Application of a fast tool servo for diamond turning of nonrotationally symmetric surfaces

The fabrication of nonrotationally symmetric surfaces by diamond turning requires tool actuation at a bandwidth significantly higher than the rotational frequency of the surfaces. This requirement cannot be met by standard slide drives due to their large mass and consequent low natural frequency. This articles describes the development of a laboratory-scale diamond-turning machine with piezoelectric-driven fast tool servo. The capability of this apparatus will be demonstrated for high-speed features such as sine wave, square wave, and ramp-shaped surfaces. Also described is the implementation of this fast tool servo on a commercial diamond-turning machine. Several nonrotationally symmetric surfaces have been machined, and their images are included.