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www.zemax.com/lmx/ [email protected] [email protected] Help Manual LensMechanix 19.4 SOLIDWORKS

Help Manual - Zemax...Help Manual LensMechanix 19.4 SOLIDWORKS . Getting started Introduction to LensMechanix LensMechanix is a Certified Gold Partner SOLIDWORKS add-in by Zemax that

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Getting started Introduction to LensMechanix LensMechanix is a Certified Gold Partner SOLIDWORKS add-in by Zemax that simplifies optomechanical product development. It is used to package, analyze, and validate product packaging for optical system designs directly in SOLIDWORKS. LensMechanix streamlines communication and workflow between optical and mechanical engineers, reducing errors and failed physical prototypes. Mechanical engineers build the mechanical geometry with actual lens dimensions—without STEP, IGES, or STL files—and then run ray traces and analyze output to compare the optical performance of a design to the original OpticStudio output. Using the suite of analysis tools in LensMechanix, mechanical engineers can identify and resolve mechanical design problems that impact the optical systems—before building a physical prototype or sending the complete design to optical engineers to review.

LensMechanix is complementary to, but independent from, OpticStudio. LensMechanix is not for creating optical designs. The following diagram shows the engineering workflow from concept to build using Zemax Virtual Prototyping.

How LensMechanix works LensMechanix loads optical components, sources, and detectors designed in OpticStudio directly into a SOLIDWORKS assembly as live geometry and preserves the component data. This add-in is powered by the Zemax multi-threaded ray tracing engine used by OpticStudio. After loading OpticStudio design files, mechanical engineers create mechanical geometry in LensMechanix and run a ray trace through the system to analyze the impact of the mechanical geometry on optical performance. Ray-trace results identify problems, including stray light, beam clipping, and image contamination.

A simple chart showing pass/fail results for image quality and stray light metrics helps you quickly assess the performance of your design. Detailed data results are available for troubleshooting and deeper analysis. LensMechanix comes with a catalog of lenses. This is the same lens catalog that is in OpticStudio. You can also add custom lenses, sources, and detectors. LensMechanix does not include optimization tools; therefore, we recommend that optical design and placement be performed in OpticStudio.

For technical support

For technical support, email [email protected] (please allow for one business day for one of our engineers to respond). Please also send your feedback and feature requests to help us improve LensMechanix. We value your input!

System requirements • Windows 7 (64 bit) or later

• SOLIDWORKS 2017 or later

For a more detailed list of system requirements, click here

https://customers.zemax.com/ZMXLLC/media/Lens-Mechanix/LensMechanix-System-Requirements.pdf

LensMechanix updates When a new version of LensMechanix is available, you will be notified upon launching SOLIDWORKS:

You can check for updates anytime by clicking About LensMechanix in the Command Manager.

We recommend that you always use the latest version of LensMechanix so that you benefit from the

latest features and improvements.

Introduction to the LensMechanix user interface

When you open SOLIDWORKS, you see the LensMechanix workspace shown above. This is the primary location where you interact with your assembly. The workspace includes eight elements:

1. Menu Bar - The area along the top that contains the most frequently used tool buttons.

2. Command Manager - The primary way to create, edit, and analyze your system. You can access all the functions of LensMechanix in this Command Manager.

3. Optics Manager - This panel on the left side includes the Analysis Manager, Input Tree, and Output Tree. The Optics Manager is the other way (besides the Command Manager) that you create, edit, and analyze your system. The Optics Manager appears when you click the toolbar or the LensMechanix icon (located in the toolbar immediately above it) or open LensMechanix.

4. Analysis Manager - Appears in the Optics Manager. It shows you which analysis is active in the graphics area. To switch between different analyses, right-click an analysis and click Activate. This automatically loads the settings, the Computational Domain for each analysis, sources, components, detectors, and outputs for that analysis. Activating one analysis automatically deactivates the other analysis.

5. Input Tree - Located in the Optics Manager, the Input Tree shows a summary of the settings for the analysis that you are working on. The inputs include mechanical components, sources, optical components, detectors, image input, and surface power input. Inputs appear in the Input Tree after you add them by using the Analysis Wizard or the Command Manager, or when you

add them to the Computational Domain.

6. Output Tree - Appears in Optics Manager, just below the Input Tree. The Output Tree provides a visual summary of the current analysis outputs. Any output that you add to the active analysis appears automatically in your current analysis. Any analysis that you add to the system appears automatically in the Output Tree after you run a ray trace.

7. Graphics Area -The area where you display and manipulate your assembly and outputs.

8. Task Pane - This pane of icons offers quick access to many functions for SOLIDWORKS add-ins. Currently, LensMechanix does not include features in the task pane.

Set preferences in LensMechanix

• In the Command Manager, click Preferences to select your preferred language, naming

conventions for optical components, and other settings.

The following table explains each setting in the Preferences dialog box.

Setting Description Note

Language LensMechanix includes localization options for Japanese. To change your preferred language, select the language from the dropdown menu.

To apply your change, restart SOLIDWORKS.

Optical component naming convention

You can choose how the names of the components appear in the Computational Domain.

Short: Displays the row number and part name. Long: Displays the row number, part name, and the subassembly that the name is associated with.

Show object row number in component name

You can show or hide the row number of components in the OpticStudio file that was loaded into LensMechanix. The row number may differ from the original input file if it was converted from sequential to non-sequential, or if you added components.

