Department of Mechanical Engineering

Commercial polishing solutions and innovative collaborative projects funded by the European Commission

Dr. Christophe Bouvier Head of Software Development, Zeeko Ltd UK

Hopeman 224

I visited the Department of Mechanical Engineering at U of R in 2002, initially for a year, as an exchange graduate student from France. I truly enjoyed the experience and this convinced me to continue the adventure and pursue a Ph.D. degree. Along the way, I learned about subaperture deterministic polishing and got married on the Genesee River.

After completing that degree in 2007, I moved closer to my European roots by joining Zeeko Ltd in the UK. Zeeko is a technology company with precision polishing solutions for optics and other complex surfaces. During the following years, I embraced the European experience further by becoming involved in three collaborative projects funded by the European Commission. Those projects deal with so called energy beams, which are “soft” tools like the ones typically used in polishing.

In this talk, I will first present Zeeko’s background and range of products including CNC polishing machines and metrology solutions. I will then discuss the European Commission schemes under which the projects are funded and give an overview of those innovative projects:

ConforM-Jet: freeform milling with high energy waterjets including self-learning/adaptability capabilities. For which Zeeko developed CAM modules and an onboard metrology solution.

DIPLAT: use of pulsed laser ablation technology to enable advanced functionalities in tools made of diamond and other ultra-hard materials. This project includes the development of a beam path simulation platform and machine controller upgrade.

STEEP: a Marie Curie initial training network providing research and training opportunities in the field of energy beam processing (laser, abrasive waterjet and focussed ion beam).

The projects objectives will be stated, Zeeko’s roles explained and some cultural experiences will also be recounted.