Abstract

Hydra is a hydrodynamic polishing tool developed at the University of Mexico that presents several advantages over other modern polishing methods. It is especially suited for polishing thin, meter-class surfaces, since the tool does not exert any force on the work surface. We have developed a new generation of high-power tools that improve removal rate without sacrificing microroughness. The improvements made to the Hydra polishing system, that open the possibility to polish high-precision free form meter-class optics, are presented. We also report the advances on polishing a hollow borosilicate 84 cm mirror.

© 2010 OSA, SPIE