December
2002
Major
diamond machining order for Korea completed
P-OE's capability of delivering on major orders was highlighted
recently with the successful completion of significant diamond machining
project for a customer in Korea. The project has involved the production and
supply of batches of optical components with diffractive surfaces over a
period of two years. The customer has praised P-OE for the quality of the
components supplied and the timeliness of the deliveries.
Precitech
diamond machining lathe installed in a day
We are delighted to announce that it took
just one day to successfully install our new Nanoform 700 single point
diamond turning lathe from Precitech Inc in our diamond machining facility
at Hitchin. Once installed, the unit was fully commissioned in a further
two days and is now fully operational. Our thanks go to the engineers from
Precitech for such a trouble free installation.
Jernas
order finalised
In May we were able to announce that our parent
company, MBDA had secured an order worth £220 million from Malaysia for the
Jernas surface-to-air missile. P-OE, in turn, received the preliminary order
to manufacture the optical subsystems for the passive electro-optical
surveillance and tracking systems used on the missile. We are delighted to
announce that in September we received an order for these these components to
fulfil the complete contract. Jernas is an enhanced version of the Rapier
Field Standard C (FSC).
Take a look at our technical data sheets
We now have nine technical data sheets available
on this web site, covering our three key business areas of optical systems
engineering, diamond machining and interferometry. The latest additions for
optical systems engineering are "Athermalised lens design " and
"Optics for uncooled detectors". A new release for diamond machining
is "Specifying diffractive surfaces" and for interferometry,
"Comparison of fringe measurement techniques". All the technical
data sheets are available in as PDFs, and can be found by visiting our
technical library section.
October
2002
P-OE
Buys Precitech Diamond Turning Lathe
Further to our recent announcement that a new diamond turning lathe had been
purchased for our manufacturing facility in Hitchin, we are delighted to
confirm that the new tool is a Nanoform 700 single point diamond turning lathe
from Precitech Inc. Capable of producing high quality optical form and finish
on a wide range of non-ferrous metals, crystals and polymers, the Nanoform 700
is our fifth diamond turning unit and is one of the largest tools of its type
in the UK. Optical components up to 700 mm diameter can now be accommodated
which is equivalent to 350 mm off-axis. This extends the company's ability to
produce large optics such as mirrors for applications in, for example,
astronomy. Key to the performance of the Nanoform 700 is the latest spindle
technology, which offers a speed range of 10 - 30000 rpm and a load capacity
of 125 kg at the spindle nose. This not only brings faster cutting speeds, but
also allows excellent levels of surface quality to be produced. Surface
quality of 2 nm Ra can be achieved with excellent reproducibility. The new
tool will be operational from October onwards.
Out
and about in Cardiff
The recent Photonex 02 exhibition in Cardiff provided an excellent opportunity
to meet with existing and potential new customers and to renew old
acquaintances. Sharing a stand with Armstrong Optical Ltd, we showed a range
of our diamond turned components, as well as announcing the purchase of the
new diamond turning lathe. The exhibition was held in Cardiff to be alongside
the Photon02 conference, but next year will revert to its usual venue at the
NAC, Stoneleigh.
Booming
order book
Orders have continued to run at excellent levels throughout 2002 and
September proved to be one of the best months on record, and we already
have work lined up for our new diamond turning tool!
August
2002
New
diamond turning lathe ordered
We are delighted to announce that we have purchased
a new CNC single point diamond turning lathe for our specialist optical
production unit at Hitchin, UK. This brings the number of diamond turning
tools to five, maintaining our position as one of the leading European
facilities of its type. This significant financial investment in the new
tool reflects the steady growth in our business both in the military and
commercial sectors. Not only will the new lathe increase our capacity, but
will also allow us greater flexibility in assigning different workloads to
different tools, which will in turn improve delivery timescales to our
customers. The new lathe will be installed in good time to contribute to
the fulfilment of some major new orders due for delivery in the Autumn.
