Process for manufacturing optical surfaces and shaping machine for carrying out this process

Apparatus for producing an ophthalmic lens or a mold for producing such a lens, and having, in both cases, an optical surface, said apparatus comprising a spindle which carries a workpiece support for holding a blank from which the lens or mold is to be produced, the spindle having a longitudinal axis and being mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a drive for rotating the spindle, a turning tool which is mounted for movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle toward and away from the spindle, one of the spindle and the turning tool being movable in a direction transverse of the axis of the spindle, and a mover for causing movement of the tool toward and away from the spindle during each spindle rotation so that the distance between the tool and a blank in the workpiece support changes as required in accordance with prescribed or online-calculated data of the optical surface, characterized in that the tool mover which is operable to cause the tool to move toward and away from a blank in the;workpiece support comprises a linear drive, in that there is a cooler for the linear drive which utilizes the Peltier effect, and in that the linear drive has a housing or stator, the reaction force effected by the acceleration of the linear drive is dynamically balanced by a second linear drive which has a second housing or stator which is mechanically coupled to the housing or stator of the first linear drive, and the second linear drive is colinear with the first linear drive, and is driven in a direction opposite to that in which the first linear drive is driven.

Apparatus for producing an ophthalmic lens or a mold for producing such a lens, and having, in both cases, an optical surface, said apparatus comprising a bed, a spindle mounted on said bed which carries a workpiece support for holding a blank from which the lens or mold is to be produced, the spindle having a longitudinal axis and being mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a drive mounted on said bed for rotating the spindle, a turning tool which is mounted on said bed for movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle toward and away from the spindle, one of the spindle and the turning tool being movable in a direction transverse of the axis of the spindle, and a mover mounted on said bed for causing movement of the tool toward and away from the spindle during each spindle rotation so that the distance between the tool and a blank in the workpiece support changes as required in accordance with prescribed or online-calculated data of the optical surface, characterized in that the tool mover which is operable to cause the tool to move toward and away from a blank in the workpiece support comprises a linear drive, in that there is a cooler for the linear drive which utilizes the Peltier effect, and in that the linear drive is coupled to the bed of the apparatus so that the reaction force effected by the acceleration of the linear drive is transmitted to the bed, and characterized further in that the apparatus includes a force counterbalancer which applies to the bed a force which dynamically balances that transmitted to the bed as a consequence of the reaction force effected by acceleration of the linear drive.

Apparatus for producing an ophthalmic lens or a mold for producing such a lens, and having, in both cases, an optical surface, said apparatus comprising a spindle which carries a workpiece support for holding a blank from which the lens or mold is to be produced, the spindle having a longitudinal axis and being mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, a blank supported in the workpiece support being coaxial with the spindle and-having two opposed surfaces which are spaced from one another along the axis of the blank, a drive for rotating the spindle, a turning tool which is mounted for movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle toward and away from the spindle, one of the spindle and the turning tool being movable in a direction transverse of the axis of the spindle, and a linear drive which is operable to cause movement of the turning tool toward and away from one of the two opposed surfaces of the workpiece, characterized in that there is a cooler for the linear drive which utilizes the Peltier effect, in that the apparatus also includes a second turning tool which is mounted coaxially of the first for movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle toward and away from the second of the two opposed surfaces of the blank, and a second linear drive operable to cause movement of the second turning tool toward and away from the second of the two opposed surfaces of the workpiece, a measuring system for determining the position of the second turning tool, and in that the spindle is carried by a carriage which is movable in a direction transverse of the axis of the spindle and, when so moved, imparts such movement to the spindle, and the spindle is positioned above the carriage.