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
Three items decide most of the cost and lead time on this work:
- 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 etching, double-side polishing, polishing in our shop – most real parts combine two or three of these steps.
Typical applications
The recurring buyers of grinding d263 thin glass: medical diagnostics (flow cells, slides, microplate bottoms, cuvette windows); microfluidic devices (chips, manifolds, via plates, bonded stacks). Background reading on the underlying material science: SCHOTT D 263 thin glass.
The fastest route to a quote is geometry: use the 3D configurator below, or the site-wide custom glass machining 3D builder for fully custom parts.
Engineers scoping this work usually also review precision glass grinding, edge grinding overview, ITO coated glass.
Buyer questions, answered
What tolerances are achievable on D263 Thin Glass parts?
Ground features hold +/-0.01 mm and lapped thickness reaches +/-0.003 mm. Ultra-thin stock cannot take conventional clamping; parts are machined on wax or UV-tape carriers.
What thickness range do you stock for D263 Thin Glass?
Standard stock spans 0.03 – 1.1 mm, with blanks up to 440 x 360 mm. Other formats are sourced per order.
How does D263 Thin Glass behave under heat?
CTE is 7.2 x 10^-6 /K and continuous service reaches 400 C (Tg 557 C), which is what drives its use where down-drawn fire-polished surfaces matters.
What accuracy does grinding hold?
Flatness to 5 um over 100 mm with minimum features of thickness to +/-0.005 mm. Subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces.
What equipment runs the grinding work?
Rotary surface grinders and double-disc machines with diamond wheels.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in July 2026.