JacoTech - From simple to complex designs

The focus of JacoTech's custom optical micro-machining business is the ultraprecision CNC diamond turning, milling, and fly-cutting of cylindrical drums, rolls, and mandrels used to extrude/emboss/cast or calendar plastic and polymer based sheet and roll films and materials. The engraved units can be relatively small to unusually large (1,060 mm outer diameter by 4,500 mm wide) and heavy weight (2300 kg). These optical-grade engraved cylinder processing moulds can contain simple to complex geometrical patterns designed to perform a number of complicated light management control functions.

Using its custom-designed, precision large-scaled diamond turning equipment, JacoTech engraves complex optical patterns into materials such as copper, aluminum, electrolytic and electroless nickel alloys, beryllium copper, brass, gold and more. A typical drum during the engraving process is shown where the engraved portion is beyond the mirror-surfaced portion of the drum yet to be engraved.

Representative engraving is also possible where the lands between the groves are razor sharp, although the size of the lands can be sized as desired by the client. Jaco Tech's diamond-machined geometries can include plane, spherical, parabolic, general aspheric, toroidal, hyperbolic, elliptical, and cylindrical shapes including angular and circular patterns.

"To obtain the best results from a well-manufactured, cylindrically-engraved mould, a proper optical lens design is required to enable optically based sheet films and materials to perform optimally for a client's chosen resin and final end product," according to Dr.Gary A. Jacobsen, Chief Engineer and President. The company offers complete optical engineering and lens design services for lenticular lenses and other complex micro-structured plastic optical lenses, as well as lens system optimisation, diamond tool designing, and full metrology.

For over a decade, it has concentrated on improving the industry quality of both 3D-animated/motion lenticular offset printed and digitally-imaged display products used by lenticular specialty printers. "In order to accomplish this, an improvement over prior optical lens designs, diamond tooling and lenticular engraved cylinder mould processing were required to meet the ever-increasing requirements of world-class producers of extruded lenticular sheets.

An example of such an improvement is JacoTech's ability to provide superior, ultralow surface-waviness lenticular lens in its engraved cylinder moulds as compared to standard manufactured engraved cylinders," according to Dr. Jacobsen. A second example is customised shaping of the lenticular lens surface which creates much sharper, clearer, lower crosstalk, and greater apparent depth 3D-animated/motion lenticular printed/imaged products.

Unique engraving method
JacoTech also produces cylindrical moulds for non-imaging applications. Fabrication of these direct machined moulds is intricate and time consuming. The plastic processing industry continues to seek improvement in lowering its manufacturing costs and improving profit margins for high-volume plastic/polymer produced products such as retroreflective vehicle license plates and road/traffic signage using three-sided corner-cube prismatic materials.

"We created a unique method of direct engraving precision corner cubic pyramids into cylinders that can be used to create prismatic materials in web form at near full processing line speeds. The material manufacturing cost saving of using recent new advanced prismatic web roll production vs. prior art of costly and slow injection moulding and similar one-by one piece production methods can be dramatically impressive," Dr. Jacobsen explained.

JacoTech's products are highly competitive and arguabNike Mens Shoes