BAE Systems has developed an improved tool for exporting optical design coordinates to Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) software. Existing scripts within common lens design packages export element shapes and rays which is enough for standard systems, but complex system design requires knowledge of surface vertices and coordinates for each component. Fixed coordinates for each element allows the mechanical engineer to place parts more accurately than allowed by the standard surface export algorithms, as well as locking optical elements in space so that mating surfaces do not inadvertently move optical elements during mechanical optimization. Including optical element vertex coordinates is useful for rotationally-symmetric systems, especially after multiple design iterations, and is essential for multi-channel, off-axis systems where apertures are not centered on surface vertices.

Date Published: 26 May 2015
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 9451, Infrared Technology and Applications XLI, 94511V (26 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2178399

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9451:
Infrared Technology and Applications XLI
Bjørn F. Andresen; Gabor F. Fulop; Charles M. Hanson; Paul R. Norton, Editor(s)