After closing LensMechanix

You can save ray trace data as a ZRD file. However, these files can be very large. Use the dropdown menu to save or discard the data when SOLIDWORKS closes.

Send debug file with technical support email

If you click E-mail Technical Support in the Command Manager and select this check box, LensMechanix attaches a debug file to the email it generates.

This option works only on Microsoft outlook.

Save mechanical components in OpticStudio output files as

You can save an OpticStudio archive file (ZAR) from LensMechanix. You can save the mechanical components in the ZAR file as either CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS or CAD Part: STEP/IGES/STL.

If the mechanical components are saved as CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS, the OpticStudio user must have both OpticStudio Premium and SOLIDWORKS on their computer to open the files.

About using CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS You can save mechanical components that are created in SOLIDWORKS as either CAD Part:

STEP/IGES/SAT or as CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS. LensMechanix will use the format you choose for the

mechanical components in the OpticStudio output file.

1. Before you run a ray trace, click Preferences on the LensMechanix tab.

2. In the Save mechanical components in OpticStudio output files as dropdown, select the file

format you want before.

Notes: If the mechanical components are saved as CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS, the OpticStudio user must

have both OpticStudio Premium and SOLIDWORKS on their computer to open the files.

If you save mechanical components as CAD Part: STEP/IGES/SAT files, the OpticStudio user does

not need to have OpticStudio Premium or SOLIDWORKS on their computer, but changes cannot

be made to the mechanical components in OpticStudio or SOLIDWORKS.

3. Click Save.

4. Proceed to running your ray traces.

Using CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS offers several advantages:

• The LensMechanix and OpticStudio users can work in their preferred design environments

without converting files.

• Changes can be made to mechanical components after the OpticStudio output file has been

validated by the optical engineer and sent back to the LensMechanix user.

• If changes to a design are made in OpticStudio or LensMechanix and then shared, the changes

are reflected in the modified system because the components are in their native format.

Naming convention LensMechanix uses two naming conventions: basic and long. Basic is the default naming convention.

When the basic naming convention is used, the name appears as #|PartXX, where:

• # = the row number of the component in the Non-Sequential Component Editor in OpticStudio

that LensMechanix uses to calculate a ray trace. This number can differ from the input

OpticStudio file because the file may have been converted to non-sequential mode, or you

added other components to the Computational Domain.

• Part = the type of the component.

• XX = a random number that LensMechanix applies to the component when it loads the

OpticStudio file.

If you select the long naming convention, the component name appears as

#|PartXX@OpticStudioFileName. A long name identifies the component as a part in a specific

OpticStudio file. This information is useful when multiple OpticStudio files are loaded into an assembly.

Note: The naming convention that you choose applies to all LensMechanix files.

Packaging Overview of packaging in LensMechanix In LensMechanix, packaging refers to the process of adding mechanical components to an optical design. Use the first four buttons in the Command Manager for packaging.

Types of optical components you can use in LensMechanix LensMechanix supports all commonly used OpticStudio surfaces and components.

LensMechanix creates the geometry of the following objects in SOLIDWORKS, so you don’t have

to recreate geometry. Below is a list of all supported components. For a list of unsupported

components scroll to the bottom of this topic.

Sequential surfaces supported

The following sequential optical surfaces have a direct conversion to non-sequential objects:

• Biconic

• Diffraction Grating

• Even Asphere

• Extended Asphere

• Extended Odd

Asphere

• Extended

Polynomial

• Fresnel

• Odd Asphere

• Polynomial

• Standard

• Toroidal

Sequential surfaces supported with Grid Sag

Some surfaces that do not directly convert to non-sequential objects convert to a Grid Sag

Surface sampled with a 64 x 64-unit grid. Parameter information from the original surface

definition is lost when a surface converts to Grid Sag Surface. The following sequential surface

convert to a non-sequential Grid Sag Surface:

• Biconic Zernike

• Chebyshev

Polynomial

• Cubic Spline

• Extended Cubic

Spline

• Extended Toroidal

Grating

• Odd Cosine

• Periodic

• Q-Type Asphere

• Superconic

• Tilted

• Zernike Annular

Standard Sag

• Zernike Fringe Sag

• Zernike Standard

Sag

Non-sequential components

The following non-sequential surfaces and objects load from non-sequential OpticStudio files.

Non-sequential surfaces and objects:

