Grinding of aspherical SiC mirrors

Abstract This paper describes the methods using bonded cup wheels for grinding toroidal and cylindrical SiC mirrors with large curvature radii. Since the angle between the cutting direction of bonded abrasives and feed direction of the cup wheel is about 90°, it is possible to obtain a surface with very low surface roughness independent of the direction of measurement. Toroidal mirrors, circular and elliptic cylinder mirrors made of SiC were successfully obtained by automatic grinding operations with high shape accuracy and very low surface roughness. The time consumed in the processes is very short. The control method and the structure of the grinding system are simple.