Abstract
Large-aperture optical glass lenses exceeding 200 mm in diameter are manufactured by grinding to create the desired shape, and the surface is then finished by polishing to remove cracks and grinding traces. However, polishing causes deterioration of form accuracy because polishing depth is up to 10 μm. To reduce the time of the polishing process, it is necessary to develop a high-efficiency and high-precision grinding method and quantitatively evaluate the subsurface damage formed in grinding. This study was performed to investigate the optical glass grinding performance using a rubber-bonded wheel with excellent elasticity in place of the conventional resin-bonded wheel. Subsurface damage was evaluated and analyzed by hydrofluoric acid etching. The results indicated that the hardness of the grinding wheel and grinding mode influenced subsurface damage.
