BOX - Large Optics Grinding Machine
Cranfield Precision's Ultra Precision Grinding Machine named the BOX™ machine is capable of grinding and measuring parts of upto 2 meters in diameter due to a clever structural arrangement that allows it to be very compact.
This machine is primarily designed for producing large precision optic components. The machine which is being built for Cranfield University, will be displayed at MACH 2006 on stand 5050.
One of the main design criteria for this machine was that it must have a very high dynamic stiffness. The machine's first resonant frequency is greater than 100 Hz which is a difficult feat to achive for a machine of this size. Read the recent article about this machine here.