QED Technologies, Schneider Opticmachines team for CNC aspheric fabrication machines, distribution, and service

Pitching in to help bring aspheric optics to commercial viability, QED Technologies (Rochester, NY) and Schneider Opticmachines (Steffenberg, Germany) have teamed to produce a new line of optics manufacturing equipment for generating and polishing aspheres. According to Don Golini of QED, the turnkey system will grind, polish, and center aspheric surfaces to a finish of l/4 p-v in 30 minutes or less. Compared with traditional spherical optical systems, aspheric lenses have increased field of view, fewer elements, and reduced weight, size, and optical losses, resulting in better overall performance.

In conjunction with this technological development, the companies have also announced a cooperative distribution agreement whereby Schneider will have exclusive distribution and service rights for QED Technologies' Q22 Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) System in Europe. QED in turn will have exclusive distribution and service rights for Schneider's new aspheric generating system, the ALG200, in North America. The companies will market each other's equipment for standalone use, or combined as a complete asphere manufacturing line.

Edited by Kristin Lewotsky, Photonics Online