Engineering activities by nature are collaborative endeavors. Single-user applications like CAD, CAE, and CAM force a strictly serial design process, which ultimately lengthens time to market. New multi-user applications such as NXConnect address the issue during the design stage of the product development process by enabling users to work in parallel. Multi-user collaborative tool path planning software addresses the same serial limitations in tool path planning, thereby decreasing cost and increasing the quality of manufacturing processes. As part complexity increases, lead times are magnified by serial workflows. Multi-user tool path planning can shorten the process planning time. But, to be effective, it must be possible to intelligently decompose the manufacturing sequence and distribute path planning assignments among several users. A new method of process decomposition is developed and described in this research. A multi-user CAM (MUCAM) prototype was developed to test the method. The decomposition process and MUCAM prototype together were used to manufacture a part to verify the method.

This dissertation focuses on developing algorithms that generate tool paths for free-form surfaces based on accuracy of desired manufactured part. A manufacturing part is represented by mathematical curves and surfaces. Using the mathematical representation of the manufacturing part, we generate reliable and near optimal tool paths as well as cutter location (CL) data file for postprocessing. This algorithm includes two components. First is the forward-step function which determines maximum distance called forward- step between two cutter contact (CC) points with given tolerance. This function is independent of the surface type and is applicable to all continuous parametric surfaces that are twice differentiable. The second component is the side-step function which determines maximum distance called side-step between two adjacent tool paths with a given scallop height. This algorithm reduces manufacturing and computing time as well as the CC points while keeping the given tolerance and scallop height in the tool paths. Several parts, for which the CC points are generated using the proposed algorithm, are machined using a three axes milling machine. As part of the validation process, the tool paths generated during machining are analyzed to compare the machined part and the desired part.

In already optimized processes it may be challenging to find room for further improvement. The solution can be found in the advanced software and tools that support the digital manufacturing, all the way from planning and design to in-machining and machining analysis. This project the- sis focuses on developing a process methodology to transcribe Sandvik Coromant’s theories and knowledge about machining operation grooving into machine-readable formats. Various software development models have been analysed and a particular model inspired by the incremental and iterative process model was developed to match the context of this project. This project thesis describes the working methodology for gathering theories and translating them into machine-interpretable format. A working methodology developed in this project thesis succeeded in transcribing different human- readable theories such as people’s minds (experts within the field) and handbooks into a machine- interpretable format. The proposed algorithms for tool path generation was developed and imple- mented successfully through the integration of mathematical modelling. MATLAB and Siemens NX has been used to build a proof of concept environment.

Injection molding is widely used to manufacture plastic parts with good surface finish, dimensional stability and low cost. The common examples of parts manufactured by injection molding include toys, utensils, and casings of various electronic products. The process of mold design to generate these complex shapes is iterative and time consuming, and requires great expertise in the field. As a result, a significant amount of the final product cost can be attributed to the expenses incurred during the product’s design. After designing the mold segments, it is necessary to machine these segments with minimum cost using an efficient tool-path. The tool-path planning process also adds to the overall mold cost. The process of injection molding can be simplified and made to be more cost effective if the processes of mold design and tool-path generation can be automated. This work focuses on the automation of mold design from a given part design and the automation of tool-path generation for manufacturing mold segments. The hypothesis examined in this thesis is that the automatic identification of mold features can reduce the human efforts required to design molds. It is further hypothesised that the human effort required in many downstream processes such as mold component machining can also be reduced with algorithmic automation of otherwise time consuming decisions. Automatic design of dies and molds begins with the part design being provided as a solid model. The solid model of a part is a database of its geometry and topology. The automatic mold design process uses this database to identify an undercut-free parting direction, for recognition of mold features and identification of parting lines for a given parting direction, and for generation of entities such as parting surfaces, core, cavity and side-cores. The methods presented in this work are analytical in nature and work with the extended set of part topologies and geometries unlike those found in the literature. Moreover, the methods do not require discretizing the part geometry to design its mold segments, unlike those found in the literature that result in losing the part definition. Once the mold features are recognized and parting lines are defined, core, cavity and side-cores are generated. This work presents algorithms that recognize the entities in the part solid model that contribute to the design of the core, cavity and side-cores, extract the entities, and use them in the design of these elements. The developed algorithms are demonstrated on a variety of parts that cover a wide range of features. The work also presents a method for automatic tool-path generation that takes the designed core/cavity and produces a multi-stage tool-path to machine it from raw stock. The tool-path generation process begins by determining tool-path profiles and tool positions for the rough machining of the part in layers. Typically roughing is done with large aggressive tools to reduce the machining time; and roughing leaves uncut material. After generating a roughing tool-path for each layer, the machining is simulated and the areas left uncut are identified to generate a clean-up tool-path for smaller sized tools. The tool-path planning is demonstrated using a part having obstacles within the machining region. The simulated machining is presented in this work. This work extends the accessibility analysis by retaining the topology information and using it to recognize a larger domain of features including intersecting features, filling a void in the literature regarding a method that could recognize complex intersecting features during an automated mold design process. Using this information, a larger variety of new mold intersecting features are classified and recognized in this approach. The second major contribution of the work was to demonstrate that the downstream operations can also benefit from algorithmic decision making. This is shown by automatically generating roughing and clean-up tool-paths, while reducing the machining time by machining only those areas that have uncut material. The algorithm can handle cavities with obstacles in them. The methodology has been tested on a number of parts.

