METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OPTICAL ELEMENT MATERIAL

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus by which the formation of an optical element material with high weight accuracy is automated without affecting a glass lens formation even if the accuracy of a rod diameter of a glass rod material is not so high by measuring the rod diameter of the glass rod material, and regulating the lowering speed of the glass rod material when the glass rod material is melted by passing the rod in a heating furnace to form a glass droplet, and the glass droplet is dropped and solidified. SOLUTION: A glass rod material 6 having the surface layer previously formed into a high melting point-rich layer is used, and a holding jig 4 is vertically lifted or lowered along a guide 5 by rotating a ball screw 3 by a driving part 2. A controller 1 controls the lowering speed of the glass rod material 6 passing through a heating furnace 9 so that the glass droplet 8 may have a prescribed weight based on the rod diameter of the glass rod material 6 measured by a length measuring tool 7, by a driving part 2 to provide the objective glass droplet 8.