Xavier Tonnellier

Subsurface damage in precision ground ULE(R) and Zerodur(R) surfaces.

The total process cycle time for large ULE® and Zerodur® optics can be improved using a precise and rapid grinding process, with low levels of surface waviness and subsurface damage. In this paper, the amounts of defects beneath ULE® and Zerodur® surfaces ground using a selected grinding mode were compared. The grinding response was characterised by measuring: surface roughness, surface profile and subsurface damage. The observed subsurface damage can be separated into two distinct depth zones, which are: ‘process’ and ‘machine dynamics’ related.

Sub-surface damage issues for effective fabrication of large optics

A new ultra precision large optics grinding machine, BoX® has been developed at Cranfield University. BoX® is located at the UKs Ultra Precision Surfaces laboratory at the OpTIC Technium. This machine offers a rapid and economic solution for grinding large off-axis aspherical and free-form optical components. This paper presents an analysis of subsurface damage assessments of optical ground materials produced using diamond resin bonded grinding wheels. The specific materials used, Zerodur® and ULE® are currently under study for making extremely large telescope (ELT) segmented mirrors such as in the E-ELT project. The grinding experiments have been conducted on the BoX® grinding machine using wheels with grits sizes of 76 μm, 46 μm and 25 μm. Grinding process data was collected using a Kistler dynamometer platform. The highest material removal rate (187.5 mm3/s) used ensures that a 1 metre diameter optic can be ground in less than 10 hours. The surface roughness and surface profile were measured using a Form Talysurf. The subsurface damage was revealed using a sub aperture polishing process in combination with an etching technique. These results are compared with the targeted form accuracy of 1 μm p-v over a 1 metre part, surface roughness of 50-150 nm RMS and subsurface damage in the range of 2-5 μm. This process stage was validated on a 400 mm ULE® blank and a 1 metre hexagonal Zerodur® part.

Precision grinding for rapid fabrication of segments for extremely large telescopes using the Cranfield BoX

An ultra precision large optics grinding machine, BoX®, was developed and produced at Cranfield University. BoX® offers a rapid and economic solution for grinding large off-axis aspherical and free-form optical components. Grinding high accuracy surfaces with low subsurface damage reduces subsequent polishing time. This efficient grinding process provides the capacity to grind 1.5 m parts. This paper presents an analysis of Astrositall® optical ground parts: a hexagonal 84 m radius of curvature mirror of 1 m across corners and an off-axis 350 mm diameter mirror. The 1 m hexagonal part is representative of segments under study for making extremely large telescope (ELT) segmented mirrors. The second part was machined off-axis to demonstrate free-form fabrication capability. These operations demonstrate the scalability of the rapid grinding process developed for large free-form optics. The use of an error compensation procedure improved an initial ground form accuracy to +/- 1 μm p-v over 1 metre surface. The results highlighted the effect of grinding parameters and machine dynamics on form accuracy and fabrication time.

Wheel wear and surface/subsurface qualities when precision grinding optical materials

An ultra precision large optics grinder, which will provide a rapid and economic solution for grinding large off-axis aspherical and free-form optical components, has been developed at Cranfield University. This paper presents representative grinding experiments performed on another machine - a 5 axes Edgetek - in order to verify the proposed BoX(r) grinding cycle. The optical materials assessed included; Zerodur(r), SIC and ULE(r), all three being materials are candidates for extreme large telescope (ELT) mirror segments. Investigated removal rates ranged from 2mm3/s to 200mm3/s. The higher removal rate ensures that a 1 metre size optic could be ground in less than 10 hours. These experiments point out the effect of diamond grit size on the surface quality and wheel wear. The power and forces for each material type at differing removal rates are presented, together with subsurface damage.

Effects of solid lubricants on wire and arc additive manufactured structures

This article reports a systematic study which examines the use of solid lubricants in the sequential deposition and machining of wire and arc additive manufactured parts and characterises the effects of solid lubricants on the microstructure. This article also describes the microstructure developed and the effect on microhardness by manual cleaning of deposited layers with acetone. Mild steel wire consumable electrode G3Si1 with the diameter of 0.8 mm was used. The use of graphite and molybdenum disulphide as solid lubricants in machining was also studied and a scanning electron microscope was used in detecting any form of lubricant contamination. A systematic study shows that a significant amount of solid lubricant contamination can be found in the deposited material. Furthermore, the results indicate that even cleaning of the wire and arc additive manufactured surfaces with acetone prior to the weld deposition can affect the microstructure of the deposited material.

Surface quality of a 1m Zerodur part using an effective grinding mode

A new ultra precision large optics grinding machine, BoX (R) , has been developed at Cranfield University. This machine is located at the UKs Ultra Precision Surfaces laboratory at the OpTIC Technium, North Wales. This machine offers a rapid and economic solution for grinding large off-axis aspherical and free-form optical components. This paper presents an analysis of surface and subsurface damage assessments of Zerodur(R) ground using diamond resin bonded grinding wheels. Zerodur(R) was tested as it is one of the materials currently under study for making extremely large telescope (ELT) segmented mirrors such as in the E-ELT project. The grinding experiments have been conducted on the BoX(R) grinding machine using wheels with grit sizes of 76 μm, 46 µm and 25 μm. The highest material removal rate (187.5 mm3/s) used ensures that a 1 metre diameter optic can be ground in less than 10 hours. The surface roughness and surface profile were measured using a Form Talysurf. The subsurface damage was revealed using a sub aperture polishing process in combination with an etching technique on small parts. These results are compared with the targeted form accuracy of 1 μm p-v over a 1 metre part, surface roughness of 50-150 nm RMS and subsurface damage in the range of 2-5 μm. This process stage was validated on a 1 metre hexagonal Zerodur(R) part.