What Does it Mean? Even More Acronyms
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Since we first began this series of posts in
March, we’ve been giving some insider expertise on a few acronyms
and how they pertain to the fields the Greenlight Optics team works in. It’s
time to jot down some new notes because we’ve rounded up a few more acronyms that once again, may have
a deeper meaning than you initially thought. This time though, these
acronyms are near and dear to us, because they relate to some of the applications
our team works on.
• NC/CNC
This particular acronym has changed to reflect
the development of technology through the years. Initially just referred to as
NC for numerical control, as much of the work for numerical control is now done
on computers, it’s referred to as computer
numerical control or (Do you see where we’re heading with this?) CNC. While
this is a familiar term/acronym for us, we realize it may not be for
everyone. Numerical control is the automation of machine tools. However, these
machine tools aren’t those that are manually or mechanically controlled; NC
means machine tools are operated by programmed commands that have been encoded
on a storage medium. For computer numerical control, this is still the
automation of machine tools, however, the computers command most — if not, all
— of the control. At the Greenlight Optics facility, the experienced employees
we have are well trained in CNC machining capabilities; they work with CNC
lathes, machining centers, etc. to build precision mount parts
and injection molds. Specific intentions and applications for CNC machinery
vary from one machine type to another. However, one of the most basic functions
of CNC applied to any machinery is automatic, precise, and consistent motion
control.
• MTF
This is an acronym that is highly important in
the design and manufacturing of many optical systems. When comparing the
performance of optical systems, someone working on such a project is going to
use a common measure known as MTF, or modulation transfer function. For those
not in the field, that may just sound like a bunch of gibberish, however, it is a bit complicated. To give you an
exact definition, our friends at the International Society for Optics and
Photonics (SPIE), define modulation transfer function as, "the magnitude
response of the optical system to sinusoids of different
spatial frequencies," which, depending on how knowledgeable you are on the
subject, could mean absolutely nothing. In fact, a modulation transfer function
is another type of function; it’s part of an optical transfer function (another acronym, OTF). In an MTF, this particular transfer function looks at
the lens of an optical system. MTF specifically focuses on the lens’s
resolution and contrast/modulation. Used on various optical systems, an MTF is
important because it shows an estimated performance of that optical system, and
also shows what principle is considered the weakest link.
For a more in-depth
look at modulation transfer function, SPIE outlines the process here.
Perhaps not relevant to your
everyday life, these featured acronyms and their processes are used
daily at Greenlight Optics. If these few acronyms have you intrigued and wanting to
learn more about engineering or machining, that’s great! But if you weren’t agog
about the topic, don’t worry; there won’t be an acronym pop quiz … anytime
soon.
To see all of our capabilities for
developing and manufacturing new optical products, click here.
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