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News, updates, and expert insights from Precitech.

Precitech - a manufacturer of ultra-precision machines for diamond turning, milling and grinding. Follow this channel for the latest from Precitech: product news, expert perspectives, and updates from the team.

7 episodesVisit website ↗
Channel Brief·Precitech · 7 episodes
Updated Jun 13, 2023

Precision motion control unlocks freeform optics manufacturing at scale

Precitech shows how diamond turning machines and fast-tool servos enable optical component makers to produce complex surfaces without traditional polishing. The channel grounds this in real products, facility scale, and named engineering leadership.

Precitech's core argument is that precision motion control, enabled by diamond turning and fast-tool servo technology, has fundamentally transformed optical component manufacturing from a labor-intensive polishing process into a finished-surface machining operation. The channel proves this through concrete product specifications, the company's 60-year lineage from Newell Precision bearings to freeform optics systems, and the testimony of VP of Technology Jeff Roblee that diamond tools can now create structured and asymmetric surfaces that traditional methods could not achieve.

Drawn from Freeform X: The Compact, 5-Axis Machine Revolu… and 2 more →

“Diamond turning enables the accurate positioning of a diamond tool and a high-speed spinning workpiece, facilitating the machining of material to create an optic that does not necessitate any further polishing.”

Jeff Roblee, VP of Technology, Precitech

By the numbers

40 Gs

maximum acceleration of FTSE 5,000 fast-tool servo

~100

skilled technicians staffing Precitech's Keene facility

220mm

Z-axis travel on Freeform X compact machine

25g

continuous path tracking capability of FTSE 5,000

What the channel argues

InsightFreeform X compact 5-axis machine enables complex optics for AR headwear and mobile devices.→
DataFTSE 5,000 achieves 40 Gs maximum acceleration with continuous 25g path tracking.→
InsightDiamond turning eliminates post-machining polishing, cutting production time and cost.→
DataPrecitech's Keene facility employs around 100 skilled technicians in integrated office and manufacturing space.→
InsightOperating diamond turning machines requires sub-micron accuracy and nanometer surface-finish precision.→

What you'll learn

•Why diamond turning eliminates the need for post-machining polishing and what surfaces it can now create.
•How the Freeform X's five operational axes and specific travel distances enable compact production of complex optics.
•That diamond turning machine operation demands process discipline and attention to detail, not just CNC experience.
•Precitech's origins as Newell Precision in the 1960s and its evolution into a freeform optics innovator.
•How a concentrated 100-person facility in Keene, New Hampshire integrates design, manufacturing, and testing to reduce idea-to-production time.

What to do about it

→Evaluate diamond turning capability if your optical component designs require asymmetric or freeform surfaces that traditional polishing cannot achieve.
→Prioritize process discipline and attention-to-detail when recruiting or training diamond turning machine operators, not prior CNC experience.
→Partner with manufacturers offering integrated design-to-production facilities to reduce iteration cycles on complex optical parts.

Who and what shows up

Jeff Roblee

Vice President of Technology, Precitech

Explained how precision motion control revolutionized optics manufacturing and diamond turning's capability to create asymmetric surfaces.

Jake Porrazzo

North American Sales Manager, Precitech

Articulated the specific skillset required to operate diamond turning machines, emphasizing process discipline over CNC background.

Savannah Jones

Interviewer

Conducted deep conversation with Jeff Roblee on the history and advancements in diamond turning technology.

Questions this channel answers

Q

What is single-point diamond turning and how is it different from traditional optics manufacturing?

Diamond turning uses a diamond tool and high-speed spinning workpiece to machine optics to finished surface quality without post-machining polishing. It can produce structured and asymmetric surfaces that traditional methods cannot achieve.

Single-Point Diamond Turning Revolutionizes Optics Manuf… →
Q

What specific capabilities make the Freeform X suitable for next-generation optical components?

The Freeform X is a compact 5-axis diamond turning machine with 220mm Z travel, 200mm X-axis travel, and 100mm Y travel, designed to produce complex optical components for AR headwear and mobile devices.

Freeform X: The Compact, 5-Axis Machine Revolutionizing … →
Q

What skills are actually required to operate a diamond turning machine?

Attention to detail and adherence to process are crucial to hit sub-micron level accuracy and nanometer level surface finishes, often more important than prior CNC experience.

Daven Training Machine Mastery: A Blend of Attention to … →
Q

How does fast-tool servo technology improve optical production?

The FTSE 5,000 achieves 40 Gs maximum acceleration with the ability to continuously follow a 25g path, enabling rapid and precise production of complex freeform surfaces and translating into significant time and cost benefits.

FTSE 5,000 Sets New Standards in Rapid and Accurate Prod… →
Topics:Single-point diamond turning machinesFast-tool servo technologyFreeform optical surfacesPrecision motion controlHigh-tech manufacturing in New Hampshire
Themes:Precision motion control as the enabling core of modern optics manufacturingFinished-surface machining eliminates downstream rework and costFreeform surfaces unlock new designs in consumer electronics and wearables

Industry context

Precision diamond turning tools are advancing through AI-driven monitoring systems that reduce scrap and rework, while the SCD diamond cutting tools market is forecast to grow from $5.97 million in 2025 to $25.67 million by 2035.

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