Injection molding is widely used to manufacture plastic parts with good surface finish, dimensional stability and low cost. The common examples of parts manufactured by injection molding include toys, utensils, and casings of various electronic products. The process of mold design to generate these complex shapes is iterative and time consuming, and requires great expertise in the field. As a result, a significant amount of the final product cost can be attributed to the expenses incurred during the product’s design. After designing the mold segments, it is necessary to machine these segments with minimum cost using an efficient tool-path. The tool-path planning process also adds to the overall mold cost. The process of injection molding can be simplified and made to be more cost effective if the processes of mold design and tool-path generation can be automated. This work focuses on the automation of mold design from a given part design and the automation of tool-path generation for manufacturing mold segments. The hypothesis examined in this thesis is that the automatic identification of mold features can reduce the human efforts required to design molds. It is further hypothesised that the human effort required in many downstream processes such as mold component machining can also be reduced with algorithmic automation of otherwise time consuming decisions. Automatic design of dies and molds begins with the part design being provided as a solid model. The solid model of a part is a database of its geometry and topology. The automatic mold design process uses this database to identify an undercut-free parting direction, for recognition of mold features and identification of parting lines for a given parting direction, and for generation of entities such as parting surfaces, core, cavity and side-cores. The methods presented in this work are analytical in nature and work with the extended set of part topologies and geometries unlike those found in the literature. Moreover, the methods do not require discretizing the part geometry to design its mold segments, unlike those found in the literature that result in losing the part definition. Once the mold features are recognized and parting lines are defined, core, cavity and side-cores are generated. This work presents algorithms that recognize the entities in the part solid model that contribute to the design of the core, cavity and side-cores, extract the entities, and use them in the design of these elements. The developed algorithms are demonstrated on a variety of parts that cover a wide range of features. The work also presents a method for automatic tool-path generation that takes the designed core/cavity and produces a multi-stage tool-path to machine it from raw stock. The tool-path generation process begins by determining tool-path profiles and tool positions for the rough machining of the part in layers. Typically roughing is done with large aggressive tools to reduce the machining time; and roughing leaves uncut material. After generating a roughing tool-path for each layer, the machining is simulated and the areas left uncut are identified to generate a clean-up tool-path for smaller sized tools. The tool-path planning is demonstrated using a part having obstacles within the machining region. The simulated machining is presented in this work. This work extends the accessibility analysis by retaining the topology information and using it to recognize a larger domain of features including intersecting features, filling a void in the literature regarding a method that could recognize complex intersecting features during an automated mold design process. Using this information, a larger variety of new mold intersecting features are classified and recognized in this approach. The second major contribution of the work was to demonstrate that the downstream operations can also benefit from algorithmic decision making. This is shown by automatically generating roughing and clean-up tool-paths, while reducing the machining time by machining only those areas that have uncut material. The algorithm can handle cavities with obstacles in them. The methodology has been tested on a number of parts.

