Freeform optics made of plastic

Freeform optics

What are free-form optics?

Free-form optics are optical components with non-rotationally symmetrical surfaces. They do not have conventional spherical or aspherical shapes. Free-form optics can be curved in several axes and thus enable precise control over the guidance of light.
They are often used in modern optical systems and enable more compact, lighter and more powerful designs. Freeform optics can be used in the form of both lenses and mirrors.

Advantages:

The advantages lie in particular in better image quality due to the correction of aberrations (e.g. astigmatism or coma). In addition, several functions such as focus + deflection can be integrated into a single component. Adaptation to special installation forms is also conceivable.
In addition to the fundamental advantages of free-form optics, injection moulding also offers the advantage of lower weight and lower costs compared to glass. Furthermore, the design flexibility of injection moulding is very high.

Areas of application:

• Head-up displays
• Lighting technology
• Medical technology (e.g. miniature optics for endoscopes)
• Consumer electronics (e.g. camera lenses in smartphones, AR/VR headsets)
  
  

Injection moulding of free-form optics

The injection moulding process is very well suited to the low-cost production of free-form optics. PMMA, COC (e.g. Topas) and COP (e.g. Zeonex) are frequently used as materials. Polymeroptix has many years of experience in the production of free-form optics. For example, we have already successfully realised projects in the field of head-up displays and lenses for sensor technology. A final correction of the shape is sometimes necessary to achieve particularly high requirements in terms of dimensional accuracy.
Our injection moulding of free-form optics can economically produce quantities from a few hundred to many tens of thousands of units per year. We also offer prototypes of free-form optics. These are usually produced using ultra-precision machining. If only a few prototypes are required, it often makes sense to use diamond-turned parts. For larger quantities, it may be worth building a prototype tool and producing the parts by injection moulding.