Re: [ATM] Report from a professional optical shop near Baltimore

["Bob May" <bobmay@nethere.com>]

Guy, it sounds like you had the Cook's tour of the shop.  I had
one at a shop in northern central Mass. in 2001 and it was a nice
show.
Those big grinders to make curves on glass are indeed impressive
for their mass.  They don't move when the diamond cuts into the
glass!
You also got to see how flat surfaces are done properly.  The big
flat disks holding the pitch do an excellent job of polishing
glass and keeping it flat.  The blocks of glass turn just the
same way that the tool turns on a grinding turntable like the
Mirror-o-Matic does.  Just the differential speed between the
inside and outside of the glass does the job.
The testing of optics is mostly done by Zygo interfrometers and
the Foucault testing is mostly on spherical surfaces I'd suspect
while the wire test is done for aspheres.
I had a nice time touring that shop and it sounds like you had a
very nice time also.  It is a bit different than the amateur way
of doing things but then again, the pros will spend the money on
stuff as they will tend to be using it again and again.
Bob May
bobmay at nethere.com
http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay
http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net
Replace the obvious words with the proper character.

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