Come
and see us at Photonex in September
We will be exhibiting at the Photonex 2002
exhibition on 3rd & 4th September. For the first time, the Photonex
exhibition will be held at the Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales
and will take place alongside the Photon02 conference. Photon02 is
organised by the United Kingdom Consortium for Photonics and Optics and
will be the biggest optics event ever held in the UK. The aim is to
attract optics workers in both academia and industry, whether involved in
research or industrial implementation and manufacture. Photon02 features
the Applied Optics and Optoelectronics Conference of the Applied Optics
Division of The Institute of Physics, as well as an Industrial Technology
Conference and the Photonex 2002 trade exhibition. P-OE will be showing a
comprehensive range of products produced at our diamond machining facility
and we will be sharing Stand No. C23 with Armstrong Optical Ltd.
Hello
and goodbye
We would like to extend a warm welcome to three new
members of staff who have joined us recently. Peter Taylor and John Green
are new production technicians, while Chris Lewis has joined the diamond
machining team. We also say farewell to Ruth Ciampa, who leaves her
position in the administration office, and we wish her every success in
her future career.
June
2002
Enhanced
production facilities
Following the award of the contract to supply
optical subsystems for the passive electro-optical surveillance and
tracking systems for the Jernas surface-to-air missile, we are enhancing
our Class K production facilities at our Hitchin Site. The facility is
being reorganised and enlarged to accommodate this large project and we
are currently reviewing the blend of the team to work on the project. If
you have experience in the production and testing of high quality optical
components such as lenses and mirrors and think you have something to
offer us, contact our Production Manager, Tony Clark, by e-mailing him on
trc@p-oe.co.uk.
Fringe
analysis
P-OE has produced a new Interferometry technical
datasheet, IF003, entitled "Fringe Measurement Techniques". This
application note highlights how static fringe analysis and phase shift
analysis measurements are made, whilst an earlier application note IF002,
"Comparison of Fringe Analysis Measurement Statistics"
illustrates the differences through some practical measurements. Visit the
Technical Library section of our web site.
Dual
laser interferometer
Our high performance Twyman Green infra red
INTERFIRE interferometer system can now be supplied with two separate
laser systems. This means that a single interferometry unit can now be
used for measurements at two different wavelengths without the need to buy
two complete systems. Typical applications include the measurement of
wavefront aberration of thermal imaging lens and mirror systems, optical
homogeneity of IR materials and flatness of optical surfaces. Whilst the
INTERFIRE 3-5 and INTERFIRE 10.6 single laser interferometry systems are
still available for applications in the 10.6 micron or 3-5 micron
wavebands, the new dual laser system offers considerable cost saving
benefits for users who wish to make measurements in both regions of the
spectrum. More information can be obtained from Robin Addison (ra@p-oe.co.uk).
Staff
changes!
We welcome Kelly Streeter on secondment from our
parent company, MBDA, in Stevenage as a commercial apprentice. This is
part of MBDA's policy to broaden the experience of employees. Kelly will
be with us until Autumn 2002, and she replaces David Grey, who moves back
to Stevenage into a role in procurement. Also moving back to Stevenage is
Richard Franklin, an optical physicist, who will be working in the Systems
Department.
Out
and about
Over the next few months there are many important
international exhibitions. We will be visiting EuroSatory in Paris (17-18
June) and Optatec in Frankfurt (19-20 June). We will also be exhibiting
with our parent company at the Farnborough Air Show (22-24 July).
May
2002
Major
contract for P-OE
A significant order announced by our parent company, MBDA, is extremely
good news for P-OE. The contract, worth £220 million to MBDA , has been
placed by Malaysia for the Jernas surface-to-air missile. Since P-OE is
involved in the manufacture of optical subsystems for the passive
electro-optical surveillance and tracking systems used on the missile,
this translates into a substantial amount of forward work for us. The
first missiles are due for delivery towards the end of 2004, so the
delivery schedule for the components manufactured by P-OE will be well in
advance of that. This is the first export order for Jernas, which is an
enhanced version of the Rapier Field Standard C (FSC).
Up,
up and away....
Many of you will be rather envious to learn that Lee Carey, Business
Executive for the Diamond Machining Division, is taking a 6 month
sabbatical to tour Australia, immediately after a holiday in Thailand.
