From: whit3rd@gmail.com   
      
   On Thursday, August 7, 2003 9:13:43 AM UTC-7, max wrote:   
      
   > How about if you need to cut 1mm slices out of an optical glass   
   > preform. I have been trying to find the right kind of saw for this   
      
   > I have seen what a diamond studded industrial saw can do. It cuts well   
   > although not precisely and it also chips the glass towards the end of   
   > the cutting process.   
      
   'a diamond... saw' is only one example.  What you would like, is   
   the fine-kerf diamond saws used for semiconductor dicing or   
   ultrasound transducer fabrication.   They're pricey.   
      
   The diamond grit will have to be fine enough for your application (graded   
   diamond powders in lots of sizes are available), and (in a simple saw) will   
   'charge' a copper rotating disk (the grit becomes embedded in the soft disk,   
   and cuts the more brittle glass).   
      
   If the cut surface isn't smooth enough, your options include: chemical   
   polishing (don't know how that works on any particular glass), flame  polishing   
   (likely to cause dimension changes), and mechanical polishing (take the   
   strips, embed 'em in wax on a mount, and set the mount into a polishing   
   apparatus).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)