Mirror Technology Days 2012 will take place the week of July 30th to August 3rd, with meeting dates on Tuesday, July 31 to Thursday, August 2nd. Tech Days will be held in Rochester, NY for the first time at the Rochester Hyatt Regency! Hotel reservations can be made by calling 888-421-1442 or by clicking here. 

This event annually summarizes the USA Government's investment strategies and activities in development technology for any application (such as telescopes, imaging systems, seeker/trackers, high-energy laser systems, solar energy, etc.) which requires optical components. Tech Days covers technology investment efforts in: optical materials; substrate design & manufacture; optical fabrication and metrology technology; optical coatings; wavefront sensing and control via adaptive optics; nano-technology imaging technologies; etc.

The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC) will be hosting the event and SPIE will handle registration. Registration for the event will start in May 2012, but you can submit presentations to share at the event now until April 6th! Please send presentation information to h.philip.stahl@nasa.gov and include in your email:

• Presentation Title
• Presenter Name
• Company Name
• Sponsoring US Government Agency

and

• OPEN or CLOSED session

Open sessions are for basic mirror technology development research. Closed sessions are Export or ITAR Controlled presentations. Attendance for CLOSED sessions are restricted to US Citizens and Green Card Holders.

For more information regarding Mirror Technology Days 2012, go to the event page on SPIE website or check out the RRPC blog. OptiPro will be there, we hope to see you there too!

OptiPro U, OptiPro's upcoming training course in April, is more than half full! If you are interested in sharpening your knowledge in Advanced Optical Fabrication, sign up today before it's too late!

OptiPro U is taught by OptiPro's team of engineers, technicians, and opticians and allows students to learn how to use the latest CNC optical fabrication equipment and metrology solutions developed by OptiPro.

Throughout the weekend students will receive class room theory pertaining to deterministic microgrinding of spheres and aspheres, high-speed polishing of spheres, and sub-aperture polishing of aspheres while implementing interferometric and profilometer metrology systems. The seminar provides ample hands on experience while putting the class room theory to practice by using OptiPro's advanced optical manufacturing laboratory. Here they will use the latest PRO 80 Series machines and OptiPro eSX grinding, ePX high-speed polishing, UltraForm Finishing (UFF), OptiTrace 5000 profilometer and the PRO Tower interferometric platforms.

OptiPro U will take place April 16th through April 20th. Cost for the entire week of training is only $1,500. To sign up, please download and fill out the registration form by clicking here. Then simply send the form via fax (585-265-9416) or email to Pat Bechtold (pbechtold@optipro.com) and send payment to OptiPro Systems, LLC in Ontario, NY. Space is limited, so sign up today! 

OptiPro Systems will be exhibiting at the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing Tradeshow April 24-26 at booth #2222! Stop by OptiPro's booth and learn about the latest technological innovations being offered at OptiPro, including:

• PRO Series for low, medium or high volume production of precision optics. The PRO Series includes the PRO 80GTS (grinder, twin-spindle as an option), PRO 80P (high speed spherical polishing), PRO 80UFF (UltraForm Finishing for aspheres), and the PRO Tower Vertical Interferometer.
• UltraSurf 4X/5X non-contact metrology system. UltraSurf is capable of sub-micron single and dual surface scanning of precision optical components using a variety of probe options.
• UFF 300 and UFF 500 5-axis sub-aperture polishing systems. UFF is a patented process involving a moving belt of polishing material wrapped around a precision compressive wheel delivering 1/4 wave or better accuracies.
• eSX Series grinding machines, which includes the eSX 150, eSX 300, and newly-developed eSX 400 for up to 400 mm optics. Ask about the SXL 500 bridge-style machine for grinding optics up to 500 mm as well.
• And much more!

This year's SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing (DSS) exhibition will be in Baltimore, MD, USA - located near many top defense and sensing businesses, military facilities, and funding decision-makers. If you are interested in attending DSS, register to attend the exhibition by clicking here.

30 years ago, Mike Bechtold, President of OptiPro, and his brother Bob Bechtold established OptiPro Systems (formerly CNC Systems) in response to the rapid advancement of computers and its impact on the manufacturing world. Mike recognized that technical service and support would be critical in this new age of technology and assembled a team dedicated to supplying the industry with the best possible manufacturing methods available utilizing state-of-the-art CNC equipment.

Next month, we will be showcasing a video that takes you on a journey of OptiPro's 30 year history. See how a two-person company started in 1982 has evolved into an organization of 50 employees committed to customer service, devoted to innovation and with one goal in mind: Help our customers prosper through innovative manufacturing solutions.