PRODUCIBILITY ANALYSIS OF LENS SYSTEM DURING OPTICAL DESIGN STAGE

Subject of Research. The paper presents the idea of combining various stages of production of optical devices in a single logical sequence from the design of optical elements, through the mechanical and technological production stages, to the calculation of their manufacturing cost. This idea is all the more attractive because it is possible to control the entire process and save time and budget to decide on the most suitable production option already during the design stage. The information is important to be objective, related to the specific type and volume of production, and easily verified and controlled at the initial design stage. Method. The method consisted in combination of all stages for optical device creation on a “turnkey” basis, including the analysis and visualization of options for the device optical scheme, taking into account mechanical and technological aspects and calculation of the “project-product” cost, depending on the volume of production, with recommendations for its optimization. It is known that there are several alternative circuit solutions when designing optical elements, especially for image quality assurance approaching to the resolution diffraction limit: options for lenses containing only spherical surfaces or having different quantity of optical elements in the scheme, or lenses with non- spherical surfaces. At the design stage the choice is difficult. In this case, the decision is made taking into account the lens production technological processes. Main Results. The choice of the optimal lens optical scheme is performed. Evaluation of an optical device manufacturing possibility at the earliest stage is carried out, when the designed variants of its optical scheme, the manufacturing tolerances for optical elements and the volume of production are known. The manufacturing cost for optical elements of the given device for various variants of its optical scheme is determined. The study of alternative circuit solutions is carried out, for example, lens variants that contain only spherical surfaces or have a various number of optical elements in the scheme, or use non-spherical surfaces. At the design stage, the right choice is difficult. In the case presented in this paper, the solution is developed taking into account the technological processes of lens production. Aimed at this, a new software tool, called PanDao, has been applied providing a preview to producibility, fabrication technologies needed and production cost to be expected at the early design stage of optical systems. To illustrate the use of the PanDao software, two pinhole lens schemes have been developed and compared with a forward-facing input pupil that coincides with the aperture of the lens; the design of the first lens is consisted of the three spherical components, the second lens is a combination of four aspherical optical components. Practical Relevance. The possibility of manufacturability analysis for the lens system at the stage of optical design is shown, and determination of the optimal technological sequence of an optical device manufacturing is performed within the conditions of its production given volume. Modeling of the manufacturing process for various optical components gives the possibility to choose the optimal production chain and evaluate the need and cost of manufacturing, assembly and equipment testing. An additional advantage is the calculation of the device cost at an early design stage, which serves to optimize its optical scheme in some cases, and sometimes even avoid the prototyping stage. This approach is first implemented in PanDao software and is now available to a wide range of researchers.