• Annular Aspheric Lens

• Annular Axial Lens

• Annular Volume

• Annulus

• Array

• Array Ring

• Aspheric Surface

• Aspheric Surface 2

• Axicon Surface

• Biconic Lens

• Biconic Surface

• Biconic Zernike

• Biconic Zernike Surface

• Binary 1

• Binary 2

• Binary 2A

• Boolean CAD

• Boolean Native

• CAD Part: SOLIDWORKS

• CAD Part: STEP/IGES/SAT

• CAD Part: STL

• Cone

• CPC

• CPC Rectangular

• Cylinder 2 Pipe

• Cylinder 2 Volume

• Cylinder Pipe

• Cylinder Volume

• Diffraction Grating

• Dual BEF Surface

• Ellipse

• Elliptical Volume

• Even Asphere Lens

• Extended Odd Asphere

Lens

• Extended Polynomial

Lens

• Extended Polynomial

Surface

• Extruded

• Faceted Surface

• Fresnel 1

• Fresnel 2

• Hexagonal Lenslet Array

• Hologram Lens

• Hologram Surface

• Jones Matrix

• Lenslet Array 1

• Lenslet Array 2

• MEMS

• Odd Asphere Lens

• Paraxial Lens

• Polygon Object

• Ray Rotator

• Rectangle

• Rectangular Corner

• Rectangular Pipe

• Rectangular Pipe Grating

• Rectangular Roof

• Rectangular Torus

Surface

• Rectangular Torus

Volume

• Rectangular Volume

• Rectangular Volume

Grating

• Reverse Radiance

Detector

• Reverse Radiance Target

• Slide

• Sphere

• Standard Lens

• Standard Surface

• Tabulated Faceted Radial

• Tabulated Faceted

Toroid

• Tabulated Fresnel Radial

• Toroidal Hologram

• Toroidal Lens

• Toroidal Surface

• Toroidal Surface Odd

Asphere

• Torus Surface

• Torus Volume

• Triangle

• Triangular Corner

• Wolter Surface

• Zernike Surface

Non-sequential sources:

• Source Diffractive

• Source Diode

• Source DLL

• Source Ellipse

• Source EULUMDAT File

• Source Filament

• Source File

• Source Gaussian

• Source IESNA File

• Source Imported

• Source Object

• Source Point

• Source Radial

• Source Ray

• Source Rectangle

• Source Tube

• Source Two Angle

• Source Volume

Cylindrical

• Source Volume Elliptical

• Source Volume

Rectangular

Non-sequential detectors:

• Detector Rectangle

• Detector Surface

• Detector Volume

Geometry for unsupported components does not load into the CAD platform. We are in the

process of adding support for all components, to help us prioritize which components we add

support for next, please contact [email protected].

Non-sequential components

The following non-sequential objects are currently not supported in LensMechanix for SOLIDWORKS.

• CAD Part: ZPD

• CAD Assembly: SOLIDWORKS

• Freeform Z

• Grid Sag Lens

• Grid Sag Lens 2

• Swept

• User Defined Object

Sequential surfaces supported by manual conversion

Sequential surfaces that are not supported can be manually converted and represented by the non-

sequential objects above by the OpticStudio user. After manual conversion, they can be loaded into

LensMechanix. For assistance with manual conversions, please contact [email protected].

About the Grid Sag Surface object LensMechanix converts sequential surfaces to non-sequential objects. Most sequential surfaces have a

direct equivalent to non-sequential objects, such as the standard surfaces converting to a standard lens.

Some sequential surfaces do not convert directly to an equivalent non-sequential object. They will

convert to a 64x64 Grid Sag Surface object. The 64x64 grid is the default size and cannot be modified.

The shape of the Grid Sag is defined by a rectangular array of points. The point by point sag data is in the

GRD file which can be found in C:\<Users> \Documents\Zemax\Objects\Grid Files.

Depending on your application, the non-sequential Grid Sag Surface object may not be an accurate

enough representation of the sequential surface that it was converted from. If there is a large change in

the LensMechanix Baseline spot size in the Optical Performance Summary, it could be that the sampling

of the Grid Sag Surface is not accurate enough. You can confirm that the sampling of the Grid Sag

Surface object is accurate enough for your application with an OpticStudio user by asking them to

convert the system to non-sequential mode inside of OpticStudio.

For more information, please refer to our Knowledge Base article about converting sequential surfaces

to non-sequential objects.

Note: Surfaces that exist as Grid Sag in sequential mode currently do not convert to Grid Sag. The Grid

Sag surface will convert to a Compound Lens object.

When a sequential surface has been converted to a non-sequential Grid Sag Surface object, one of the

Optical Components in the Optics Manager will have GRD file extension. Surface number 5 (surfaces 2-3)

is the Compound Lens object that has the Grid Sag Surface and the Standard Surface as the parent

surfaces. To view details about the Grid Sag Surface, right click the optical component with the GRD

extension and click View Optical Properties. The description of the parameters is below.

Read about the Compound Lens object in the next help topic.

About the Compound Lens Object The Compound Lens object is a non-sequential object that supports complex combinations of surfaces

and apertures on the front and back faces of a lens. The Compound Lens object references two parent

surface objects. The supported parent surface objects include: Standard Surface, Aspheric Surface,

Toroidal Surface, Toroidal Odd Asphere, Zernike Surface, Biconic Surface, Biconic Zernike Surface,

Extended Polynomial Surface, and Grid Sag Surface. Additional surfaces can be added upon request.

When a combination of sequential surfaces convert to a Compound Lens object, the lens properties

dialog box lists the object type is a Compound Lens. The optical properties will reference the front and

back surface objects. For example, object number 5 (surfaces 2-3) is the Compound Lens object that has

surfaces 3 and 4 as the parent surface objects.

Load an OpticStudio file Use the Load OpticStudio File dialog box to load OpticStudio designs in LensMechanix. LensMechanix

loads the optical geometry, optical properties, sources, detectors, and other data included in a ZMX and

ZAR file from OpticStudio.

The Load OpticStudio file dialog box includes the following settings:

• Load optical components as read-only objects: The default setting is to load optical component

as read-only. Clear the checkbox if you need to make changes to the optical components. You

can modify lens properties, such as curvatures, clear apertures, and positions through the

LensMechanix user interface. For more details, read the help topic: View or modify optical

component properties.

Note: Some changes to optical components can still be made through the SOLIDWORKS Model

Tree. If you make unwanted changes, you can reload the OpticStudio file.

