home in Hillcrest, NY. In the
following years, he added
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fabrication
skills
and worked for GPO during summer vacations and
breaks from school. Alan attended SUNY Morrisville and
RIT. In 1995
Alan graduated from RIT with a BS in Mechanical
Engineering. After
graduation, he joined the group at GPO full time, eventually serving as
VP of Manufacturing. Prior to joining the group at Optimax,
he
assisted in all sales, manufacturing and business management related
activities for GPO.
In his spare time, Alan enjoys outdoor
activities and anything that goes fast. He is currently
building a
reproduction of a 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. |
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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