A fabricação de peças mecânicas por usinagem tornou-se mais versátil com o uso de máquinas-ferramentas com Comando Numérico Computadorizado. Este recurso permitiu a obtenção de superfícies de geometria mais complexa, extremamente difíceis de se fabricar com máquinas convencionais. A tarefa de escrever os programas CNC para usinar tal geometria também não é fácil, sendo necessário recursos auxiliares para alcançar este objetivo. O embasamento para utilização desta tecnologia passa inicialmente pelos conceitos e fundamentos de máquinas-ferramentas com CNC, programação CNC e modelagem geométrica de superfícies. Na elaboração deste estudo foram analisados vários relatos sobre sistemas de geração de programas CNC, tipos de trajetórias de ferramentas, otimização de programas CNC, reconhecimento de forma e sistemas de simulação e verificação. Desta análise foi estruturada uma estratégia para realização deste trabalho, que trata da implementação de um sistema de geração de programas CNC para máquinas de 3 eixos, destinado a superfícies de forma livre. O software admite modelos de superfícies criadas em um modelador na forma paramétrica Bézier e gera segmentos de programa CNC para usiná-las em duas etapas: desbaste e acabamento. Do modelo paramétrico são geradas duas poligonalizações para estas duas etapas. A primeira, de menor resolução, é usada para a operação de desbaste, para seleção de ferramentas e para determinação das inclinações da superfície, dados necessários para a operação posterior. A segunda, de maior resolução, oferece melhores condições de aproximação da superfície paramétrica e permite a geração da trajetória usada no acabamento. A etapa de desbaste, destinada à remoção do excesso de material da peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade cilíndrica trabalhando em vários planos de corte. Cada plano é usinado através de movimentos em ziguezague, e posteriormente faz-se uma trajetória equidistante ao contorno das cavidades ou protrusões existentes. Já a etapa de acabamento, que visa conferir a forma e dimens5o desejadas à peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade esférica trabalhando em ziguezague por toda a superfície. Nesta etapa, são determinados espaçamentos diferenciados entre os movimentos da ferramenta, segundo as inclinações da superfície. Desta forma, consegue-se uma redução no número de comandos, sem perder em qualidade. Três casos são apresentados, sendo o primeiro, uma superfície formada por toda cavidade e uma protrusão, o segundo, uma cavidade e o terceiro uma protrusão. O primeiro caso apresenta todos os passos executados nestas etapas consideradas. Os demais apresentam os resultados obtidos. Para verificar o programa CNC gerado foi implementado um simulador que confere o resultado obtido com a superfície modelada na forma paramétrica. Este simulador também tem um funcionamento diferenciado para cada etapa de usinagem e confere uma boa precisão a peça acabada. Os resultados demonstram a eficiência do sistema quanto à sua rapidez e também quanto à forma da peça. Em função das resoluções consideradas nos sistemas de geração e de simulação, encontrou-se um erro entre a superfície paramétrica e a superfície simulada. Conclui-se que a utilização de maior resolução para a geração da trajetória da ferramenta na etapa de acabamento é decisiva para a redução do erro encontrado comparando o modelo paramétrico com a superfície simulada. / Manufacturing of mechanical pieces by machining became more versatile with the use of tool machines equipped with Computerized Numerical Control. This resource allows more complex geometry surfaces, which are very difficult of manufacture with conventional machines. Writing of CNC programs for machining such geometry is also not easy, demanding further resources to fulfill this goal. Basics of using this tecnology includes concepts and fundamentals of CNC tool machines, CNC programming and geometrical modeling of surfaces. In this dissertation, it were analysed several reports of CNC tool path generation systems, tool path types, CNC program optimization, form recognition and simulation and verification systems. From this analysis, it was designed a strategy to prepare this dissertation, whose main purpose was to implement a CNC program generation system for 3 axis machines for free-form surfaces. The software admits surface models designed in a modeler using Bezier parametric form and generates segments of CNC programs for machining in two stages: rough and finishing. From the parametric model, two poligonalizations are generated for these stages. The first, of lower resolution, is used for a rough operation, for tools selection and for determination of surface inclinations, which ares necessary data for later operations. The second poligonalization, of greater resolution, offers better conditions of aproximation to the parametric surface and allows the generation of the tool path used in finishing. The rough stage, used to remove excess of material in this piece, is realized with a cylindrical end cutter working in several cutting planes. Every plane is machined in zigzag movements and later is done a tool path with constant offset with the existent cavity or protrusions. The finishing stage, whose goal is to give the desirable form and dimension to the piece, is done with a ball-end cutter, working in zigzag upon the whole surface. In this stage, no equal distances are determined betwen the tool movements according to surface inclinations. Thus, a reduction in the number of commands is obtained without loss of quality. Three cases are presented, where the first one is a surface formed by a cavity and a protrusion, the second one is a cavity, and the third one is a protrusion The first case is completely presented with all the steps. In the others cases, results are given. In order to evaluate the generated CNC program, it was implemented a simulator that checks the results with the modeled surface. This simulator uses different approaches in each stage of machining and gives a good precision to piece finishing. The results demonstrate the system eficiency as to speed, performance and also to form. On account of resolutions considered in the generation system and in simulation, errors were found between the parametric and the simulated surfaces. Comparing the parametric model with the simulated surface, it is clear that the use of greater resolution during the generation of the tool path in the finishing stage is decisive to reduce the errors.

