Small Lens Generating Machine Auto-SG-20V
A small lens generating machine that grinds a convex, concave or flat radius on blanks Ø4–20 mm, fed loose from a vibratory bowl. It sorts, presents, flips and generates each part without a tray in sight. R2 mm to plane.
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. A small lens generating machine owns the step in the middle for the smallest parts: it cuts the radius of curvature into the face of a blank Ø4–20 mm and brings the centre thickness close to the drawing. Everything upstream supplies it; everything downstream inherits the surface it leaves.
What sets this machine apart from its tray-fed siblings is the feed. Small round blanks are poured loose into a vibratory bowl, and the machine sorts and presents them one at a time — no one loads a 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.
For high-count small lenses, tipping loose blanks into a bowl beats hand-laying them into trays. If your parts are larger or already come on trays, the tray-fed and integrated members of this family fit better — see the CNC optical curve generator for the Ø10–80 mm range.
How does a small 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 small 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, down to R2 mm on this small-part machine
- Convex or concave — decided by which side of the workpiece axis the wheel is tilted to
Set the angle once and every part in the bowl comes out with the same radius. This is why a small 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, R2 mm to plane, and the wheels that suit your materials — not a fixed set of radii. Send us the radii and the blank size and we specify the wheels with the quotation.
Four things the machine does while nobody is watching
This is where a small lens generating machine separates itself from a hand-loaded generator. Each of these replaces a decision an operator would otherwise make part by part.
Feeds loose parts from a vibratory bowl
Blanks are poured in bulk into the bowl; the machine orients and presents them one at a time. There is no tray to lay out, which is what makes it the tool for high counts of small parts.
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 loose parts do not have to be pre-sorted before they go in the bowl.
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 small brittle parts from chipping
Pressure and damping are adjustable, so the light touch a Ø4 mm 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 | R2 mm to plane, set by tool-spindle tilt 0°–45° |
| Workpiece diameter | Ø4 – Ø20 mm |
| Workpieces per cycle | 1 — single-part handling, bulk fed |
| Feed | Vibratory bowl, loose parts |
| 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 |
| Chamfering | Optional chamfer axis, 5,000 rpm |
If your drawings are dimensioned to the ISO 10110 framework, send one with the enquiry. On a small lens generating machine the radius tolerance and centre-thickness tolerance are what decide whether the job fits, and whether the part count justifies bulk feeding — not the material. If you are choosing glass, the optical materials data is a good starting point.
Technical specifications
A chamfering version adds a 5,000 rpm chamfer axis and raises installed power to 1.8 kW and weight to 750 kg.
| Curvature machining range | R2 mm – flat (plane) |
| Diameter machining range | Ø4 – Ø20 mm |
| Spindle adjustment angle | 0° – 45° |
| Tool spindle speed | 8,000 / 10,000 rpm |
| Workpiece speed | 0 – 35 cpm, stepless |
| Chamfer axis (option) | 5,000 rpm |
| Spindle mounting | Ø24 / M20 × 1.5 |
| Feed system | Vibratory bowl, automatic |
| Control | PLC with 7″ touchscreen |
| Total installed power | 1.5 kW (1.8 kW with chamfer) |
| Overall dimensions (L × W × H) | 1300 × 850 × 1600 mm |
| Total weight | approx. 700 kg (750 kg with chamfer) |
| Base construction | Cast iron, hand-scraped mating surfaces |
On a small lens generating machine 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
Seven sub-assemblies make up this small lens generating machine. This is the vocabulary your operator and our service engineer will share on the shop floor.
| Assembly | Function |
|---|---|
| Vibratory bowl feeder | Orients and presents loose blanks one at a time, no tray required |
| 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 |
| Chamfer axis (option) | 5,000 rpm axis edging the finished part when fitted |
| 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.
Bulk feeding pays off at high part counts; for a handful of parts a tray-fed machine may set up faster. And a new small-part material needs its pressure, damping and feed settled on trial parts — this is the main thing we work out with you during commissioning, and 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-20V generating small lenses, and the vibratory bowl orienting and feeding loose blanks.
01 — Spherical generating cycle, small blank
02 — Vibratory bowl orienting and feeding
Send one drawing and a few blanks
A small 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 — together with a few of your own blanks. We run them, return them, and send the process sheet with the quotation.
If your parts are larger than Ø20 mm or already come on trays, 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:
- CNC optical curve generator Auto-SG-50 — the tray-fed generator for Ø10–80 mm
- Spherical lens curve generator SG-80 — the manual generator up to Ø80 mm
- Concave lens polishing machine FP-4U — the polishing stage downstream
- Optical lens fabrication line — how the stations connect