Development of process visualization technology for glass lens molding

Abstract

Glass lenses are manufactured by press molding in a temperature of around 600℃. It is a process technology that is difficult to quantify and digitize because it depends on know-how in mold design and molding conditions. The authors think that it is possible to visualize the glass forming process by measuring the COP (Center of Pressure) during glass forming. Therefore, we have developed a COP sensor that can be mounted on a multi-axis molding machine for glass lenses. As a result of confirming the initial performance by generating an artificial error during glass molding, it was possible to confirm the correlation between the installation position of the glass material and the temperature distribution of the heater block and the COP.