A fabricação de peças mecânicas por usinagem tornou-se mais versátil com o uso de máquinas-ferramentas com Comando Numérico Computadorizado. Este recurso permitiu a obtenção de superfícies de geometria mais complexa, extremamente difíceis de se fabricar com máquinas convencionais. A tarefa de escrever os programas CNC para usinar tal geometria também não é fácil, sendo necessário recursos auxiliares para alcançar este objetivo. O embasamento para utilização desta tecnologia passa inicialmente pelos conceitos e fundamentos de máquinas-ferramentas com CNC, programação CNC e modelagem geométrica de superfícies. Na elaboração deste estudo foram analisados vários relatos sobre sistemas de geração de programas CNC, tipos de trajetórias de ferramentas, otimização de programas CNC, reconhecimento de forma e sistemas de simulação e verificação. Desta análise foi estruturada uma estratégia para realização deste trabalho, que trata da implementação de um sistema de geração de programas CNC para máquinas de 3 eixos, destinado a superfícies de forma livre. O software admite modelos de superfícies criadas em um modelador na forma paramétrica Bézier e gera segmentos de programa CNC para usiná-las em duas etapas: desbaste e acabamento. Do modelo paramétrico são geradas duas poligonalizações para estas duas etapas. A primeira, de menor resolução, é usada para a operação de desbaste, para seleção de ferramentas e para determinação das inclinações da superfície, dados necessários para a operação posterior. A segunda, de maior resolução, oferece melhores condições de aproximação da superfície paramétrica e permite a geração da trajetória usada no acabamento. A etapa de desbaste, destinada à remoção do excesso de material da peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade cilíndrica trabalhando em vários planos de corte. Cada plano é usinado através de movimentos em ziguezague, e posteriormente faz-se uma trajetória equidistante ao contorno das cavidades ou protrusões existentes. Já a etapa de acabamento, que visa conferir a forma e dimens5o desejadas à peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade esférica trabalhando em ziguezague por toda a superfície. Nesta etapa, são determinados espaçamentos diferenciados entre os movimentos da ferramenta, segundo as inclinações da superfície. Desta forma, consegue-se uma redução no número de comandos, sem perder em qualidade. Três casos são apresentados, sendo o primeiro, uma superfície formada por toda cavidade e uma protrusão, o segundo, uma cavidade e o terceiro uma protrusão. O primeiro caso apresenta todos os passos executados nestas etapas consideradas. Os demais apresentam os resultados obtidos. Para verificar o programa CNC gerado foi implementado um simulador que confere o resultado obtido com a superfície modelada na forma paramétrica. Este simulador também tem um funcionamento diferenciado para cada etapa de usinagem e confere uma boa precisão a peça acabada. Os resultados demonstram a eficiência do sistema quanto à sua rapidez e também quanto à forma da peça. Em função das resoluções consideradas nos sistemas de geração e de simulação, encontrou-se um erro entre a superfície paramétrica e a superfície simulada. Conclui-se que a utilização de maior resolução para a geração da trajetória da ferramenta na etapa de acabamento é decisiva para a redução do erro encontrado comparando o modelo paramétrico com a superfície simulada. / Manufacturing of mechanical pieces by machining became more versatile with the use of tool machines equipped with Computerized Numerical Control. This resource allows more complex geometry surfaces, which are very difficult of manufacture with conventional machines. Writing of CNC programs for machining such geometry is also not easy, demanding further resources to fulfill this goal. Basics of using this tecnology includes concepts and fundamentals of CNC tool machines, CNC programming and geometrical modeling of surfaces. In this dissertation, it were analysed several reports of CNC tool path generation systems, tool path types, CNC program optimization, form recognition and simulation and verification systems. From this analysis, it was designed a strategy to prepare this dissertation, whose main purpose was to implement a CNC program generation system for 3 axis machines for free-form surfaces. The software admits surface models designed in a modeler using Bezier parametric form and generates segments of CNC programs for machining in two stages: rough and finishing. From the parametric model, two poligonalizations are generated for these stages. The first, of lower resolution, is used for a rough operation, for tools selection and for determination of surface inclinations, which ares necessary data for later operations. The second poligonalization, of greater resolution, offers better conditions of aproximation to the parametric surface and allows the generation of the tool path used in finishing. The rough stage, used to remove excess of material in this piece, is realized with a cylindrical end cutter working in