Precision Cutting of Aspherical Ceramic Molds with Micro PCD Milling Tool

In order to machine micro aspheric molds and dies made of ceramics, micro milling tools made of polycrystal diamond (PCD) are developed. Twenty cutting edges are ground and polished with diamond wheels and loose abrasives on the edge of a small cylindrical PCD tool shank. Some micro aspheric molding dies made of binder-less tungsten carbide were cut with the PCD milling tool developed. The molds and dies were cut in the ductile mode. The form accuracies of the micro aspherical mold and the micro lens array mold obtained were less than 100 nmP-V and the surface roughness 15 nmRz.