Integrated Lens Generating Machine Auto-SG-50VT
An integrated lens generating machine that takes loose blanks from a vibratory bowl, grinds a convex, concave or flat radius on parts Ø6–50 mm, and lays every finished part onto an X/Y tray. Both feeds in one machine — bowl in, tray out.
What this machine makes, and what happens before and after it
An optical element starts as a sawn or pressed blank and ends as a coated, centred lens. An integrated lens generating machine owns the step in the middle: it cuts the radius of curvature into the face of a blank Ø6–50 mm and brings the centre thickness close to the drawing. What is distinctive here is that it accepts the parts loose and hands them back organised.
A vibratory bowl feeds blanks in bulk; an X/Y module lifts each generated part and lays it in an output tray. The part that leaves is not finished — its radius is close enough that the lapping and polishing stage removes microns rather than re-cutting the curve, and it arrives at that stage already laid out on a tray.
Loose parts feed fastest from a vibratory bowl; the downstream stage prefers parts already on a tray. This machine does both, so bulk input and organised output happen in one pass rather than two handling steps.
How does an integrated lens generating machine produce a radius?
No template, no copy former, no profile cam. On this class of machine the radius comes out of an angle.
Two spindles do the work. The tool spindle carries a diamond cup wheel and turns it at 8,000 or 10,000 rpm. The workpiece spindle holds the blank on a vacuum chuck, rotates it at 0–35 cycles per minute and feeds it into the wheel under control.
Because the cup wheel is tilted, its circular cutting edge sweeps out a sphere as the blank turns underneath it. The radius of that sphere is fixed by geometry alone:
- sin θ = d / (2R) — where θ is the spindle tilt, d the effective cutting-edge diameter of the cup wheel, and R the radius produced
- θ = 0° — the two axes are parallel and the machine generates a plane
- tilt 0–45° — the steeper the setting, the shorter the radius produced
- Convex or concave — decided by which side of the workpiece axis the wheel is tilted to
Set the angle once and every part fed from the bowl comes out with the same radius. This is why an integrated lens generating machine has no tooling to change between one radius and the next — only the angle and the wheel.
You are buying a range, R5 mm to plane, and the wheels for your material — not a fixed set of radii. Send us the radii and a sample of your loose blanks, and we specify the wheels with the quotation.
Four things the machine does while nobody is watching
This is where an integrated lens generating machine separates itself from a hand-loaded one. Each of these replaces a decision an operator would otherwise make part by part.
Feeds loose from a bowl, unloads to a tray
A vibratory bowl orients and presents each blank; after generating, an X/Y module lays the finished part in an output tray. Bulk parts go in, organised parts come out.
Tells the two faces apart and flips
A data-transmitting micrometer identifies which face of the blank is up and turns the part over when it needs to, so the bowl does not have to be hand-sorted first.
Refuses to run on an empty chuck
Vacuum on the hold-down is monitored continuously; if a part is missing or has released, the cycle does not start. Empty cycles are what crash a cup wheel into a chuck.
Guards brittle parts from chipping
Pressure and damping are adjustable, so the touch a thin or brittle blank needs is set on the machine — the edges come off clean rather than chipped.
Which materials and geometries can it handle?
| Item | Capability |
|---|---|
| Surfaces generated | Convex and concave spherical surfaces; plane (flat) surfaces |
| Radius range | R5 mm to plane, set by tool-spindle tilt 0°–45° |
| Workpiece diameter | Ø6 – Ø50 mm |
| Workpieces per cycle | 1 — single-part handling, bowl fed |
| Feed / unload | Vibratory bowl in · X/Y module to output tray |
| Materials | Optical lenses — send your material for a free trial run; suitability confirmed on your own parts |
| Face recognition | Automatic, with automatic flip when required |
| X / Y travel | 600 mm / 400 mm |
If your drawings are dimensioned to the ISO 10110 framework, send one with the enquiry. On an integrated lens generating machine the radius tolerance and centre-thickness tolerance are what decide whether the job fits, and how the parts arrive decides the feed — see the optical materials data if you are choosing glass.
