The Ultra-Precision Lathe Facility based at the Australian National University in Canberra can custom machine metal and certain classes of optical crystals to optical-grade precision. The facility houses a Moore Nanotech 250 UPL lathe with a stiff air-bearing spindle. Depending on the material and the complexity of the form, surface smoothness of up to λ/50 may be attainable. The lathe has precision four-axes control and can fabricate non-cylindrically symmetric optical components with size ranging from tens of micrometres to tens of centimetres.
