Scalability of the precision glass molding process for an efficient optics production

Gang Liu; Jan-Helge Staasmeyer; Tim Grunwald; Olaf Dambon

doi:10.1117/12.2321103

14 September 2018 Scalability of the precision glass molding process for an efficient optics production

Gang Liu, Jan-Helge Staasmeyer, Tim Grunwald, Olaf Dambon

Proceedings Volume 10742, Optical Manufacturing and Testing XII; 107420G (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2321103
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2018, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Precision glass molding is an established replicative manufacturing technology for mass production of glass optics. However, compared with injection molding of polymer optics, the production costs are still high, mainly due to longer cycle time. Two scale-up strategies of glass optic production can be applied to reduce the production costs per lens, namely multi-cavity molding and wafer scale molding. However, the efficiency of these two scaling strategies depends on a variety of factors. It is complicated to determine which scaling strategy should be used for the serial mass production of glass optics. In this study, the two scaling strategies will be introduced at both the technical and the economic level respectively. At the technical level, the molding environment, manufacturing accuracy, suitable lens geometries, and the technology readiness level of two scaling strategies will be compared. On the economic level, the productivity and production costs will be analyzed in detail. The goal is to develop a guideline for industry partners, which can be applied to determine the optimal scaling strategy. Furthermore, the concept of digitalized glass optics production, which is established by Fraunhofer IPT, may offer more potential to the scaling of glass optics compared with conventional optics production.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Gang Liu, Jan-Helge Staasmeyer, Tim Grunwald, and Olaf Dambon "Scalability of the precision glass molding process for an efficient optics production", Proc. SPIE 10742, Optical Manufacturing and Testing XII, 107420G (14 September 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2321103

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