Off-spindle-axis spiral grinding of aspheric microlens array mold inserts

A novel approach named off-spindle-axis (OSA) spiral grinding for fabricating aspheric microlens array (AMLA) mold inserts for precision glass molding (PGM) is presented. In OSA spiral grinding, three translational motions of the grinding wheel are synchronized with the rotation of the workpiece to form a local spiral wheel path for individual lens-lets. With this approach, the form accuracy of lens-lets can be compensated within sub-micrometer by means of the on-machine measurement. The determination of wheel path and form error compensation via on-machine measurement are systematically studied. A tungsten carbide mold insert with four convex aspheric lens-lets is fabricated to evaluate the grinding performance. PGM experiments are performed to produce glass AMLA using the ground insert. The experimental results indicate that both the ground and molded AMLA with homogeneous quality are achieved. The form accuracy and surface roughness of both the mold insert and the molded AMLA were less than 0.3 mu m in PV and 10 nm in Sa, respectively. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement