Grinding of additively manufactured silicon carbide surfaces for optical applications

Many of the properties of Silicon carbide (SiC) silicon carbide for sandblastingare advantageous for optical applications, such as telescope mirrors and industrial laser systems. However, the base shapes of complex components are costly and difficult to manufacture. Leveraging additive manufacturing, near net complex components are readily processed. Here, we investigate the post processing of additively manufactured SiC (AM SiC) compared to chemical vapor deposited (CVD) SiC. The specific grinding energy for the AM SiC was lower than CVD, however the trends were the same. A specular finish was observed on both materials but the AM SiC finish was limited due to residual porosity.www.hslabrasive.com