Related papers: Mitigating print-through effects through an optimi…

The surface quality of replicated CFRP mirrors is ideally expected to be as good as the mandrel from which they are manufactured. In practice, a number of factors produce surface imperfections in the final mirrors at different scales. To…

Lightweight parabolic mirrors for solar concentrators have been fabricated using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and a nanometer scale optical surface smoothing technique. The smoothing technique improved the surface roughness of the…

In the era of high-angular resolution astronomical instrumentation, where long and very long baseline interferometers (constituted by many, $\sim$ 20 or more, telescopes) are expected to work not only in the millimeter and submillimeter…

Additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing) has clear benefits in the production of lightweight mirrors for astronomy: it can create optimised lightweight structures and combine multiple components into one. New capabilities in AM ceramics,…

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites offer a unique combination of in-plane specific strength and stiffness. They, however, suffer from a relatively poor out-of plane performance. Improving this requires a thorough…

In this paper we are exploring the possibilities of 3D printing in the fabrication of mirrors for astronomy. Taking the advantages of 3D printing to solve the existing problems caused by traditional manufacturing, two proof-of-concept…

This paper presents a new concept to place continuous curved fibres for CFRP composites, which can be fulfilled by potential additive or hybrid manufacturing technology. Based on the loading condition, principal stress trajectories are…

3D printing technologies are currently enabling the fabrication of objects with complex architectures and tailored properties. In such framework, the production of 3D optical structures, which are typically based on optical transparent…

Carbon fibre composite technology for lightweight mirrors is gaining increasing interest in the space- and ground-based astronomical communities for its low weight, ease of manufacturing, excellent thermal qualities and robustness. We…

For the quality inspection of carbon fiber sheet molding compounds, polarization imaging is a promising alternative to more established methods like computed tomography, since it is cheaper, faster, and provides a larger field-of-view. For…

Additive manufacture (AM) involves creating a part layer by layer and is a rapidly evolving manufacturing process. It has multiple strengths that apply to space-based optics, such as the ability to consolidate multiple parts into one,…

We have been successful in developing light and durable mirrors made of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) laminates for the reflector of the new CANGAROO-II 7 m telescope. The reflector has a parabolic shape (F/1.1) with a 30 m^2…

We demonstrate fiber Fabry-Perot (FFP) cavities with concave mirrors that can be operated at cavity lengths as large as 1.5mm without significant deterioration of the finesse. This is achieved by using a laser dot machining technique to…

The introduction of graphene-related materials (GRMs) in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) has been proved to enhance their mechanical and electrical properties. However, methodologies to produce the 3-phase materials (multiscale…

We present a method for the production of segmented optics. It is a novel processing developed at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (INAF-OAB) employing commercial of-the-shelf materials. It is based on the shaping of thin glass foils…

A new imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope (CANGAROO-II) with a light-weight reflector has been constructed. Light, robust, and durable mirror facets of containing CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) laminates were developed for the…

This article presents a new and individual way to generate opto-mechanical components by Additive Manufacturing, embedded in an established process chain for the fabrication of metal optics. The freedom of design offered by additive…

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technology. To achieve high product quality, the powder is best spread as a uniform, dense layer. The challenge for LPBF manufacturers is to develop a spreading process that…

Parabolic and spherical mirrors are constructed of aluminized PET polyester film on urethane foam. During construction, the chosen shape of the mirror is created by manipulating the elastic/plastic behavior of the film with air pressure.…

3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, offers a new vision for optical fabrication in term of achievable optical quality and reduction of weight and cost. In this paper we describe two different ways to use this technique in the…