Recent design methods and software advances make it much easier to design aspheric surfaces that actually work in production and test by considering manufacturability issues at the earliest possible stage in the design process.

Designing aspheric surfaces is far easier than making or testing them, but manufacturing and testing considerations can be (and usually are, whether the designer knows it or not) made in the design stage. Early collaboration with the lens fabricator is vital to get the best performance at the lowest price with the least part-to-part variability.

Fortunately, recent design tool and optical software advances make it much easier to design economical, manufacturable, and testable aspheric surfaces. Using the manufacturing methods of Optimax and ZEMAX optical system design software, it is possible to map manufacturing needs into the design process as early as possible...

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