While Lee is away, his responsibilities, such as quote generation, sales
support and contract management, will be handled by Kevin Lee. Kevin
is an experienced member of the diamond machining team, who also has
expertise in computer aided design.
Dual
laser interferometer
Our high performance Twyman Green infra red INTERFIRE interferometer
system can now be supplied with two separate laser systems. This means
that a single interferometry unit can now be used for measurements at two
different wavelengths without the need to buy two complete systems.
Typical applications include the measurement of wavefront aberration of
thermal imaging lens and mirror systems, optical homogeneity of IR
materials and flatness of optical surfaces. Whilst the INTERFIRE 3-5 and
INTERFIRE 10.6 single laser interferometry systems are still available for
applications in the 10.6 micron or 3-5 micron wavebands, the new dual
laser system offers considerable cost saving benefits for users who wish
to make measurements in both regions of the spectrum. More information can
be obtained from Robin Addison (ra@p-oe.co.uk).
A
"double" welcome and farewell!
We are pleased to welcome George Old as Commercial and Finance Manager,
taking over from Sharon Stevens, who is returning to MBDA in Stevenage to
take up a commercial position in the Anti-Armour directorate. George joins
us with a wealth of experience, having spent the last 4 years at Alenia
Marconi Systems (AMS), where most recently he had been responsible for
sub-contract management. He has a background in procurement at divisional
and corporate level and has been a team leader in global procurement,
leading a supplier development programme across AMS. Prior to AMS, he
worked at Crossfield Electronics as Commodity Manager for optical
products. George plays badminton and is a keen supporter of Arsenal
Football Cub and is naturally delighted with their "double"
success of the Premiership title and FA Cup. Sharon moves back to
Stevenage after about 20 months with us. She will be managing a team of 3
people and will be involved in negotiating contracts with partners and the
Ministry of Defence. We wish them both every success in their new careers.
New
technical datasheet
The latest technical datasheet to be added to our web site is entitled:
"Specifying a diffractive surface". This looks at the equations
needed to specify diffractive optical elements on an aspheric surface.
Used primarily in medium wavelength infrared systems (MWIR) and long
wavelength infrared systems (LWIR), diffractive surfaces are routinely
used to correct for chromatic aberration, thereby removing the requirement
for at least one expensive colour correcting component. The datasheet is
available as a .PDF file and can be found by clicking here, and following
the links.
January
2002
Happy
New Year
We'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the visitors to our web
site a very happy and successful 2002.
MBDA
UK Limited officially launched
Following our previous announcements about the creation of MBDA, the
largest missile company in Europe and second largest in the world, we are
delighted to announce that P-OE's new parent company, MBDA UK
Limited, started trading on 19th December 2001. The three shareholders of
MBDA are BAE SYSTEMS, EADS and Finmeccanica.
2001
- "Best ever year"
"2001 proved to be the best year ever for P-OE", reported Robin
Addison, the company's Sales & Marketing Manager." Our tenth
anniversary has seen a surge in orders, and I am delighted to say that
this has been sustained in an excellent order book for the start of 2002 ,
especially for diamond machining and the design and manufacture of optical
sub assemblies." The company hopes that there will be increased
opportunities from the newly formed MBDA to demonstrate its
expertise in the supply of optics for seekers, proximity fuse optics,
ground based electro optical tracking equipment and optical and infra-red
sighting systems.
Web
site success
We are pleased that our web site continues to go from strength to
strength. We have had more visitors than ever during 2001 and the
technical library section is proving to be particularly popular.
Comparison
of fringe analysis measurement statistics
A new technical data sheet on interferometry is available in PDF format in
the technical library section. Entitled "Comparison of Fringe
analysis measurement statistics", the new publication looks makes a
statistical comparison of multiple measurements made using static fringe
analysis and phase shift analysis.
Welcome
to Ruth
We are delighted to welcome to Ruth Ciampa, who joined us in December as
Commercial Officer. Ruth has over 8 years experience in a commercial
office environment. She has taken responsibility for quotations, enquiry
database management, import and export documentation and order processing.
We wish her every success in her new position.
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