Grinding D263 Thin Glass – D263 Thin Glass (CTE 7.2 x 10^-6 /K, 350 nm – 2.0 um); Grinding to flatness to 5 um over 100 mm. No minimum order; DFM review included with every RFQ.
grinding d263 thin glass is a materials problem before it is a machining problem. D263 Thin Glass has down-drawn fire-polished surfaces and a Knoop hardness of 590 kg/mm2, so the grinding recipe – feeds, coolant, tooling – differs from what works on ordinary float glass. The line runs rotary surface grinders and double-disc machines with diamond wheels and holds flatness to 5 um over 100 mm.
Key parameters
| Material | D263 Thin Glass (SCHOTT D 263 T eco) |
|---|---|
| Thermal expansion (CTE) | 7.2 x 10^-6 /K |
| Service temperature | 400 C (Tg 557 C) |
| Transmission range | 350 nm – 2.0 um |
| Density | 2.51 g/cm3 |
| Knoop hardness | 590 kg/mm2 |
| Refractive index | 1.523 @ 587 nm |
| Stock thickness | 0.03 – 1.1 mm |
| Maximum blank size | 440 x 360 mm |
| Process | Grinding |
| Working tolerance | flatness to 5 um over 100 mm |
| Minimum feature | thickness to +/-0.005 mm |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2 – 0.8 um |
| Thickness window | 0.3 – 60 mm |
| Edge condition | ground perimeter, squareness 0.02 mm |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
Getting the drawing right
Before sending the RFQ, check these against your drawing:
- Material note: ultra-thin stock cannot take conventional clamping; parts are machined on wax or UV-tape carriers.
- Process boundary: subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces.
- Over-specification is the quiet budget killer: a 20/10 scratch-dig face costs roughly three times an 80/50 face, so grade each surface individually.
For the complete framework, see the tolerance design guide and the holes and edges design guide.
Process window
Grinding earns its place through bringing thickness, flatness and parallelism into calibrated tolerance before polish. Its boundary condition – subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces – is the first thing our DFM review checks.
Beyond this page, D263 Thin Glass routinely runs through dicing, cnc machining, etching, polishing in our shop – most real parts combine two or three of these steps.
Typical applications
grinding d263 thin glass shows up across medical diagnostics (flow cells, slides, microplate bottoms, cuvette windows); led packaging (groove covers, phosphor carriers, package windows); oled packaging (cover lids, frit-seal frames, fill-port plates). Background reading on the underlying material science: SCHOTT D 263 thin glass.
The fastest route to a quote is geometry: use the 3D builder below, draw a dimensioned 2D drawing from it, or open the site-wide custom glass machining 3D + 2D builder for fully custom parts.
Engineers scoping this work usually also review precision glass grinding, edge grinding overview, fused silica wafers 2-12 inch.
Buyer questions, answered
What equipment runs the grinding work?
Rotary surface grinders and double-disc machines with diamond wheels.
Is there a minimum order for grinding d263 thin glass?
No. Single prototypes are accepted, and pricing steps down at 10, 100 and 1,000 pieces.
How fast can prototypes ship?
Machined prototypes ship in 5 – 10 working days. Coated or bonded parts add 1 – 2 weeks depending on queue slots.
What files do you need for a quote?
A dimensioned PDF plus DXF or STEP geometry. If only a sketch exists, our drawing review service formalizes it before quoting.
Do parts ship with inspection data?
Dimensional reports, surface certificates and material certs per melt are available; specify the level on the RFQ.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in September 2026.