• Load OpticStudio Baseline: LensMechanix will perform a baseline ray trace during the loading

process which will add to the overall loading time.

• Locate:

o Fixed in place: The origin of the optical system will be placed at the origin of the

SOLIDWORKS assembly. You cannot modify the position of the optical assembly. Use

this setting if you do not want to move the optical assembly.

o Position with mates: You can position the optical system using mates. Use this setting

to move the optical subassembly and mate it with other parts of your mechanical

model.

About the Load OpticStudio File dialog box When LensMechanix loads OpticStudio files, it checks for three things: if the spot size changes

significantly, if conversion of any sequential surfaces to non-sequential failed, and if all components

from the OpticStudio design were loaded successfully.

• Convert to non-sequential - LensMechanix functions in non-sequential mode, which enables you to account for unintended paths. When LensMechanix loads a file that is designed in sequential mode, it automatically converts it to non-sequential. If an error occurs during this conversion, it means that the change in spot size from sequential to non-sequential exceeds 20%. The spot size calculations are ignored when the sequential file has a spot radius less than 1.0E-2 microns.

The conversion to non-sequential often exposes issues with a sequential design. If the change in spot size is between 20% and 50%, the following message appears:

If this message appears, we recommend that you either ask the optical engineer to confirm that the non-sequential performance meets expectations in OpticStudio, or you run a ray trace in LensMechanix, save an OpticStudio output file to send to the optical engineer, and ask him or her to check the performance of the converted design.

If the change in spot size exceeds 50%, the following message appears:

A change in spot size of over 50% is likely due to an issue with components converting to non-sequential. We recommend that you ask the optical engineer to convert the file to non-sequential in OpticStudio.

• Load optical components into SOLIDWORKS - All components from the OpticStudio design were

loaded into LensMechanix. If an error occurs, it is likely that one or more of the components in your design are not supported. Please contact [email protected] and provide a list of all optical components in your system, so that we can troubleshoot the issue.

• Complete loading process – A green check mark indicates that the loading process finished successfully. If an error occurs during the process, the following message appears:

To reload the file, restart SOLIDWORKS. If the problem continues, please contact [email protected]

View or modify optical component properties

You can view the optical component properties of each optical component that LensMechanix loads. This includes lenses, sources, and detectors. To make changes to the optical component properties, ensure you clear the Load optical components as read-only check box. You can view the optical properties of a component by right-clicking the component in the Input Tree,

and clicking View Optical Properties. If you loaded the file as editable, the menu will read Edit Optical

Properties. The Edit Lens dialog box will display the object type, material, and other optical properties

defined in OpticStudio.

About sequential vs. non-sequential designs OpticStudio uses sequential and non-sequential ray tracing to model optical systems. In most cases, the sequential model represents the desired (or intended) optical path. Non-sequential ray tracing provides access to unintended ray paths, such as rays that:

• Are partially reflected from optical surfaces.

• Interact with the mechanics of the product, causing unintended optical paths through the system.

• Are from outside the field of view of the lens that scatter into the field of view.

In most cases, these unintended ray paths cause contamination of the sequential (or intended) ray path. LensMechanix makes the transition of optical design to optomechanical design seamless for both sequential and non-sequential designs. LensMechanix runs in non-sequential mode. If you load a sequential file, LensMechanix automatically converts it to a non-sequential design and gives you an OpticStudio baseline. It saves a baseline data file, which is indicated by the green check mark in the OpticStudio Baseline cell of the Optical Performance Summary (OPS). When you load a non-sequential design, LensMechanix does not perform any conversion, nor give you an OpticStudio baseline. As a result, the OpticStudio baseline cell in the OPS is grayed out. You can calculate the baseline performance of your system using the LensMechanix baseline ray trace. If LensMechanix generated the baseline data, green check marks appear in the LensMechanix baseline cell.

About multi-configuration OpticStudio designs You can load multi-configuration OpticStudio files into LensMechanix. LensMechanix converts sequential configurations into non-sequential configurations during the loading process.

When you load a file with multi-configurations is loaded, a message appears next to the Configurations

Property Manager.

To view the configurations in a multi-configuration system, click the configuration you want to view. The

By default, the first configuration is the file name, and additional configurations are named Config1,

Config 2, Config 3, and so on.

Mechanical components that are mated to a lens in one configuration will preserve their mates in

different configurations.

Run ray traces with multi-configurations

You can run ray traces from for any active configuration. If you make changes to the prototype settings

in a single configuration, those changes will only apply to the configuration. To create an analysis in a

configuration, double-click the configuration that you want to view.

View results of different configurations To view the results of your different configurations after you have run ray traces:

1. In the Optics Manager, double-click the analysis that you want to activate.

2. To view results of other analyses in the graphics area, right-click the prototype name in the

Optics Manager, and click View results.

Note: The rays from inactive prototypes are 50% transparent; the rays for the activated

prototype appear normally.

3. On the LensMechanix tab, click Display OPS.

4. To view the results of the different configurations, click each tab, such as Config 1 Analysis 0 in

the image below.

5. To hide ray results, right-click the prototype name and click Hide results.

Deactivated

Deactivated

Activated

Note: When you create an OpticStudio output file from a multi-configuration design, the output file

includes results for only the active analysis. To save output files for other analyses, activate each analysis

one at a time, run a ray trace, and then save the output file.