several cutting planes. Every plane is machined in zigzag movements and later is done a tool path with constant offset with the existent cavity or protrusions. The finishing stage, whose goal is to give the desirable form and dimension to the piece, is done with a ball-end cutter, working in zigzag upon the whole surface. In this stage, no equal distances are determined betwen the tool movements according to surface inclinations. Thus, a reduction in the number of commands is obtained without loss of quality. Three cases are presented, where the first one is a surface formed by a cavity and a protrusion, the second one is a cavity, and the third one is a protrusion The first case is completely presented with all the steps. In the others cases, results are given. In order to evaluate the generated CNC program, it was implemented a simulator that checks the results with the modeled surface. This simulator uses different approaches in each stage of machining and gives a good precision to piece finishing. The results demonstrate the system eficiency as to speed, performance and also to form. On account of resolutions considered in the generation system and in simulation, errors were found between the parametric and the simulated surfaces. Comparing the parametric model with the simulated surface, it is clear that the use of greater resolution during the generation of the tool path in the finishing stage is decisive to reduce the errors.

A fabricação de peças mecânicas por usinagem tornou-se mais versátil com o uso de máquinas-ferramentas com Comando Numérico Computadorizado. Este recurso permitiu a obtenção de superfícies de geometria mais complexa, extremamente difíceis de se fabricar com máquinas convencionais. A tarefa de escrever os programas CNC para usinar tal geometria também não é fácil, sendo necessário recursos auxiliares para alcançar este objetivo. O embasamento para utilização desta tecnologia passa inicialmente pelos conceitos e fundamentos de máquinas-ferramentas com CNC, programação CNC e modelagem geométrica de superfícies. Na elaboração deste estudo foram analisados vários relatos sobre sistemas de geração de programas CNC, tipos de trajetórias de ferramentas, otimização de programas CNC, reconhecimento de forma e sistemas de simulação e verificação. Desta análise foi estruturada uma estratégia para realização deste trabalho, que trata da implementação de um sistema de geração de programas CNC para máquinas de 3 eixos, destinado a superfícies de forma livre. O software admite modelos de superfícies criadas em um modelador na forma paramétrica Bézier e gera segmentos de programa CNC para usiná-las em duas etapas: desbaste e acabamento. Do modelo paramétrico são geradas duas poligonalizações para estas duas etapas. A primeira, de menor resolução, é usada para a operação de desbaste, para seleção de ferramentas e para determinação das inclinações da superfície, dados necessários para a operação posterior. A segunda, de maior resolução, oferece melhores condições de aproximação da superfície paramétrica e permite a geração da trajetória usada no acabamento. A etapa de desbaste, destinada à remoção do excesso de material da peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade cilíndrica trabalhando em vários planos de corte. Cada plano é usinado através de movimentos em ziguezague, e posteriormente faz-se uma trajetória equidistante ao contorno das cavidades ou protrusões existentes. Já a etapa de acabamento, que visa conferir a forma e dimens5o desejadas à peça, é realizada com uma ferramenta de extremidade esférica trabalhando em ziguezague por toda a superfície. Nesta etapa, são determinados espaçamentos diferenciados entre os movimentos da ferramenta, segundo as inclinações da superfície. Desta forma, consegue-se uma redução no número de comandos, sem perder em qualidade. Três casos são apresentados, sendo o primeiro, uma superfície formada por toda cavidade e uma protrusão, o segundo, uma cavidade e o terceiro uma protrusão. O primeiro caso apresenta todos os passos executados nestas etapas consideradas. Os demais apresentam os resultados obtidos. Para verificar o programa CNC gerado foi implementado um simulador que confere o resultado obtido com a superfície modelada na forma paramétrica. Este simulador também tem um funcionamento diferenciado para cada etapa de usinagem e confere uma boa precisão a peça acabada. Os resultados demonstram a eficiência do sistema quanto à sua rapidez e também quanto à forma da peça. Em função das resoluções consideradas nos sistemas de geração e de simulação, encontrou-se um erro entre a superfície paramétrica e a superfície simulada. Conclui-se que a utilização de maior resolução para a geração da trajetória da ferramenta na etapa de acabamento é decisiva para a redução do erro encontrado comparando o modelo paramétrico com a superfície simulada. / Manufacturing of mechanical pieces by machining became more versatile with the use of tool machines equipped with Computerized Numerical Control. This resource allows more complex geometry surfaces, which