It Pays to Invest in Innovation

QED's innovations offer pay back

The precision optics industry is changing.  Small batch sizes, shorter lead times, higher precision and more complicated shapes are becoming commonplace, and orders that used to be the bread and butter of the optics industry (large, batch produced, ¼ wave spherical optics) are harder to come by. It is more important than ever to meet customer demands, on time, every time, while spending less to do so. Our customers find that combining MRF polishing, with conventional or CNC polishing processes brings confidence and predictability to production schedules and enables more innovative, efficient processes.

The decision to adopt new innovations is not an easy one. There are upfront costs to justify and finance. There is a learning curve that comes with implementing new technologies, and introducing a new technology into a shop with established processes while also increasing the standards for quality, precision and yield, represents a real culture change to many.   

For the last century, the technologies used to polish optics have not changed all that much. They are not without their limitations however.  With pitch polishing for example, setup times can make small batches much more costly (per piece) than large batches.   Higher precision requires more experienced opticians, and cycle times are longer and less predictable.  And, full-aperture polishing simply is not a viable solution for asphere production.  All of these issues can lead to lower yields, higher switching costs, and variable cycle times, which adds cost to the bottom line.  The advent of CNC grinding and polishing machines has enabled a certain level of predictability and throughput, but as the precision level increases, or geometries move towards aspherics and other more complicated geometries, the benefits of CNC polishers begin to reach their limits.

When manufacturers adopt MRF technology, they report that they increase yield, reduce lead times, ship more product on-time, and minimize “best-effort” quoting, all to the delight of their customers.  The flexibility of MRF also gives them the ability to respond quickly to ever changing market demands.  Innovative technologies such as MRF can allow even small optics shops to grow their business by enabling them to venture into the production of more complex or high-end optics on a small scale basis, while reaping the benefits of deterministic polishing for their “normal” business applications. MRF also helps to address the shrinking labor base of skilled artisans, while being more compatible with the newer generation, computer-savvy workforce.    

If manufacturers are willing to invest in new, innovative technologies now, they will be able to meet the challenges of today (reach specs in less time, every time, reduce waste, increase yield, reduce variability and reduce overall cost) while positioning themselves to meet the challenges of tomorrow (aspheres, high precision spheres, tighter figure tolerance, different materials, more complicated geometries.)  

While traditional equipment and the skilled people who operate it will—for good reason—continue to have a prominent place in optics manufacturing shops around the world, new technologies, such as MRF, are clearly offering benefits that allow the shops to increase throughput and capacity, reduce manufacturing costs and improve their bottom line.