Mitigating print-through effects through an optimized method for CFRP mirror production in Chile

TL;DR

This paper presents an optimized layup method for CFRP mirrors in Chile aimed at reducing print-through effects and improving surface quality without adding extra material, thus maintaining lightweight and mechanical integrity.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel layup technique specifically designed to mitigate print-through in CFRP mirrors, enhancing surface quality while preserving weight and mechanical properties.

Findings

Reduced print-through artifacts in CFRP mirrors

Improved surface sphericity and quality

Maintained mechanical strength without extra layers

Abstract

In the manufacturing process of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) mirrors (replicated from a mandrel) the orientation of the unidirectional carbon fiber layers (layup) has a direct influence on different aspects of the final product, like its general (large scale) shape and local deformations. In particular, optical methods used to evaluate the surface's quality, can reveal the presence of print-through, a very common issue in CFPR manufacture. In practical terms, the surface's irregularities induced, among other artifacts, by print-through, produce unwanted scattering effects, which are usually mitigated applying extra layers of different materials to the surface. Since one of the main goals of CFPR mirrors is to decrease the final weight of the whole mirror system, adding more material goes in the opposite direction of that. For this reason a different layup method is being developed with the goal of decreasing print-through and improving sphericity while maintaining mechanical qualities and without the addition of extra material in the process.