FTS 5000 Blog Post – Zero Penalty Freeforms

Want to cut freeform surfaces 10-15 times faster when compared with traditional XZC-machining while achieving similar surface quality? The Fast Tool Servo 5000 could be the answer you’ve been looking for. In this video, our team at Precitech discusses the thought and care that went into the design of the FTS-5000 and what makes it unique from other fast tool servos.

Fast Tool Servos are typically used to machine freeform surfaces such as AR/VR/MR optics, lens arrays, or any other surface that would otherwise exhibit long machining times via standard XZC-turning or XYZ-rastering. The 5mm range, combined with peak acceleration of 40 g’s and a compact layout make the Precitech FTS-5000 the choice of many of the world’s leading optics manufacturers.

In addition to cutting performance, the FTS-5000’s FastCOM controller provides a very flexible platform for programming. Users can create programs in many ways, including via the many surface generation options in Diffsys or from directly compiled C code (written by hand or automatically generated in MATLAB/Python). The latter of which has no limitations on part size, no interpolation error, and can result in very compact programs.

By using the FTS-5000, users are enabled to create complex surfaces with exceptional surface finish in the shortest time possible; in other words, zero penalty freeforms.