Author(s)

S.M. Barrans, E.M. Ghurbal & R. Freeman

Abstract

A highly deformable polishng tool has been specified for a revolutionary aspheric polishing system. This rubber tool is required to retain a spherical outer surface with minimal change in shape when subjected to internal pressure. It is proposed here that using a variable wall thickness around the tool will reduce deviations from the spherical shape. This paper describes a theoretical study carried out using finite element analysis to determine the optimum wall thickness variation. The component performance was judged against the three criteria of change in radius, center of curvature drift and loss of sphericity. A multi-criteria optimization code llnked to a parametric finite element model was used to analyze the problem and generate a set of Pareto optimal solutions.

Keywords