Citation:
P. Comley, P. Morantz, P. Shore and X. Tonnellier, Grinding metre scale mirror segments for the E-ELT ground based telescope, CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology, Volume 60, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 379-382.
Abstract:
The next generation of ground based telescopes require many hundreds of metre
scale off-axis mirrors. In this paper the grinding of a 1.45m scale Zerodur®
mirror segment for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) is introduced.
Employing an R-theta grinding mode with a multi stage grinding process material
removal rates of up to 187.5mm3/s are achieved, whilst typically removing up to
1mm depth of material in total. Results show a RMS form error of <1μm, with
subsurface damage <10μm, and a production cycle time under 2
