When you can eliminate handling at each step of the optical coating process, the process takes less time to complete. You avoid breakage, scratching, or contaminates that otherwise might creep into the final product. Today, we look at how AccuCoat has developed its processes around handling materials to deliver optics that are ready to drop into the next stage of assembly.
During its 20+ years of operation, the AccuCoat group has refined its tooling, packaging, and handling of incoming and final coated materials.
Your sales contact will talk with you at the beginning to learn if you require individual tissue wrapping, special packaging, or our customized racks/totes for perfect packaging to arrive safely. Having been certified to the Lawrence Livermore Lab’s small optics packaging guidelines, we pride ourselves in packing your optics better than how they arrived!
Custom Tooling – Making all the difference
Local tooling shops create a wide variety of adjustable tooling creates each unit to hold your materials while being coated. These tooling parts are kept on file with your past orders so they are always ready and available for an even faster rotation the next time. Your materials can also be shipped while inside the tooling – see our custom totes to accomplish this below for maximum worry-free shipping.
Keep it Clean
PET-G containers protect against contamination while in the facility to move orders from station to station. This type of container has minimal, if any, off-gassing, has no residue, and can be ultrasonically cleaned.
Upon arrival, AccuCoat may send polymer or glass parts through the fully automated ultrasonic cleaning station. Cleaning by hand with alcohol, acetone, or other custom solutions can be done if required for your particular needs. Keeping materials exceedingly clean entails minimal handling of cleaned parts before loading into our custom tooling for the coating chamber. Post-coating optics may be run back through the ultrasonic process before prepping for packaging and shipping.
Watch the ultrasonic in action with large glass
Custom Portable Cases – Ship with confidence!
Many OEM customers have started using AccuCoat’s exceptional dust-free shipping containers that allow the seated material to ship within its tooling housing for extreme stability. These unique containers ensure minimal damage and chamber-ready glass on arrival. If you are concerned about sending thin, fragile materials for coating PJI, or high volume small components, especially molded polymer optics. Request our portable cases for shipping your next order to us.
Always Test & Measure
Before your order leaves the premises, even before your metal, glass, or polymers are wrapped snugly away, AccuCoat will verify that all is well for 100% acceptance upon return to your facility. The team currently provides in-house spectrophotometer measurements for reflection and transmission performance ranging from 185 nm to 50 um wavelengths.
With the on-site suite of spectrophotometers and environmental chambers, AccuCoat measures UV-VIS-NIR and LWIR and has plans to expand capability this year with more specialized equipment. Using our environmental chambers, optics can be tested against MIL-Spec and ISO standards for temperature, humidity, and water solubility, and salt solubility and cleanability. See our full list of available tests. There are options for additional testing, so please inquire if you cannot find what you need on the dedicated testing web page.
Shipping expensive optic materials for coating should never be a headache when you work with AccuCoat. All of the expertise and care for the cleaning, testing, and packing stations allow the team to return your coated optics in pristine condition, ready for the next step in production.