Whether you need one piece, a few hundred, or millions, FTI can take your preliminary optical design through prototyping and testing to production. We offer single-point diamond turning and machining, CNC machining, injection and compression mold manufacturing, and tooling for specialized optical surface finishes.
Our diamond machining is ideal for the production of prototype optics and the manufacture of high-quality optical molds. We offer small-volume production of directly machined optics in a variety of diamond-machinable substrates, such as IR and visible transmitting crystals, non-ferrous metals, and polymeric materials.
Our state-of-the-art diamond-turning machines include dual-axis ultraprecision lathes and two four-axis ultraprecision freeform surface generating machines, all fitted with on-machine measuring and compensation devices. Diameters of nearly 28" (710 mm) can be turned.
The picture above shows the diamond machining of an electroless nickel mold insert. This insert was measured to have a surface finish of 2 nm Ra. The insert was measured to have a form error of 44 nm peak to valley, excluding a 100 nm feature in the center due to tool centering. This accuracy was achieved over a 50 mm workpiece diameter without on-machine error compensation.
FTI has extensive experience designing and building molds for lenses and arrays of lenses, from single cavity to high-volume multicavity molds. We have developed many specialized techniques, unique to our company, to permit the molding of high-precision, highly reproducible molded optics. We are very skilled and experienced in the production of molds for flat and curved parqueted arrays of lenses. FTI has the expertise necessary to produce molded optics with submicron features.
An example is the mold for our CM0.77GIV3 lens array, shown in the picture above.
Our facility is also home to a world-class all-CNC machine shop. Our advanced machines are capable of micron-level accuracy. The primary focus of this facility is the building of injection and compression molds for our own and our customers' products. We offer high-precision lathe turning; high-precision 3- and 5-axis milling; and form, wire, and small-hole EDM.
FTI has a comprehensive in-house metrology lab, staffed by skilled scientists and technicians. This enables the assessment of quality and verification of compliance with customer specifications throughout the production of prototypes, molds, and molded optics.
