Computer Controlled Generation of Rotationally Symmetric Aspheric Surfaces

Abstract

From the optician's viewpoint, aspheric optical surfaces are usually the most difficult surfaces to produce accurately. For this reason, the cost of aspheric elements is high and production forecasting is often not valid. In this paper, a simple numerical method is presented which accurately predicts material removal rates for a given set of optical polishing machine and surfacing tool parameters. The material removal curves are then applied to specific surface aspherization problems. Examples are shown which demonstrate the validity of the method.