Processing of Polycarbonate by Ultra-Precision Machining for Optical Applications

Abstract Optical grade plastic lenses are fast replacing glass-optics in almost all industrial applications due to their light weight and low cost. Polycarbonate is one of the optical-grade plastic used for optical applications. In precision machining of polycarbonate optics, surface quality is very sensitive to machining conditions such as machining parameters, clamping during machining, coolant and work-piece temperature. To study the effects of the above factors, a numbers of experiments are performed by varying machining conditions. Relationship between input factors and their effects on surface finish and profile are observed. This study is helpful to build understanding about processing of polycarbonate for optical components