Lightweight Mirror Support Substrate With Variable-Width Bridges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mirror supports with reduced weight face challenges in maintaining rigidity and preventing sagging, especially when using materials like glass or glass ceramics, due to thermal expansion differences and difficulties in achieving high precision through hot forming processes.
Innovation Solution
A substrate with recesses on its surface, featuring bridging pieces of varying widths, which are designed to provide structural support and accommodate holding devices, achieving a significant weight reduction while maintaining high rigidity and minimizing sagging through the use of hydrofluoric acid etching and precise material removal processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If material is removed to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but rigidity and strength deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is segmented into multiple regions by introducing recesses, creating a structured pattern of bridging pieces that maintain rigidity while reducing overall mass. The substrate is divided into active regions (with recesses) and bridging regions (connecting the recesses), allowing weight reduction in non-critical areas while preserving structural integrity in load-bearing areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate are given different qualities through variable bridging piece widths. Critical areas have wider bridging pieces for enhanced strength and rigidity, while non-critical areas have narrower bridging pieces for maximum weight reduction. This local differentiation allows the structure to be optimized for both strength and weight simultaneously.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform bridging pieces are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but sagging increases due to insufficient local reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The bridging pieces are designed with variable widths where specific bridging pieces have greater width than others based on their structural importance. This local reinforcement targets areas prone to sagging while keeping other areas lighter, achieving both stability and manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniformly reinforcing all bridging pieces, only the critical ones are given excessive width for reinforcement. This partial action approach prevents unnecessary material usage in non-critical areas while providing sufficient reinforcement where needed, balancing manufacturing simplicity with sagging prevention.
3Weight of moving object
If spheres with plates are assembled to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but thermal expansion differences cause additional deformations
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is designed as a homogeneous structure made from a single material throughout, eliminating thermal expansion mismatches between different materials. The recesses and bridging pieces are all formed from the same substrate material, ensuring uniform thermal behavior and preventing deformation during temperature fluctuations.
4Manufacturing precision
If high precision shaping is required for glass or glass ceramics, then manufacturing complexity increases, but weight reduction goals cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The complex shaping task is segmented into standardized recess patterns with regular geometries (circles, hexagons, triangles). This segmentation allows the use of efficient manufacturing techniques like laser drilling and chemical etching rather than requiring complex custom shaping for each region, reducing overall processing complexity while achieving weight reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The design parameters of the recesses (size, shape, spacing) are optimized to work with efficient manufacturing processes. By selecting parameter ranges that are amenable to laser drilling and chemical etching, the patent achieves high precision shaping with relatively simple processing, avoiding the need for complex multi-step manufacturing procedures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves a weight reduction of over 85% with minimal sagging, optimizing mechanical properties and polishing behavior, and ensuring the mirror support's stability under its own weight, with maximum sagging reduced to approximately 0.5 to 3 micrometers.
Implementation Method 1
The substrate is characterized by the fact that at least a first portion of the bridging pieces has a width that is different than a second portion of the bridging pieces
Data Source
AI summary
In a substrate, particularly in a substrate for a mirror support, in which recesses are introduced in one surface, preferably in the back side of the substrate, as a result of which, in particular, bridging pieces are defined between the recesses, in order to achieve the situation that despite a reduced weight, a high rigidity still remains, which means only a slight sagging after its correct uptake in a holding device provided for it, it is provided that at least one first portion of the bridging pieces has a width that is different than a second portion of the bridging pieces.