Technical specifications
The Auto-SG-50VT is the integrated lens generating machine in the family; the vibratory-bowl and tray-fed members each do one feed only.
| Curvature machining range | R5 mm – flat (plane) |
| Diameter machining range | Ø6 – Ø50 mm |
| Spindle adjustment angle | 0° – 45° |
| Tool spindle speed | 8,000 / 10,000 rpm |
| Workpiece speed | 0 – 35 cpm, stepless |
| X / Y travel | 600 mm / 400 mm |
| Spindle mounting | Ø24 / M20 × 1.5 |
| Feed system | Vibratory bowl in · X/Y module to output tray |
| Total installed power | 1.5 kW |
| Overall dimensions (L × W × H) | 1500 × 850 × 1500 mm |
| Total weight | approx. 700 kg |
| Base construction | Cast iron, hand-scraped mating surfaces |
The diamond cup wheels and dressing stones are process consumables chosen for the material and the radius. They are quoted separately — tell us your materials and radii and we will specify them.
Main assemblies and what each one is for
This is the vocabulary your operator and our service engineer will share on the shop floor.
| Assembly | Function |
|---|---|
| Vibratory feed bowl | Orients and presents loose blanks Ø6–50 mm to the pick point, one at a time |
| X / Y output module | Servo-driven gantry laying each generated part into the output tray; 600 / 400 mm travel |
| Tool spindle head | Carries the diamond cup wheel; tilt adjustable 0°–45° to set the generated radius |
| Workpiece spindle | Vacuum chuck turning the blank at 0–35 cpm and feeding it into the wheel |
| Data-transmitting micrometer | Identifies the presented face and triggers the automatic flip |
| Coolant system | Circulating supply with the tank in the machine base |
| Operation panel | 7″ touchscreen for parameters, pressure and damping, inspection and troubleshooting |
Utilities, environment and safety
Electrical supply, compressed air, coolant, floor loading and the ambient conditions the machine is to run in are confirmed with us for each order, together with the safety and protective arrangement supplied with it. These figures depend on the voltage and frequency of your site, the material you are running and the destination market, so we do not publish a single set of them here.
Send us the site conditions with your enquiry and we will return the utility and environmental requirements in writing, before the order is placed.
The integrated feed pays off when parts arrive loose but the next stage wants them on a tray. If your parts already come on trays, the tray-fed generator is simpler; and a new material needs its pressure, damping and feed settled on trial parts — the reason we ask for your blanks before quoting.
What happens after the machine is installed?
The same terms apply to every machine we ship, wherever in the world it goes.
| Warranty period | 12 months from final acceptance |
| Response during warranty | Response within 8 hours · solution proposed within 24 hours · issue resolved within 48 hours, including procurement, installation and commissioning of parts |
| After the warranty period | Service and spare parts available for the life of the machine |
| Certification | CE |
Specifications are subject to change as a result of design upgrades. Minor differences may occur at certain parts. For a binding specification, refer to the order confirmation.
See the machine running
The Auto-SG-50VT generating parts, and the bowl-to-tray flow moving blanks from the vibratory feed to the output tray.
01 — Spherical generating cycle, bowl-fed blank
02 — Bowl feed in, X/Y tray unloading out
Send one drawing and a few blanks
An integrated lens generating machine is easy to specify badly from a datasheet. Send us one element drawing — diameter, radius, centre thickness, material and the tolerance grade you have to hold — with a few of your own blanks. We run them, return them, and send the process sheet with the quotation.
If your parts already arrive on trays, or you only need bulk loose feed, we will point you to the right member of the family instead of quoting this one.
12-month warranty · free trial run on customer-supplied material
Optics customers include Edmund Optics and Coherent
Related equipment and reading:
- Small lens generating machine Auto-SG-20V — the vibratory-bowl version for loose small parts
- Tray fed lens generator Auto-SG-80T — tray in, tray out, up to Ø80 mm
- CNC optical curve generator Auto-SG-50 — the CNC generator
- Optical lens fabrication line — how the stations connect