David,
Thank you, very interesting. One further note:
In these times, specialized subcontractors are the backbone of any in
manufacturing, IMHO. Make-or-buy decisions for any product are often extremely
complex and crucial for success.
I recall that Leica hired a computer firm, Imacon, to develop the code for the
late (beloved by some, me included) Digital Module-R (DMR) for the Leica R8 and
R9.
Imacon was a high-end scanner manufacturer of note, and broadly speaking; that
is what a digital camera is, a specialized digital scanner.
Unfortunately that association ended when Imacon was bought by Hasselblad, thus
ending any relatively simple improvements and future development of the R9-DMR
platform.
As I recall, Leica product stagnation set in in a big way because Leica’s
finances and prospects were at that point all but illusory.
Sigh,
Bill
On Apr 14, 2019, at 3:58 PM, David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Bill!
I think you'll find that virtually all camera makers use CNC machining for
almost everything. Even Tom Abrahamsson had the housings of his Rapidwinders
made using CNC machining at the machine shop of his friend, Uwe Zum Hingst.
Sadly, now Tom and Uwe are no longer with us.
I'm not sure who made the first molded glass lens, but the honor of the first
plastic molded lens goes to Kodak. They started using molded plastic lenses
in their viewfinder's back in 1952 and had such good success that they soon
started making molded taking lenses, too!
In 1966 the Leitz Noctilux f1.2, 50mm is introduced and is the first
production lens for a 35mm camera, that has an aspherical glass lens element.
However the failure rate is high, as the lens can only be tested once the
lens is assembled and only some 1700 are ever made. In 1976, it is replaced
with the much better known, Canadian designed, non-aspheric 50/f1 Noctilux.
The worlds first, low-cost, molded glass, aspherical lens elements were used
in the unnamed, 12.5mm f2.8 lenses found in Kodaks disc cameras, circa 1982.
Most of the other makers figure it out, within 10 years.
As far as I know, these days, regular lenses are still ground on machines,
but from rough molded blanks, rather than round "blanks". This reduces the
mount of grinding necessary, saving both time & money.
Because of the difficulty in grinding aspherical elements, they are usually
precision cast, for despite the high cost of casting, it is much less
expensive than grinding them. Many of the aspherical elements in modern
lenses are plastic!
I have not been through the Leica factory since it moved from Solms, back to
Wetzlar. But in the Solms factory, lens assembly was still very much a
hand-done operation.
I believe much lens assembly is still hand-done at Sigma, Nikon, Canon &
others, as well. Automated assembly would only be financially feasible for
the most produced of lenses.
Peter Klein may be able to shed more light on this, as he has been through
the Leica plant, much more recently.
You are right, Bill. A where it comes from and where it goes chart would be
fascinating. I'm sure they exist but, I think, are not given to the public.
When I was at Leica (2006) the, then new, M8 was still hand assembled. We
were allowed to view aspects of lens & M8 manufacture & assembly, but were
not allowed to photograph them. :-(
When Herr Kaufmann bought Leica & took it private, Leica was using over a
dozen sub-contractors. Over time, he has purchased nearly all of them and
moved them, from their various homes around Germany, into the new Leitz Park,
in Wetzlar. They are still independent sub-contractors as this arrangement
allows them to do work for other firms, and also insulates Leica and the
others financially, should any one of them fail.
A side benefit is that when parts are ready, they can be wheeled over to
Leica in minutes, via hand cart, rather than paying shipping. Smart!
Anyone else care to chime in, with more detail?
David.
David,------
Thank you for the colloquy on camera lens glasses, etc.
I would imagine that Leica's camera body production process, which is
said by them to be machining from a solid block of aluminum, may
actually be done from "near-net-castings," which emerge from the mold
with very nearly finished dimensions, or they must use an extremely
efficient computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining with low cost,
free machining aluminum alloys, i.e., easy to machine alloys.
Same with glass lens elements and "precision glass molding", as
described here, which could replace conventional lens grinding and
polishing operations.
Warning:this may be more than you want to know!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_glass_moulding
Can you offer any comments on these production processes which might be
in use somewhere in Leica's supply chain? Aspherical lens element
production must necessarily involve computer controlled processes.
The days when manufacturing of camera and lens piece parts was done by
hand in Wetzlar are long gone, IMHO. Subcontractors abound, clearly
Schott for one.
A "goes-into" diagram for a Leica camera, which shows where each piece
part comes from and "goes into" the next higher assembly, would be
fascinating, to say the least, but it would be tightly held proprietary
information.
Such diagrams are commonly used for many production processes, such as
configuration management, supply operations, etc.
As an aside, I recall seeing many years ago a video showing Canon's
automated lens production line; very interesting indeed.
Thanks,
Bill
On Apr 14, 2019, at 8:19 AM, David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
G'Mornin' Peter!
You might find the entry in the Barnack Berex Blog, interesting...
http://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2012/02/optical-glasses.html
In it, Heinz Richter talks about the high cost of some optical
glasses, and I can remember Peter Karbe saying that the special 900403
glass for the Noctilux cost them something like 1000 euros per kg!
Enjoy!
David.
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