Update an OpticStudio file You use the Update OpticStudio File command to update OpticStudio designs in existing LensMechanix

assemblies. This command removes the existing optical components and replaces them with updated

optical components from a new ZMX or ZAR file. The mechanical components in the assembly will

remain the same. Once you’ve selected the new file, click List Changes to view the differences between

the new file and the one in the model. This does not update the optical system in the assembly. To

update the optical system in the assembly, click Update.

Note: This command does not automatically repair mates or references in your SOLIDWORKS assembly.

You will need to recreate or fix these mates after the update is completed.

Add a component, source, or detector You can use the Add parts command to add more catalog components, custom components, sources, or detectors to an assembly. Note: LensMechanix does not include optimization features. Therefore, we recommend that any critical optical components are designed in OpticStudio.

Add a catalog component 1. In the Command Manager, click Add Parts > Add Catalog Component. 2. In the Lens Catalog dialog box, select a lens from any vendor. 3. Click Insert.

The selected lens is positioned at the origin.

Add a custom component

1. In the Command Manager, click Add Parts > Add Custom Component.

2. In the Lens data PMP, select the type of material for the component.

3. Select the type of component to add.

4. Enter the various dimensional information for the component.

5. Enter the positional information for the component.

6. On the Coating Settings tab of the Lens data PMP, select the type of coating for the component.

7. Choose specific surfaces and click Apply to Selection.

- Or -

Click Apply to Component to add the coating to all surfaces.

8. Click the green check mark.

Note: Components with no position information are placed at the origin.

Add a source

1. In the Command Manager, click Add Parts > Add Source.

2. In the Light source data PMP, select the light source type.

3. Enter the various dimensional for the component.

4. Enter the positional information for the component.

5. Click the green check mark.

Note: Sources with no position information are placed at the origin.

Add a detector

1. In the Command Manager, click Add Parts > Add Detector.

2. In the Detector data PMP, select the detector material.

3. Select the type of detector to add.

4. Enter the various dimensional information for the component.

5. Enter the positional information for the component.

6. Click the green check mark.

Note: Detectors with no position information are placed at the origin.

About fold mirrors You can add a fold mirror along the beam path of an existing system using the Fold Mirror tool.

LensMechanix preserves the beam path after the fold mirror is added. You must create a prototype and

run a Baseline ray trace before the Add Fold Mirror menu option is available in the Add Parts dropdown

menu. As you set up the fold mirror position, you can view a preview to help you place the fold mirror

correctly.

Important notes

• The fold mirror cannot be removed with the undo feature. We recommend you save your

assembly file before adding the fold mirror.

• There is no limit to the number of fold mirrors that you can add to an assembly.

• Fix fold mirrors in place after you add them to avoid unintentionally moving their positions.

• Fold mirrors move mechanical components mated to moved optical components.

Add a fold mirror In the following example, we add a fold mirror to the initial optical layout below.

We want to ensure that the optical components fit in the enclosed box below.

To add the fold mirror:

1. After you’ve created a prototype, in the Add Parts drop-down menu, click Add Fold Mirror.

2. In the Place the fold mirror between section, select the two components that you want to place

the fold mirror between.

Note: The fold mirror is placed in the middle of the first and second references.

3. In the Distance from First Reference section, increase or decrease the distance between the first

reference and the fold mirror, if needed.

4. In the Target Component section, select the component that will be the last to change position.

Notes: • Although your application may differ, detectors are typically used as the target

component.

• A box is placed around the components you’d like to reposition.

• If you have run a baseline ray trace prior to adding the fold mirror then components in

the beam path between the second reference and the target component will be

automatically added to the Included Components section.

5. In the Rotated Components section, remove any components that you don’t want to reposition

after the fold mirror is added by right-clicking the component and clicking Ignore.

Note: Components that are placed between the second reference and the target component

display in the Included Components section. Mechanical components that are mated to the

optical components are also included and repositioned after the fold mirror is added. 6. In the Tilt section, define the angle and the axis of tilt for the fold mirror.

Note: This will display a preview in the graphics area.

7. In the Fold Mirror Geometry section, under the Shape drop-down menu, select the shape and

thickness of the fold mirror.

Note: The fold mirror is added as an optical component with a mirror material this enables

the fold mirror to be optimized in OpticStudio. The fold mirror will have a default thickness of

1 mm and the default radius of the fold mirror is automatically calculated using the equation:

𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 =𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑥 √2

2

8. Click the green check mark. The fold mirror is added and the included components are

repositioned according to the preview.

9. In the graphics area, right-click the fold mirror, and click Fix.

Note: You can repeat these steps to add additional fold mirrors in your system until the space

constraints are met.

10. Run a full ray trace to see the updated ray path.

Note: The fold mirror appears in the Optical Components list in the Optics Manager.

How LensMechanix labels optical parts OpticStudio parts are labeled in the Comments field of the Lens Data Editor in OpticStudio. If the Comment field is blank, or you are creating an optical component in LensMechanix, the part is assigned a generic prefix, such as surface, annulus, field, source, and color detector, depending on the object type. LensMechanix then automatically numbers the parts sequentially. Examples of part names include surfaces 1, aperture 5, field 4, or source 8.

About the Optical Properties Checklist You use the Optical Properties Checklist in LensMechanix to edit optical properties.

• To access this checklist, in the Command Manager, click Edit Optical Properties. LensMechanix assigns the same meaning to colors that SOLIDWORKS assigns to colors. The following table explains each meaning.

