Apparatus and process for optic polishing
OwnerFrank Fornadel, George Clementinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
There is disclosed a novel method and apparatus for automatic optic polishing. The apparatus includes a spindle arm rotatable and transversely displaceable which has removably secured thereto a cross hatched, radially cut pitch lap in contact with the optic to be polished, the pitch lap being transversely displaced across the optic while simultaneously rotating in a direction opposite to the direction in which the optic is rotated. The cross hatched radially cut pitch lap transported across the optic in the manner prescribed while submerged in a polishing compound results in an optic surface having a better than one-tenth wave deviation.
Claims9
A method of polishing spherical and flat optics to better than one/ten wave surface comprising:
- forming a pitch lap to the configuration of said optic;
- positioning a cross hatched nonabrasive screen between said pitch lap and said optic;
- compressing said pitch lap onto said optic to impart cross hatched indentations on said pitch lap;
- removing said cross hatched plastic screen;
- cutting said pitch lap radially from the center to the edge with a plurality of cuts;
- positioning said cross hatched surface of said pitch lap against said optic;
- submerging said optic and said pitch lap in a polishing compound;
- securing said pitch lap to a stroke spindle;
- displacing said pitch lap laterally across said optic by means of said stroke spindle;
- simultaneously rotating said pitch lap;
- simultaneously rotating said optic in a direction opposite to rotation of said pitch lap.
An apparatus for automatically polishing optics comprising:
- a spindle arm rotatable about its axis and transversely displaceable;
- means for rotating said spindle arm and transversely displacing said spindle arm;
- a ball socket removably secured to said upper spindle arm;
- a handle, frictionally engageable with said ball socket and frictionally engageable with a supporting means;
- a cross hatched, radially cut pitch lap interposed between said support means and said optic;
- a housing means supporting said optic, said housing means rotatable with said optic and said housing means containing a polishing compound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.