Fast tool servo diamond turning of optical freeform surfaces for rear-view mirrors

Optical freeform surfaces have been applied in optoelectronic systems more and more widely, but it is difficult to fabricate this kind of freeform surface optics with high quality and high efficiency. Ultra-precision diamond turning machining technology based on a fast tool servo system is an effective and precise process for fabricating optical freeform surfaces. This paper develops a novel fast tool servo system, which has a total stroke of 30 mm and a maximum acceleration of 920 m/s(2). In this paper, we develop a theoretical and experimental investigation on the 3D surface generation of a rear-view mirror which is a typical optical freeform surface in single-point diamond tuning using a fast tool servo system. The experimental results are tested and analyzed, which indicate that the performances are satisfied. The field of view obtained by the designed rear-view mirror is much larger than the flat mirror, while the distortion is minimal.