Case Study: CNRS-LAM advances next-generation optical mirrors with Hexagon Marc

CNRS-LAM - Customer Case Study

The Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (CNRS-LAM), a public research institute in astrophysics, faced a challenge in manufacturing highly precise freeform optical mirrors for astronomy. The existing methods were expensive and slow. Their innovative hydroforming process was difficult to design and optimize due to complex plastic material deformation and the springback effect, which required highly accurate nonlinear analysis to control the final mirror shape.

Using Hexagon's Marc nonlinear finite element analysis software, CNRS-LAM was able to accurately model and optimize the hydroforming process. This solution allowed them to quantify residual errors, study the springback effect, and fine-tune parameters to achieve a final shape within a few micrometers of error. Hexagon's Marc provided the essential capability to model the extreme geometric and material nonlinearities, reducing the time and cost of physical testing and enabling the production of higher quality mirror surfaces.

CNRS-LAM

Zalpha Challita

CNRS-LAM