Optical Properties Checklist

Symbol Meaning

Red X The component is not fully defined, so you cannot run a ray trace. You need to completely define the component (source, detector, or lens).

Yellow ! The component is underdefined, but LensMechanix can still run a ray trace. The ray trace results may not be accurate.

Green ✓ The component is fully defined.

About construction geometry Construction geometry displays the relevant optical geometry of optical components to use as reference when you construct mechanical components. In LensMechanix, construction geometry refers to apex, center of curvature, optical axis, and clear aperture sketches in the graphics area for all optical components. You can display or hide each type of construction geometry in two locations: in the Command Manager or the Input Tree. You can show or hide all geometry of one type, such as apexes in the Command Manager. Or, you can show or hide geometry for a specific component using the right-click menu in Input Tree. OpticStudio parts are labeled in the Lens Data Editor in OpticStudio. If the Comment section in OpticStudio is blank, LensMechanix gives the part a generic prefix, such as surface, annulus, field, source, and color detector, depending on the object type. LensMechanix then automatically orders the parts sequentially.

Optical geometry properties

Coordinate Systems and Vertices Coordinate systems on both the front and rear vertices of the optical components load with the OpticStudio file. * These coordinate systems appear in the CAD platform as native geometry of the optical components. The coordinate systems and vertices on the surface of optical components loaded into LensMechanix can also be viewed by selection within the Construction Geometry drop-down menu. The coordinate systems within LensMechanix will be given a name:

ZXCS_O{object_number}S{surface_number}

{object_number} is the number that is shown in the Optics Manager in front of the optical

element

{surface_number} refers to front or back surface of the optical element

• Front surface = 1

• Back surface = 2

These vertices and coordinate systems can be parametrically referenced to create construction geometry for packaging the optical system.

*All prism faces are not yet supported with coordinate systems.

About displaying optical tolerancing information You can display information in the graphics area about the tolerances in an optical design. Both sequential and non-sequential tolerance information is loaded from the OpticStudio file. This information is especially useful when you’re designing mechanical components for lens systems that have tight tolerances, because any change in position can affect the system’s performance. There are two categories of tolerances: positional and parameter.

• Positional tolerance information – Refers to possible changes in position that the optical engineer has accounted for during their tolerance analysis. Position changes are likely due to either how the physical prototype was assembled, or how the mechanical components were manufactured.

• Parameter tolerance information – Refers to changes in the optical component, such as the radius of curvature, thickness, or refractive index. These changes commonly stem from imperfections during the manufacturing process of the optical component.

Display optical tolerances in an OpticStudio design 1. In the Command Manager, click Optical Tolerance. 2. In the graphics area, click an optical component.

The positional information appears as a box that extends from a line. The parameter information appears separately in the Tolerance Data window.

Interpreting optical tolerancing information The following table summarizes the color schema of the optical tolerancing information.

Scenario Description Result

1 No components have tolerance information

All optical components are the default color

2 One component has tolerance information

The component is green; the other components are the default color

3 Two components have the same tolerance information

Both components are green; the remaining are the default color

4 Two components have different tolerance information

The optical component with the tightest tolerance is yellow; the other component is green and the remaining lenses are default

5 Six components consist of three pairs. Each pair has a different level of tolerance: 1) Two objects with high tolerance 2) Two objects with nominal tolerance 3) Two objects with no tolerance information

High tolerance: yellow Nominal tolerance: green None: default

Define a mechanical component as an optical component After you create a mechanical component and add it to the Computational Domain, you can define it as

an optical component. This is useful for creating the geometry for nonstandard lens shapes. If you

defined a mechanical component as an optical component, you can always redefine it as a mechanical

component.

1. In the Optics Manager, right-click the mechanical component and click Make Optical

Component.

2. In the Custom Component PMP, select Glass Type from the drop-down menu.

Note: LensMechanix includes seven materials that are common in optical design. If a material

you want is not available, save an OpticStudio output file, define the material in OpticStudio,

and then optimize the design in OpticStudio.

3. In the Selection section, click the faces of the component that you want to apply the material to.

If you want to apply it to the entire component, leave the Selection section blank.

4. In the Coating Profile section, choose a coating from the dropdown. The coatings available are:

a. No Coating

b. IR

c. NIR

d. UV

e. Visible

5. Click Apply to Selection if you’ve selected specific faces, or click Apply to Component to apply to

the entire component.

6. In the Custom Component PMP, click the green check mark.

Glass Types:

• Blank

• Material o Acrylic o Calcium Fluoride o Fused Silica o N-BK7 o Polycarbonate o Pyrex o Water

• Absorb

• Mirror

Note: When you define a mechanical component as an optical component, the Display OPS button

appears grayed out. This is because LensMechanix does not include optical optimization features.

Add a mechanical edge to an optical component You can use the Add Mechanical Edge feature to add a mounting edge to an optical component without

having to load the file as editable. This feature is useful if the original optical component does not have

enough material for mounting.

1. In the Optics Manager, right-click the optical component and click Add Mechanical Edge.

- Or -

In the Command Manager, click Add Parts > Add Mechanical Edge.

2. Click one or more lenses that you want to add a mounting edge to.

The component name appears in the Choose Components section of the Add Mechanical Edge

Property Manager.

3. In the Mechanical Edge (mm) column, enter the size for the mounting edge.

The changes appear in the Optical Properties PMP for the optical component.

