| OPTIMAX NEWSLETTER
Q4 2009 |
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Optimax
continues to grow through education and technological advancements.
| - Optimax Lenses Reach the Moon: Space
exploration
has preoccupied our society for decades. Since Apollo 11’s
1969
landing on the moon the obsession hasn’t ceased, and it is no different
for Optimax.
|  | - R&D: "The Cost of Tolerancing": Tolerancing
a lens
for manufacturability and optimal system performance can be a
challenge. This paper presents a tolerancing analysis that reveals
Optimax precision tolerances are a good compromise between cost and
performance.
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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.
| | VP Sales |
6367
Dean Parkway
| | Optimax
Systems, Inc. |
Ontario,
NY 14519-8939
|
An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Optimax
Adopting Zygo's NEW PVr Software
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Optimax
is among the many that have known the frustration of one set of
inspection data differing from another set that was taken from the same
lens. Our friends at Zygo have identified a root cause for much of the
discrepancy and developed a solution. Optimax’ goal is to satisfy our
customers requirements by providing
accurate data and that is why we are adopting Zygo’s new PVr software.
With the PVr application for MetroPro, much of the inaccuracies and
differences in data can be avoided by resolving the disparity
associated with various instrument resolutions, spurious system
artifacts and multiple users.
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It
is fairly common
to have differing results after the inspection of the same lens. The
conventional methods for inspecting the surface of manufactured lenses
are based on how much the peak-to-valley (PV) deviates from the nominal
surface shape. With the increase in spatial resolution in
interferometers and the difference in resolution from one system
to the
next, there is a wide range of noise characteristics that |
vary
across
metrology equipment.As a
means to collect more realistic data,
metrologists and opticians may attempt to remove some of the noise that
drives inaccurate data by masking out such artifacts. By doing this,
overall data collection points are reduced and since this arbitrary
masking is difficult to reproduce, the results will be different from
instrument to instrument or user to user.
The PVr
application
for MetroPro provides “A Robust Amplitude Parameter” as a means to
ensure more accurate data. Since PVr is reasonably unaffected by noise,
especially due to small defects, it eliminates the need to filter
and/or mask and provides repeatable results. Optimax will use this
software to eliminate discrepancies between in-house and customer
incoming quality inspections. By doing this, we will be able
to
reliably provide our customers with the most accurate surface inspection data in the industry.
For
more information on PVr, you can read Zygo’s application notes posted
on the Optimax website. Also, please contact Mike Martucci x265, the
metrology specialist at Optimax, with any questions.
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Optimax
Lenses Reach the Moon
|
Space
exploration has preoccupied our society for decades. Since Apollo
11’s 1969 landing on the moon the obsession hasn’t ceased,
and it is no different for Optimax. However, with current budget
concerns researchers are quietly making advances for building a lunar
base. In 2004, Optimax had the
opportunity to manufacture lenses that are a part of the instruments
carried on the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which will laser map and
characterize the entire lunar surface). In June 2009, the
LRO was launched into space. A few days later it reached the moon and
just like that, Optimax is in space...again.
| | | |
| | The
LRO’s purpose is
to extract data from the moon’s surface that will give NASA more
insight into the moon’s environment and what it would take for a safe,
prolonged visit to outer space. The high
resolution topographical map
of the moon’s surface, provided by the imaging lenses, shows astronauts
where it is safe and
beneficial to land, as well as areas that are best
to avoid. Because
there are dark spots depicted in the Polar Regions, NASA believes there
are |
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| | water
crystals on or below the surface. The
crystals may be suitable for consumption and rocket fuel. For this
reason, the poles are favored places for landing and exploration.
Perhaps
the most
compelling benefit of a long duration stay on the moon is the immediate
access to solar power. While this unlimited resource is extremely
valuable, it also raises some serious concerns that need to be
addressed. Even astronauts who have a short stay in space take risks
associated with the dangers of radioactive exposure. What an extended
stay would mean for people, and equipment, is yet to be determined.
NASA plans to use the information provided by the LRO to discern what
measures would be necessary to provide protection on prolonged visits
to space.
We are pleased to have played a
part in the LRO; this is
just the beginning of an exciting new era of space exploration. Once
the scientists determine what is necessary for prolonged space visits,
there may be a way to support human life on the moon in the near
future. Just like with the success of the LRO, it
is a source of
pride when our customers see the height of achievement.
For
more
information on the LRO
and other NASA missions, please visit the NASA
website. To share in the excitement of the LRO’s mission, send us an
e-mail and
we’ll send you a FREE Optimax
in Space poster. This is a wonderful outreach tool to excite
children to study math and science.
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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R&D:
"The Cost of Tolerancing"
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Here's
the story: an optical engineer, an optics manufacturer, and a
metrologist walked into an "Institute of Optics" alumni mixer...yada,
yada, yada... and a powerful white paper emerged from their
"collaboration"...
Tolerancing a lens for
manufacturability and optimal system performance can be a
challenge. The many factors that must be taken into consideration are
key variables that influence cost and performance. Jessica DeGroote
Nelson, an Optimax scientist, has been working with Richard Youngworth
(Light
Capture,
Inc) and David Aikens (Savvy
Optics Corp)
on an ongoing
research project involving the tolerancing of a lens. Together they
have written the paper “The
Cost of Tolerancing”, which was presented
at SPIE Optics and Photonics in August.
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| The
purpose of this
project was to show the importance and potential balance between the
cost and performance of a lens system. The paper takes you through the
stages of tolerancing, from creating the design to determining
allowable errors, and discusses how to handle multiple requirements. It
also speaks to the importance of building adjustments into the design
of the system. As a rule, the tighter the tolerances the more cost and
potential production difficulty increase. By determining what the
allowable errors are, adjustments can be built into the system that may
reduce cost and risk. “The Cost of Tolerancing” shows you how a design
can be optimized to reduce cost and maintain system
performance. |
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The
relative cost and performance of several tolerancing methods is
summarized in the following graph. Optimax’
Manufacturing
Tolerances Chart gives a list of manufacturing tolerances
that is a good compromise.
To read
the whole
paper visit Optimax’ Technical
Info page. “The Cost of Tolerancing” is
also available for download at Tech
Briefs and Laser
Focus World. If
you have any questions or would like any further insight into this
topic, please contact us at sales@optimaxsi.com.
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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Employee
Profile: Marcia Smith
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| Marcia
Smith - Sales Team |
| After a
couple years of absence, Optimax is happy to welcome back Marcia Smith.
With more than 20 years of sales experience, she is a strong addition
to the team. Marcia will be working as the Sales
Administrator, where her responsibilities are to ensure that we are
providing our customers the most responsive service in the industry.
Marcia
originally joined the Optimax team in December of 1997. Working
together with Rick Plympton, she helped establish the processes and
structure that have since been built upon to create the sales teams we
have today. This experience and tenacity toward fulfilling
our commitments enables her to “hit the ground running” as she helps
build stronger relationships with our customers.
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Partly
due to the open culture Optimax has learned to thrive
on, Marcia
believes that the changes Optimax has made have been for the
better. As she
says, “Things change but they stay the same.” With a mix of new and
familiar faces, the adjustment period is sure to be exciting but smooth.
Marcia
has always lived in the Rochester area and lives here with her
significant other, Bill Green. She is a proud parent to two grown
children and the proud grandparent of her young grandson. In her free
time, Marcia likes scrapbooking, traveling, and reading.
Feel
free
to join us in welcoming Marcia back or introducing yourself to her for
the first time. She can be contacted at 585-265-1066 ext. 219 or
msmith@optimaxsi.com. |
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An
innovative manufacturer of precision optics.
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