Optical Design
How to Specify Custom Optical Lenses: A Practical Checklist
A practical checklist for custom lens drawings: optical function, geometry, substrate, tolerance grade, coating and inspection, with the figures our shop verifies.
Insights
Optical Insights Blog
Expert guides, technical deep-dives, and industry perspectives on precision optics
Showing 6 of 9 articles
Metrology & Quality
Scratch-Dig vs ISO 10110: Understanding Surface Quality Specifications
How MIL-PRF-13830B scratch-dig and ISO 10110-7 describe the same surface defects, where conversion breaks down, and how to pick a grade by application.
Optical Design
Choosing Optical Materials by Wavelength: UV to LWIR
Material selection from the wavelength band inward: transmission windows, index and Abbe number, thermal behaviour and infrared process routes from BK7 to ZnSe.
Coating Technology
Anti-Reflection Coating Design: Single Layer, BBAR, and V-Coats
What single-layer MgF2, broadband multilayer and V-coat designs actually deliver, and the six items a coating drawing needs to match the delivered part to the design.
Manufacturing
CNC Polishing vs Diamond Turning vs Glass Molding: Choosing an Asphere Process
CNC polishing, diamond turning and glass molding reach different tolerances at different volumes. How to choose an asphere route from slope error, material and quantity.
Manufacturing
Building an Optical Tolerance Budget That Survives Production
How to turn a wavefront target into manufacturing limits: surface-versus-wavefront conversion, sensitivity allocation, RSS versus worst case, and compensators.