Edge1 = Clear1 + Mechanical Edge

9 = 8 + 1

Prototyping Overview of prototyping in LensMechanix In LensMechanix, analyzing refers to the process of running ray traces through your optomechanical system, setting up a surface power analysis, and setting up the Image Viewer. Use the four buttons highlighted below in the Command Manager to analyze your optomechanical system.

Start a prototype in LensMechanix

After you load a file in LensMechanix and design your mechanical geometry, you are ready to start an analysis. There are three ways to create an analysis in LensMechanix, using the Prototype Wizard, Default Prototype, and Clone Prototype. Create Prototype Wizard (recommended) - Steps you through all the analysis settings in LensMechanix. This feature gives you the opportunity to establish all analysis settings to meet your requirements.

• In the Command Manager, click Start Prototype > Create Prototype Wizard. Default Prototype - Begins an analysis using the prototype settings that LensMechanix sets by default. This feature can save you time by avoiding stepping through the Prototype Wizard.

• In the Command Manager, click Start Prototype > Default Prototype. Clone Prototype - Creates a new prototype using the settings and outputs in the active prototype. This feature can save you significant time by avoiding duplicating work you’ve already done for a previous prototype.

• In the Command Manager, click Start Prototype > Clone Prototype.

Editing prototype settings You can adjust all analysis settings in the Prototype Wizard. You can revise existing settings in the Prototype Settings through the Command Manager. The following table shows the settings that you can select for an analysis.

Navigator Functionality Default Settings

Create Prototype Prototype name and notes Prototype #

Source and Scatter Adjust overfill settings and enable light scattering and ray splitting

Image quality

Ambient conditions Adjust the temperature and pressure of the optical system

Temperature (C): 20.000 Pressure (ATM): 1.000

Wavelengths

Adjust the wavelengths included in a ray trace

Presets: F, d, C (Visible) System: 0.6562725 (µm) Weight: 1

Surface properties

Add or remove scatter profiles All

Precision settings Adjust mesh settings, number of rays, and scatter profile sample R to optimize for performance or accuracy

Faster analysis Mesh Settings: 1 Number of Rays: 10,000 Scatter Profile sample R: 5 degrees

Allowable Δ Customize settings for allowable spot size(µ), beam clipping (%), and image contamination (%)

Spot size (µ): 1 Beam clipping (%): 1 Image Contamination (%): 1

Non-Sequential Settings Settings in this section define how rays are traced in the prototype

Max. Intersection per Ray: 100 Max. Segments Per Ray: 500 Max. Nested Objects: 5 Max. Source File Rays: 1000000 Min. Relative Ray Intensity: 1.00E-6 Min. Absolute Ray Intensity: 0 Glue Distance in Lens Units: 1.0E-6 Missed Ray Draw Distance: 0 Simple Ray Splitting: OFF

Computational Domain

Add or remove components from an analysis

All

Non-sequential settings LensMechanix users now have more control over the ray trace settings. They can change non-

sequential settings to make their ray traces faster for initial designs. Users can have more confidence

that all optical properties are being loaded correctly into LensMechanix and considered in ray traces.

Users can also change settings such as intersections per ray and segments per ray which can impact the

speed of a ray trace. This enables LensMechanix users to change the speed of ray traces for a better user

experience. You can adjust these settings to better fit the stage in your design process, for quicker ray

traces in the beginning, and better precision close to the end.

What are non-sequential settings? The LensMechanix ray trace includes non-sequential ray trace settings which can impact the ray tracing

speed and results. These settings determine the point at which a ray is terminated due to exceeding a

threshold defined by the user. By making informed ray trace termination decisions, the ray trace speed

can be greatly improved because rays that are not important to the system will be terminated, freeing

up computational resources.

How do I access the non-sequential settings in LensMechanix? When a non-sequential file is loaded into LensMechanix, the non-sequential settings defined in

OpticStudio will load and be displayed. A tab titled Non-Sequential Settings is activated within the

Prototype Wizard (figure below) and in the Prototype Settings drop-down menu. If the LensMechanix

user loads a sequential file, the non-sequential settings will be populated with default OpticStudio

values. If a user loads a mixed mode file with sequential and non-sequential components, the tabs

activate and will display read-only information of the non-sequential component(s).

The user will be able to change the settings regardless of if the OpticStudio file was loaded into

LensMechanix as read-only or not. The settings will be reflected in the ray traces and should match the

results in OpticStudio. You will also find a “reset to defaults” button below the settings that will reset all

changed values to the originally loaded settings.

What non-sequential settings can I view and change in LensMechanix?

Maximum intersections per ray

This control defines how many times a single ray intersects optical objects along any single path from

the original source parent ray to the final optical object intersection. When ray splitting is used, this

parameter controls the maximum number of generations of child rays split off from the parent ray.

Maximum segments per ray

A segment is the portion of a ray path from one intersection to the next. When a ray is launched from

the source, it travels to the first optical object. That is 1 segment. If the ray then splits into 2 rays, each

of those are another segment (for a total of 3). If each of those rays split again, there will be 7 segments.

Generally, if ray splitting is being used, the number of segments grows far faster, and needs to be set

much larger, than the number of ray-object intersections does.

Maximum source file rays in memory

This parameter sets the maximum number of rays for each Source File object that will be held in

memory. The recommended value is 1,000,000 rays; the minimum value is 5000 rays.

