Ring laser gyro blocks manufactured by IRD Glass

Industries served

Different programs.Different risks.One accountable cell.

A laser OEM worries about angular performance. A medical buyer worries about traceability. A defense program worries about control. IRD builds each relationship around the failure mode that matters to that buyer.

Talk to an applications expert Request a quote

40+: Years manufacturing precision components
98%+: On-time delivery over the past decade
2: Minnesota facilities

Buyer paths

Start where your program lives.

Four markets have dedicated pages with build lists, applications, materials, and measured tolerances. The supporting segments below are covered further down this page.

Primary industries

Deep, buyer-specific pages for the four largest IRD programs.

Aerospace & Defense

ITAR-registered work for the primes.

Laser OEM

Arc-second parallelism, on schedule.

Medical

Strict specs, documented and traceable.

Precision reticles and vision optics manufactured by IRD Glass

Machine Vision

Optics that set what the system resolves.

Also supplying

Specialized work supported by the same machining, polishing, coating, and inspection system.

Precision tooling and fixturing at IRD Glass

Precision Tooling & Fixturing

Super-flat glass seals, spacers, polishing tools, inspection stages, and vacuum fixtures.

Precision encoder discs manufactured by IRD Glass

Sensor OEM & Pressure Transducer

Precision glass tubes, pedestals, rods, spacers, and masks for pressure and sensor assemblies.

Interferometric surface measurement at IRD Glass

Inspection

Reticles, targets, and references for the systems that measure everything else.

A precision polishing cell running at IRD Glass

Automotive Components

Repeatable glass and ceramic components for high-volume sensing and manufacturing programs.

Also supplying

Four more segments IRD builds for

These markets do not have dedicated pages, but the work is real and long-running. Each one is served by the same cells, equipment, and inspection methods described on the capability pages.

Lapping to ±.000010″ flatness at best case

Precision Tooling & Fixturing

Precision glass and ceramic spacers, super-flat glass seals, polishing tools, and inspection and vacuum stages for manufacturers who need a dimensional reference that will not wear, warp, or outgas. Lapping holds flatness to ±.000050″ typical and ±.000010″ at best case — the difference between a fixture that holds a part and a fixture the rest of the line can measure against.

Super-flat seals
Spacers
Polishing and lapping tools
Vacuum and inspection stages

Review lapping and grinding capability

Face flatness to .000004″, edge chip to .004″

Sensor OEM & Pressure Transducer

Customized precision glass tubes and pedestals for the pressure transducer and sensor industries, plus high-precision glass and ceramic rods used as tooling, spacers, or masks. Concentricity, parallelism, and end finish decide whether the finished transducer reads true across its full range and service life. IRD has produced sensor pedestals in the hundreds of thousands per year and precision tubes in volumes approaching half a million per year.

Precision glass tubes
Transducer pedestals
Glass and ceramic rods
Spacers and masks

See technical glass components

Sub-micron reticle line widths

Inspection

Reticles, targets, patterned masks, reference wedges, and optical flats that establish scale, focus, and calibration for measurement systems — plus the metrology capability behind them. Reticles are produced with details down to sub-micron line widths for semiconductor, inspection, and medical systems.

Reticles and targets
Patterned masks
Reference flats and wedges
Calibration fixtures

See machine vision programs

Prototype through high-volume production

Automotive Components

Repeatable glass and ceramic components for high-volume automotive sensing and manufacturing programs, where the same part has to arrive identical for years. Sawing, dicing, and waterjet routes are selected around the controlling geometry, and the cell keeps the process, inspection plan, and packaging connected as quantities grow.

High-volume production
Sensing components
Wear and protective glass
Custom packaging and kitting

Talk about a volume program

Your industry is context. The print is the requirement.

Tell us where the part lives, what can fail, and which dimensions control the system. An applications engineer will connect the requirement to a process that can repeat.

Talk to an applications expert Upload a drawing