System Overview; General Overview; Wash Process; Dry Process - Ultra Optics Mini2 Operation And Maintenance Manual

System Overview

General Overview

The Mini2 is a robust backside hard coating machine that performs all of the required operations
within a single machine. The core coating functions utilize the same technology as the highly-
touted MR3 coating system. These key processes are arranged and packaged in a way to
reduce cost for today's small to medium sized labs.
The Mini2 is a completely self-contained system that is not required to be installed/operated in a
cleanroom environment. The system utilizes a pre-filter and HEPA filter to maintain a
continuous positive pressure of extremely clean air, which reduces the dependability on
operating in a clean environment.

Wash process

The lens is washed with high pressure,
deionized water. The clean deionized water is
stored in a reservoir (supplied by UOC) which
should be placed on a shelf below the machine.
When a wash cycle starts, clean water is drawn
through a filter (located inside the reservoir) and
out of the reservoir, into the pneumatically
driven pump. The pump increases the pressure
of the water to 2,000 psig. The high pressure
water is then sprayed through a nozzle onto the
back-side of the lens. The lens is spinning
during the wash process to help assure a
Figure 3 - Wash system schematic
complete surface cleaning. The spent water is
collected in the bottom of the wash bowl and drained into a waste water reservoir which should
be placed on a shelf below the machine. At the end of the wash cycle, the water pump stops,
and any residual water downstream of the pump is emptied through the dump valve into the
clean water reservoir.
The system PLC monitors all system sequencing to control the water pump and solenoid valves.

Dry process

After the wash process is complete, the machine will initiate the drying process. The lens is
dried by use of compressed air. In the drying process the air nozzle is articulated in a manner
that ensures a complete drying of the entire lens surface. Similar to the wash process, the lens
is spun while in the drying station to help remove all of the water.
As shown in Figure 4 below, the air that is used for drying the lens passes through several
filtration and drying stages to obtain the clear and dry air that is used for the drying process.
The timing of the drying process is controlled by the system PLC.
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