are very difficult of manufacture with conventional machines. Writing of CNC programs for machining such geometry is also not easy, demanding further resources to fulfill this goal. Basics of using this tecnology includes concepts and fundamentals of CNC tool machines, CNC programming and geometrical modeling of surfaces. In this dissertation, it were analysed several reports of CNC tool path generation systems, tool path types, CNC program optimization, form recognition and simulation and verification systems. From this analysis, it was designed a strategy to prepare this dissertation, whose main purpose was to implement a CNC program generation system for 3 axis machines for free-form surfaces. The software admits surface models designed in a modeler using Bezier parametric form and generates segments of CNC programs for machining in two stages: rough and finishing. From the parametric model, two poligonalizations are generated for these stages. The first, of lower resolution, is used for a rough operation, for tools selection and for determination of surface inclinations, which ares necessary data for later operations. The second poligonalization, of greater resolution, offers better conditions of aproximation to the parametric surface and allows the generation of the tool path used in finishing. The rough stage, used to remove excess of material in this piece, is realized with a cylindrical end cutter working in several cutting planes. Every plane is machined in zigzag movements and later is done a tool path with constant offset with the existent cavity or protrusions. The finishing stage, whose goal is to give the desirable form and dimension to the piece, is done with a ball-end cutter, working in zigzag upon the whole surface. In this stage, no equal distances are determined betwen the tool movements according to surface inclinations. Thus, a reduction in the number of commands is obtained without loss of quality. Three cases are presented, where the first one is a surface formed by a cavity and a protrusion, the second one is a cavity, and the third one is a protrusion The first case is completely presented with all the steps. In the others cases, results are given. In order to evaluate the generated CNC program, it was implemented a simulator that checks the results with the modeled surface. This simulator uses different approaches in each stage of machining and gives a good precision to piece finishing. The results demonstrate the system eficiency as to speed, performance and also to form. On account of resolutions considered in the generation system and in simulation, errors were found between the parametric and the simulated surfaces. Comparing the parametric model with the simulated surface, it is clear that the use of greater resolution during the generation of the tool path in the finishing stage is decisive to reduce the errors.

In this thesis, the research and development of a novel rapid figuring procedure for large ultra-precise optics by Reactive Atom Plasma technology is reported. The hypothesis proved in this research is that a metre scale surface with a form accuracy of ~1 μm PV can be figure corrected to 20 – 30 nm RMS in ten hours. This reduces the processing time by a factor ten with respect to state-of-the-art techniques like Ion Beam Figuring. The need for large scale ultra-precise optics has seen enormous growth in the last decade due to large scale international research programmes. A bottleneck in production is seen in the final figure correction stage. State-of-the-art processes capable of compliance with requisites of form accuracy of one part in 108 (CNC polishing, Magneto-Rheological Finishing and Ion Beam Figuring) have failed to meet the time and cost frame targets of the new optics market. Reactive Atom Plasma (RAP) is a means of plasma chemical etching that makes use of a Radio Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) torch operating at atmospheric pressure. It constitutes an ideal figuring alternative, combining the advantages of a non-contact tool with very high material removal rates and nanometre level repeatability. Despite the rapid figuring potential of this process, research preceding the work presented in this manuscript had made little progress towards design and implementation of a procedure for metre-class optics. The experimental work performed in this PhD project was conducted on Helios 1200, a unique large-scale RAP figuring facility at Cranfield University. Characterisation experiments were carried out on ULE and fused silica surfaces to determine optimum process parameters. Here, the influence of power, surface distance, tool speed and surface temperature was investigated. Subsequently, raster-scanning tests were performed to build an understanding on spaced multiple passes ... [cont.].

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第22438号 / 工博第4699号 / 新制||工||1734(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科マイクロエンジニアリング専攻 / (主査)教授 松原 厚, 教授 西脇 眞二, 教授 小森 雅晴 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM