Jan 23 2008
Taylor Hobson launches worlds highest resolution form and surface finish profiler – Form Talysurf PGI 2540 Aspheric Measurement System with 0.2nm Resolution
At the Photonics West show, San Jose, USA on 22nd January 2008, Taylor Hobson launched the latest in a long line of measuring instruments dedicated to the optics industry.
The new Form Talysurf PGI 2540 takes combined form and surface finish measurement systems to a new level, for the first time offering a single instrument that can measure form with up to 25mm vertical range and surface finish down to 0.2 nanometer resolution. The system is focussed on delivering the metrology required to enable the optics sector to produce higher quality ultra precision lenses used in today’s high volume markets like TV projectors, digital cameras and mobile phone cameras. The PGI 2540 is able to measure the most complex rotationally symmetric lenses and automatically calculate aspheric coefficients and errors from the design data.
This system offers 200mm traverse length with a motorised stylus lift mechanism, which allows many components to be measured without moving the column position between traces. This improves the stability of measurement. The system is also provided with active anti-vibration mounts and a high quality environmental enclosure to reduce the effects of air-borne and floor-borne vibrations.
Taylor Hobson’s world renowned Ultra software is provided for instrument control and analysis. As well as standard surface finish analysis, this system also provides ellipse / hyperbola fitting and aspheric analysis up to 20th order, including base radius optimisation, SAG table generation and derived coefficients analysis. As an option the system can also be supplied with Diffractive Analysis software for the measurement of asphero-diffractive components.
Using its intuitive “learn mode” capability, Ultra software enables the user to create measurement programs for repeat measurement of components. As part of such a program, the stylus lift mechanism can be programmed to automatically lift the stylus to any position within the measuring range; automatic measurements can be recorded and custom results pages can be created.
Taylor Hobson has long been established as a world leader in providing measurement systems to the optics industry. Founded as an optics manufacturer in 1886, the Company has a long history in developing optics, supplying over 80% of the world's motion picture lenses by 1940. The development of its metrology products was started in 1941 in order to improve its production capability and the quality of its lenses. In 1984 Taylor Hobson launched the first Form Talysurf instrument providing the first production system to measure both surface finish and form in a single measurement. The Form Talysurf quickly established itself as world leader in the optics industry and has been followed by a number of innovative systems including the PGI range, which is based upon a patented phase grating interferometer.
With the launch of the Form Talysurf PGI 2540 Aspheric Measurement System AMETEK Taylor Hobson once again demonstrates its ability to meet the challenges of the most demanding measurement applications; driving growth through solving problems.