Custom Optics

Spherical Lenses

Spherical lenses are manufactured on a custom basis, or sometimes stock lenses can be modified to suit a given application. Plano-Convex, Bi-Convex or Positive Meniscus (positive focal length) lenses and Plano-Concave, Bi-Concave or Negative Meniscus (negative focal length) lenses are routinely fabricated. Various anti-reflection or other coatings can be applied to the lens surfaces.

Cylindrical Lenses

Cylindrical lenses have their “power” or magnification in only one axis or direction, and can be custom manufactured with positive or negative focal lengths. In machine vision applications they are commonly used in conjunction with LED line lights or laser diodes to generate a well defined band or line of light.

Multi-Element Lenses

Multi-element lenses are manufactured on a custom basis for a wide variety of end users and applications. Typically we work with designs and drawings supplied by the customer. This category includes cemented achromatic doublets and lens assemblies mounted in aluminum or plastic housings.

Windows & Dust Covers

Protective Windows are glass or plastic components that typically shield a lens, sensor or lighting system from debris, dust and the force of impact. Aside from stock components that are described elsewhere, these windows are routinely manufactured on a custom basis to various sizes and configurations. Anti-reflective, hydrophobic and scratch resistant coatings can also be applied as required.

Diffusers

Diffusers can be thought of as protective windows, most often for lighting applications, that also diffuse and scatter light coming from a point source such as a LED, lamp filament or laser diode. Common diffuser types include ground glass, thin plastic film, flashed and solid opal glass, molded/textured glass and holographic diffusers.

Beamsplitters

Beamsplitter material is inventoried in various sheet thicknesses (0.5 to 3.0mm), for specific wavelength ranges from visible to IR, and in various transmission/reflection ratios. A second-side anti-reflection coating is normally recommended and thus is offered as standard.

MidOpt is a major supplier of all the above materials/components to many well-known machine vision lighting manufacturers.

Filters

Mirrors

Enhanced aluminum and dielectric mirror sheets are carried in stock in various thicknesses and types. Material is typically fabricated according to customer specifications. More durable, high-efficiency dichroic reflectors (sometimes referred to as dichroic beamsplitters) are also available to reflect desired wavelengths while passing other light. MidOpt stocks visible-near IR, red, green, blue, near-infrared (hot mirror) and visible (cold mirror) reflectors which are sized to specified requirements. In addition to flat sheet materials, the above can be supplied in right angle (prism), concave, convex and many other configurations.

Prisms

Prisms are optical components that typically use several surfaces to redirect, fold, displace and/or transmit light. Produced on a custom basis, they can be used to fit an optical system into a smaller space, change the orientation of an image or, together with appropriate coatings, combine or split an image or spectrum of light. Various angles and numbers of surfaces are employed depending on the desired outcome.

Wedges

A wedge is a specific type of prism used to deviate light in a specific direction by a predetermined angular amount or distance. They can be used singly or in pairs as a fine-tuning adjustment to steer or align a beam of light. Custom sizes, shapes, angles and configurations can be manufactured.

Light Pipes

Glass, plastic and fused quartz light pipes of various lengths and profiles are custom-fabricated to efficiently gather and distribute light to desired areas within an inspection system or to homogenize light and provide more uniform or evenly distributed illumination. Cylindrical, square, rectangular and hexagonal profiles are typically provided in either straight or tapered configurations.

Custom Filters

Aside from standard MidOpt filter designs and mounting configurations, custom filters can be made according to customer-supplied specifications for requirements ranging from prototype to high volume OEM needs. Our capabilities extend over the entire spectrum of filter products that we offer, including bandpass, longpass, shortpass, notch and dichroic filters.

Mechanical Parts

Typical components required for use in optical systems include those made of black anodized aluminum, plastic (such as Delrin®, acrylic, ABS and nylon), brass and other metals. While most are milled, turned and/or laser cut from solid pieces of material, molded, cast or stamped parts can also be offered.

Test Glasses

MidOpt has more than 3,000 test glass radii in-house, one of the largest inventories of test glasses in the world. Stock radii can be rented, copied or used to fabricate custom lens components. When used in the design phase of a custom optics project, this not only helps to greatly eliminate tooling charges, but it aids greatly in shortening delivery lead times. A complete test glass listing can be found within current versions of Zemax and Oslo optical design software, or can be emailed on request.

Surplus Optical Components

MidOpt also carries an exceptionally large inventory of optical components and raw glass materials. Precision custom optical fabrication is our heritage and specialty, and existing stock can often be more quickly and economically modified to meet specific requirements than starting from scratch. An extensive in-house optical metrology capability and experienced technicians ensure that necessary optical requirements can be achieved and maintained.