Optics cost modelling and design optimization

Optical designers can realize the required optical functions with a large variety of different designs. In order to obtain the needed functionality at the lowest possible cost, different design and assembly options will need to be taken into account. Additionally, the complexity of the decision situation is increased by the different production technologies which are available. The EC-sponsored project Production4μ is developing solutions that help optics designers to simplify and speed up this decision process. In this article, two different tools for calculating optics production costs are presented. The first one is a simplistic tool made for calculating the production costs of plastic optical parts. The second is a more complex tool that is able to do a detailed cost analysis for a complete process chain. This versatile tool can be used to calculate the costs associated to three main optical production methods: glass grinding, glass moulding and plastic injection moulding. Design For Manufacturability (DFM) issues are emphasized by drawing conclusions on which design characteristics have the largest influence on piece part cost. Practical applications of cost models are presented by relating optical design choices and expected performance to production cost with case studie