Davin operates a rigorous ISO 9001 quality management system to ensure Client expectations are met or exceeded

Davin offers a comprehensive service capability, taking full ownership for the design and production of precision optical solutions. With a highly skilled and experienced team, and extensive investment in design, manufacturing and test equipment, Davin is able to fulfil the most demanding project requirements for Clients. Davin can call upon a network of long-standing, high quality partners to deliver highly specialist complementary products and services for integration into the solution.

Design

We have a highly skilled, experienced and innovative design capability, unrivalled among medium sized UK companies involved in precision optics / opto-mechanics. Our team has extensive experience in visible, near infrared, thermal imaging and CO₂ laser systems and regularly work to full military specifications. Our design capability encompasses optics, thin film coating, mechanics, and, through specialist partners, electronics and software, enabling us to undertake full responsibility for total solution design for complex, integrated assemblies. We are equally comfortable undertaking all of the work ourselves, or in working closely with the Client's own engineering team.

Our design team uses industry standard CAD tools - ZEMAX for optical design, SolidWorks for mechanical design and Essential Macleod for the design of thin film coatings.

The team maintains current knowledge through strong links with academia. Eddie Judd, Chief Optical Engineer, is a Visiting Lecturer at Imperial College London. Many of the design projects are leading edge, using a wide range of materials and coatings to gain optimum optical performance through the spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared, including:

1. Germanium
2. Silicon
3. Zinc selenide
4. Zinc sulphide (multispectral and FLIR grade)
5. Calcium fluoride
6. Optical glasses
7. Fused silica
8. Pyrex, Zerodur 

 

We have used all of these materials in design solutions that have subsequently been taken into production manufacture.

Prototype Build

Many projects require us to build prototype systems for testing and evaluation prior to a decision on production manufacture. Again, we are always pleased to actively support the Client's development programme, and to offer our knowledge and experience in the quest for design improvements that enable the system to enter into a production process.

Production Manufacture

When a design is approved for production manufacture, we will immediately assign a Production Engineer to manage the transition. His responsibility is to develop the most efficient production process, including the design and supply of tooling, documentation, test procedures, etc. Often, it will encompass design enhancements that build upon the prototype output. Our procurement team will set about acquiring all necessary materials, sourcing globally, including any specialist components or processes that are outsourced. The management team will schedule the production run once there is a full picture of availability.

We have an extensive range of equipment available on the manufacturing floor.

Optics resources include CNC polishing suites for 25 - 125mm ø lenses, NC polishers for 25 - 50mm ø lenses and a number of conventional 'poker arm' machines. Flat polishing resources comprise a number of twin-lap, planetary polishing machines and 48" 'float-polishing' (open face) machines. Centring and edging resources comprise a CNC machine and a number of conventional exchange spindle systems. Using special centring and cementing machines and processes, we are justifiably proud of our ability to cement doublets and to mount lenses routinely to accuracies better than 30 arc seconds and better than 10 arc seconds when required.

The mechanical engineering resources comprise a suite of conventional lathes, drills and mills and a number of CNC machines (including two sophisticated Matsura CNC 5-axis machining centres) supported by a full suite of engineering tooling and metrology equipment.

The whole manufacturing process is managed through an ERP application, and subject to the rigours of our accredited ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System.

Optical Thin Film Coating

In addition to our coating design capability, we have seven coating chambers on our Watford site.

We can accommodate broad band and multiband, high efficiency anti reflection coatings, partial reflection coatings and high reflectivity coatings. We also undertake military specification coatings. We work in near UV, visible, near IR, 3-5µm and 8-14µm wavebands. Equipment includes several visible and IR spectrophotometers.

For some of the more demanding requirements we work with specialist coating houses under our project management.

Integration & Assembly

We take total responsibility for the full integration of third party elements and final assembly and testing of the solution or system. We have a 300m² clean room facility with positive air pressure, and a 75m² electronics assembly area with full electrostatic protection procedures in place. We are experienced in setting up production lines for complex systems, taking all of the internal optical and mechanical components together with third party elements, and integrating, fully assembling and testing them.

Test & Measurement

We are particularly proud to have comprehensive test and measurement capabilities within the Company, including modulation transfer function (MTF) test facilities. Within our extensive test laboratory, not only do we have five MTF test stations, perhaps more importantly we also have the skills and experience to calibrate them, to use them and to interpret the results. The MTF capability encompasses visible, near IR and 3-14µm. In addition, we have six Fizeau interferometers together with fringe analysis software. Further testing is available to cover electronics, humidity, salt, temperature, etc. Full vibration and shock testing is undertaken when required at a local test facility.

All production output is subject to stringent final test procedures to ensure that shipped product meets or exceeds the required specification.

After Sale Support

We believe that it is important to offer ongoing support and maintenance services for the systems that we deliver to our Clients. We regularly provide full life support for our manufacturing output, initially under agreed warranties and thereafter on a contracted or chargeable basis. It is common for us to provide refurbishment and upgrade programmes, and indeed we undertake some refurbishment work for systems that originated elsewhere. We maintain all tooling for in-house projects in case of later need.