Surface Integrity Demands of High Precision Optical Molds and Realization by a New Process Chain

For the replication of optical plastic or glass components molding inserts with specific functional surface and sub-surface requirements are needed to withstand the thermal and mechanical loads during the replication process and to ensure the desired optical part quality with a surface roughness in the nanometer and a form accuracy in the sub-micron range. The conventional process chain for the manufacture of these molding inserts with a combination of grinding and polishing has severe disadvantages concerning machining time and production costs. Therefore, this paper presents a process chain consisting of a thermo-chemical surface treatment and a sub-sequent diamond cutting process for the manufacturing of optical molding inserts.