Share a common language from design to build with software that’s the perfect complement to OpticStudio

OptiToday we’re pleased to announce OpticsViewer, a solution for companies using cStudio that helps improve communication, reduce costs, and analyze designs before manufacture—without purchasing additional OpticStudio licenses. OpticsViewer software lets manufacturing engineers and engineering managers easily view comprehensive design files to ensure optical systems meet manufacturing requirements.

The need for OpticsViewer

OpticStudio was built to give optical engineers everything they need to design optical systems; however, turning a tested optical system into a physical product requires optical engineers to share their optical designs with other production engineers. Oftentimes, this process forces optical engineers to export their designs into restrictive file formats that remove vital information from the original file. As a result, non-optical engineers lack the optical data they need to troubleshoot and analyze if the optical system can meet manufacturing, budget, and time requirements.

For catalog lens companies, larger companies that receive significant amounts of subsystems from suppliers, and companies with in-house manufacturing, OpticsViewer improves communication, reduces costs, and lets manufacturing engineers troubleshoot designs with the full picture at their fingertips.

Improve communication

OpticsViewer improves communication by establishing a common language across the optical design and manufacturing process. Manufacturing engineers can have more informed conversations and make better decisions when they are given access to all the optical design information. Non-optical production engineers have more information to assess optical design concepts and don’t need to make assumptions—or engage in tedious back and forth between optical design and manufacturing that can result in inaccurate or incomplete data. Plus, the OpticsViewer UI is designed for non-optical engineers to easily access the data that is most relevant to their role. 

Reduce costs 

With OpticsViewer, manufacturing engineers have easy access to the data they need to confirm design specifications before an issue arises. This results in cost savings. They can: 

• Optimize manufacturing methods for cost-reduction, quality, and efficiency.

• Diagnose and resolve overly specific tolerances and avoid scrap material and excess tooling that can increase costs.

• Decrease costs by speeding up manufacturing processes and reducing iterations.

Troubleshoot designs

Having an OpticsViewer subscription means the same file that is used by optical engineers to design, analyze, and optimize optical systems can be shared throughout the manufacturing process to improve manufacturability and ensure all design specifications. Manufacturing engineers can check optical design performance with a multitude of system viewers and analysis features—and adjust optical design parameters to analyze and visualize the effect on the optical performance. And manufacturing engineers can ensure that the optical performance is maintained throughout the manufacturing process. 
With OpticsViewer, manufacturing engineers can: 

• Load any sequential OpticStudio file without loss of precision or information. All design data is available, including design targets and tolerance ranges.

• Export optical designs into CAD format (STEP, IGES, STL, STAT) or LensMechanix for further optomechanical design and analysis.

• Turn optical designs into ISO 10110 standard drawings.

• Use system viewers and analysis features to study the performance of an optical design and verify it meets design specification.

• Adjust any parameter in an optical design as well as analyze and visualize the effect on the optical performance. 

• Design simple, non-optimized optical systems using catalog lenses from vendors such as Thorlabs, Edmund Optics, and Newport.

• Study optical concepts and bring back-of-the-envelope drawings to life.

Available as an annual subscription, OpticsViewer means teams don’t need to use valuable OpticStudio licenses for validating optical systems.

For more information, watch the overview video.