|
Research
Facilities
This
web page gives only a partial list of the shared resources used
by mechanical engineering faculty and students. Equipment in individual
faculty laboratories has not been included. Some of the most extensive
state-of-the-art facilities described below are available due to
our close ties with the Center
for Optics Manufacturing and the Laboratory
for Laser Energetics.
- Center
for Optics Manufacturing
The
Center for Optics Manufacturing (COM) is the nucleus of a nationally
supported research and development alliance that is modernizing
precision optics manufacturing technology. The Center has developed
flexible machining centers that deterministically generate, fine
grind, prepolish and center an optical surface in one automated
sequence. For example, the Nanotech™
150AG fabricated by Nanotechnology Systems, provides the optics
industry with next-generation asphere optics manufacturing capability.
The PC controlled, ultraprecision machining system is capable
of generating axisymmetric aspheric optical surfaces up to 100
mm in diameter. It is a two-axis (hydrostatic guideways), dual
spindle machine that incorporates a precision ball bearing spindle
for rough shaping and a second air bearing spindle for final figuring.
The dual spindle design, combined with an advanced control and
feedback system, produces optical surfaces that require little
post-polishing. The newest addition to the Opticam family of machines
is the Nanotech™
500FG by Nanotechnology Systems, which will provide the optics
industry with next-generation conformal optics manufacturing capability.
The computer numerically controlled, multi-axis, ultra- precision
machining system is capable of generating arbitrary conformal
optical surface (including non-spherical and non-axisymmetric)
shapes within a 250 mm x 250 mm x 300 mm machining envelope.
In
addition to grinding machines, COM has a number of conventional
and magnetorheological
finishing (MRF) machines. The MRF process, developed by COM,
is best understood by thinking of the magnetorheological fluid
as a compliant replacement for a conventional rigid sub-aperture
polishing lap. The fluid's viscosity is magnetically manipulated,
while in contact with a portion of the workpiece surface, to create
a "subaperture polishing lap" that conforms to the optical
surface.
To
characterize the ground or polished surfaces, COM has a wide variety
of metrology equipment, including a Zygo New View 5000 White Light
Interferometer, a Taylor/Hobson Form Talysurf Profiler, and an
Olympus New Venox-T Optical Microscope.
Picture 1: UltraForm Finishing (UFF) platform
Picture 2: Polishing the outside of a PolyCrystalline Alumina
(PCA) dome
- Laboratory
for Laser Energetics
The
Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) of the University of Rochester
is a unique national resource for research and education in
science and technology. The Laboratory was established in 1970
as a center for the investigation of the interaction of intense
radiation with matter. The new research facility for investigating
inertia confinement fusion is a result of a seven year effort
with a total investment of 61 million dollars. The combined
energy of the lasers in this system can deliver more than 40,000
Joules of energy on a target less than 1 mm in size in approximately
700 picoseconds. This equates to approximately 60 TeraWatts
or 100 times our national electric generation capability!
- X-ray
Diffractometer
This
major, new, x-ray analysis laboratory
is intended for microstructural characterization
of materials including x-ray investigation of thin-film epitaxial
layers, MBE stacks, textured films, bulk polycrystalline materials,
residual stresses, automated powder diffraction patterns, near
surface layer damage in processed materials, etc. The
lab was funded by NSF, Division of Materials Research, Major
Research Instrumentation grant and the U of R with equipment
donations by Bausch & Lomb and Philips Analytical.
The new instruments are:
a very high resolution Materials Research Diffractometer, MRD,
PRO and a Multi Purpose Diffractometer, MPD. Both diffraction
instruments are run with Philips, X'Pert Systems software.
The
x-ray analysis laboratory was introduced
to the university community and materials science professionals
in the Rochester area in fall 2000.
- Nanoindentor
An
MTS Nanoindentor
XT is available for scratch, friction and surface profiling.
This advanced device combines both ultra-low load indentation
and microhardness testing. One application is characterization
of glass mechanical properties under the low loads experienced
in fine grinding and finishing operations in an effort to determine
removal mechanisms.
- Additional
Facilities
Additional
experimental facilities include scanning, atomic force, and optical
microscopes, servohydraulic and screw-driven mechanical testing
systems, spectrophotometers, a hot isostatic press, and melt-spin
and other small-scale fabrication facilities. Equipment for powder
characterization include a Jenike shear cell, annular shear system,
moisture analyzer and humidity chamber.
- University
of Rochester Libraries
With
more than 3 million volumes, Rochester ranks among the top 50
of academic research libraries in the United States and Canada.
There are rapidly increasing numbers of online journals and databases
available to the University of Rochester Community. Some libraries
used by Mechanical Engineering faculty and students include:
|
