PROCESS FOR FORMING AN ARTICLE WITH A PRECISION SURFACE

摘要

A process for forming an article having at least one precision surface is disclosed. The process includes providing a thin sheet in contact with a surface of a mandrel. The process then includes establishing a pressure differential between opposite sides of the thin sheet using a collapsible enclosure so that the thin sheet is drawn onto the mandrel surface, thereby causing the thin sheet to substantially conform to the shape of the mandrel surface. The shaped thin sheet is then secured to a support member to define the article. The article is then removed from the mandrel. The front surface of the thin sheet defines the precision surface of the article. A process for forming a dual-sided precision article is also disclosed, along with an adaptive optical system and method that employs the precision article.