The research objective of this award is to develop a new method for diamond turning freeform surfaces called Live Axis Turning. This method expands the capability of diamond turning to non-rotationally symmetric surfaces by taking advantage of recent advances in air bearings, linear motors, high-resolution encoders and real-time control. The result will be a lightweight, moving axis with a dynamic range of 2 millimeter and operating frequency of 20 cycles/second. This axis can be fitted to a conventional diamond turning machine to produce high-quality freeform optical surfaces in shorter times and at lower costs. The approach is to improve the performance of current designs by reducing moving mass with innovative lightweight piston materials, increasing stiffness with new air bearing designs and reducing error motion to less than 10 nanometers with precise control.
If successful, the results of this project will hasten the implementation of freeform optical systems to the benefit of consumers, science and national security. For consumers lightweight wearable displays, improved vision correction and medical vision devices will be available, space science instrument will have reduced volume and mass and more compact unmanned aerial vehicles, heads-up displays and lightweight night vision gear will assist the military. But this project will also have an impact beyond the specific applications areas discussed. It will provide information related to the design of undamped precision systems and motion planning for non-rotationally surfaces.
