A breakthrough in optical manufacturing could soon shift the global balance in high-precision optics, a field critical to both national defense and cutting-edge industries. At the heart of this transformation is deterministic polishing, a process designed to make the polishing process faster and smarter to benefit the entire U.S. industry.
The technology, developed by a U.S.-based collaboration among Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, OptiPro Systems, LaCroix Precision Optics and AmeriCOM, promises to dramatically scale up production of spherical optics without sacrificing quality. Backed by federal funding, the effort is part of a strategic move to onshore critical manufacturing capabilities and outpace foreign competitors. Optics manufacturing is a core component of everything from missile guidance systems to medical imaging.
The stakes are high, as is the potential impact.
In optical component fabrication, glass is cut to the near-net shape, and then ground and polished to the correct surface form and finish for a spherical lens or optical flat (windows). Deterministic polishing marks a fundamental shift away from the traditional approach, which relies heavily on manual expertise and decades of experience. While deterministic polishing has previously been achieved with sub-aperture, low removal-rate techniques, this effort is distinguished by being a full-aperture, high removal-rate rate CNC process. This boosts production capacity by 5X or more compared to standard processing techniques. AmeriCOM notes though that the technique is only viable for spherical optics, but most optical components in use around the world are still spherical in symmetry.
The team is developing AI models that track the variables in polishing and make real-time adjustments. It’s a shift in process that builds repeatable science out of artisanal skill.
From lab to production floor
The technology originated at Lawrence Livermore, where researchers began developing ways to bring precision and repeatability to optical polishing. The next step was commercialization, which brought in OptiPro to design the hardware and control systems, and LaCroix to implement the process on a real production line—an ideal setting for testing.
AmeriCOM has established the design-of-experiments and is executing the major data collection activities in the COM-Lab. These data sets will be used to train AI models that will be implemented in later phases of the project.
Next-level speed and scale
This new polishing process is a strategic evolution because it enables deterministic polishing using CNC processing equipment that every optics production house already has.
Dave Shelton, AmeriCOM President and CEO, says “If you’re making 100 of the same lens, it’s great. A specialized tool achieves uniform pressure and velocity, so you know you just have to control chemical influences on the Preston constant. The most important thing: increase production capacity. The longer it takes to produce an optic, the more it costs. Boosting production rates through automation and parallel processing is the best way for U.S. manufacturing to compete against low-labor-rates in other markets.”
By designing the process to work with existing CNC equipment, the team made adoption more accessible. Optical shops won’t need to replace machines or retrain entire teams. Just plug in a more advanced process that improves consistency and throughput.
That kind of speed and predictability could be transformative for defense manufacturing in particular.
“Mission systems based on optical sensors are critical to lethality and survivability across all domains of the battlefield,” Shelton says. “One of the biggest bottlenecks is optics. If we can produce more lenses faster and cheaper, that affects how many threats we can engage.”
Toward repeatable results
At its core, deterministic polishing turns what was once an intricate art into a science that learns from the intuition and feel of expert technicians and captures their finesse.
“Historically, polishing has been done by skilled craftspeople who make decisions on the spot,” says Mike Pomerantz, Director of Engineering at AmeriCOM and Senior Lab Technician and Lecturer at Monroe Community College (MCC) in Rochester, New York. “But that kind of artisan process doesn’t transition well from operator to operator. The goal is to make it more consistent and predictable, reducing waste and increasing throughput.”
Pomerantz is also involved in developing the supporting software that will allow polishing outcomes to be modeled, simulated, and optimized, before the first part is even made.
“We’re working closely with machine learning models to understand which variables drive success or failure,” he says. “If we can automate some of those judgments, we reduce dependency on tribal knowledge.”
Partnering to build the future optics workforce
As automation and deterministic polishing redefine optics manufacturing, U.S. companies are turning their attention to a critical question: Who will operate these advanced systems?
Even with smarter machines, human expertise remains essential. That’s why the project includes a significant investment in workforce development.
To address this, AmeriCOM has partnered with several community colleges to establish new optics technician certificate programs, which have already helped train and advance employees into higher-level technical roles. The certificate training spans one year and blends foundational optics education with immersive hands-on learning. Students gain experience in skills including grinding, polishing, diamond turning, sensor repair, maintenance, and calibration as well as optical metrology.
This direct career progression reflects a broader vision. Pomerantz sees this dual focus on advanced process development and skilled talent pipelines as essential to U.S. competitiveness.
“Adding ten people to a three-person job doesn’t make it go faster,” Pomerantz says. “But improving a process so that someone with a higher-paying U.S. job is more productive—that’s how we win.”
Competing with global rivals
As U.S. manufacturers face growing competition from overseas, particularly in Asia, the pressure to improve productivity without compromising quality continues to rise. Deterministic polishing is emerging as one answer to that challenge.
By leveraging AI, standardized tooling, and real-time process feedback, manufacturers could not only reduce costs but also improve reliability—factors vital in defense supply chains, where downtime and failure rates are not an option.
“Global competitors benefit from lower labor costs and weaker IP protections,” Pomerantz says. “But if we can design a system that multiplies the productivity of every skilled technician we have, we level the playing field in a much smarter way.”
A path forward
Ultimately, deterministic polishing offers something rare in precision optics: predictability at scale. The team behind the effort believes this innovation could help remove one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in defense and scientific manufacturing. They’ve devised this process with scalability and accessibility in mind.
“We built this to be compatible with existing manufacturing equipment in the U.S. to support our industry and our workforce” Shelton says, noting that the effort supports a current government program of record. “The entire U.S. industrial base for precision-optics will be able to adopt these techniques over the next few years.”
As testing continues and the technology moves closer to broader adoption, it’s becoming clear that deterministic polishing is more than a novel idea: it may very well change everything. When a technician can run five cells at once instead of one, that productivity gain can transform the entire industry in the U.S. for years to come.