Super Polishing Behaviour Investigation of Stainless Steel Optical Lens Moulding Inserts

Super polishing experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of polishing parameters on surface quality of stainless steel lens moulding inserts, and to optimize polishing conditions. Experimental results indicated that optical quality surface of stainless steel lens moulding inserts can be achieved through a two-step polishing process: fast polishing with a soft wood head and coarse diamond paste, and fine polishing with a nylon-covered steel ball head and fine diamond paste. A diameter of 20 mm stainless steel lens moulding insert with a surface roughness Ra of 7.6 nm has been successfully achieved using the two-step super polishing process.