Minimum relative ray intensity

As each ray splits, the energy decreases. The relative ray intensity is a lower limit on how much energy

the ray can carry and still be traced. This parameter is a fraction, such as 0.001, relative to the starting

ray intensity from the source. (If all rays have an equal intensity weight, then the starting intensity of a

ray is the initial power divided by the number of analysis rays.) Once a child ray falls below this relative

energy, the ray is terminated.

Minimum absolute ray intensity

This parameter is very similar to the minimum relative ray intensity, except it is absolute in source units

rather than relative to the starting intensity. If this is zero, the absolute ray intensity threshold is

ignored. The initial intensity of each ray is always given by the source intensity divided by the total

number of analysis rays for that source. The number of layout rays is not used to determine the initial

intensity of rays, even for those rays drawn on layout plots.

Glue distance*

If the space separating two optical objects is smaller than the glue distance, LensMechanix considers the

two optical objects to be touching. In this case, the ray trace will not trace through the gap between the

two optical objects and will trace from one object to the next. If the space separating two optical objects

is larger than the glue distance, LensMechanix considers the two optical objects to have a gap in

between them. If two optical objects are in contact, the maximum distance between the optical objects

should be several times smaller than the glue distance. If the optical objects are separated, the distance

between the optical object should be several times larger than the glue distance. It is important that the

distance between optical objects in the design are not close to the value of the glue distance. If optical

object spacings are very close to the glue distance, you may yield inconsistent ray tracing or geometry

errors. This can be avoided by adjusting either the optical object spacing or the glue distance.

In the majority of cases, no adjustment should be made to the glue distance parameter. The glue

distance must be no smaller than 1.0E-10 and no larger than 1.0E-03.

Missed ray draw distance*

This parameter is the distance that a ray is drawn after there are no more intersections with any

mechanical or optical objects. LensMechanix will draw a short ray segment to indicate the direction the

ray is traveling in. If set to zero, LensMechanix will select a default value for this parameter when

drawing missed rays and some sources.

Simple ray splitting

When a ray strikes a refractive boundary, such as a lens, some energy will reflect, and some will refract. If Simple Ray Splitting is off, then both the reflected and refracted rays are traced. Each

ray gets the fraction of energy corresponding to the reflection and transmission coefficients of the interface. If Simple Ray Splitting is on, then either the reflected or the refracted ray is traced, but not both. Rays are reflected or refracted at random, with the reflection and transmission coefficients interpreted as a relative probability of taking that path. Whichever path is traced, the reflected or refracted ray will have all of the energy that would have propagated down both paths. The advantage to using Simple Ray Splitting is that fewer rays are traced, so computations are faster. The disadvantage is that the rays traced contain less detailed information. Simple Ray Splitting only applies to refractive surfaces, because the transmitted rays are not traced for MIRROR surfaces.

If the surface has scattering or diffraction properties, then the incident rays may still be split into

multiple segments, but only for either the reflected segments or the transmitted segments. In other

words, though rays may still be splitting based on the defined surface properties, the splitting will only

occur in the reflected or transmitted path, but not in both paths at once.

*Glue distance and missed ray draw distance will be displayed in the units defined in the CAD platform

rather than the lens units from OpticStudio.

Add a custom wavelength to your prototype Note: Adding a custom wavelength can affect optical performance. Therefore, it is strongly

recommended that you talk to the optical engineer before you add a custom wavelength.

1. In the Wavelengths dialog box, click the green plus sign to create a new row.

2. Enter the wavelength value that you want to use in the new row.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add more wavelengths to the analysis, or click OK.

About the Computational Domain The Computational Domain defines what components in your assembly should be included in the ray trace, and which components can be ignored. This feature is particularly useful when using assemblies that have many components that do not interfere with the optical path, or assemblies with complex components that will not affect the performance. Screws, power supplies, and external housings are some examples of components that you might not need to include in your ray trace. Eliminating them by using the Computational Domain can dramatically reduce the time it takes to run a ray trace.

Set up the Computational Domain 1. In the Command Manager, click Prototype Settings > Computational Domain. 2. In the graphics area, using the arrows at the edge of the box drawn around your assembly, drag

the edges of the box until the box includes all relevant optical and mechanical components. Be sure to avoid excluding any sources or detectors.

3. In the Computational Domain, in the Included Components selection box, right-click any additional components that should not be included in the ray trace and select Remove From Computational Domain.

4. In the Computational Domain, in the Ignored Components selection box, right-click any additional components that should be included in the ray trace and select Remove From Computational Domain.

5. At the top of the Computational Domain, click the green check mark.

Note: You can drag and drop components from the Included Components and Ignored Components selection boxes.

About ray splitting

When a ray interacts with a surface, part of the energy is reflected, part of the energy is transmitted, and—depending upon the surface properties—part of the energy may be absorbed. Ray splitting refers to the ability to compute the reflected and transmitted paths of rays, and then trace the trajectories of both types of rays. In the image on the left, LensMechanix traced 10 rays without ray splitting enabled. In the image on the right, LensMechanix traced one ray with ray splitting enabled. The total number of rays traced in the optical system can become extremely large, which requires more computational time. By using ray splitting, you can find unintended paths that will cause performance issues in physical prototypes. LensMechanix includes the following default values to control ray splitting:

Maximum number of ray-object intersections: Describes how many times a ray along any path, from the original source parent ray to the final ray-object intersection, may intersect another object. (Default setting = 100) Maximum number of ray segments: A ray segment is the portion of a ray path from one intersection to the next. When a ray is launched from a source, it travels to the first object. That is one segment. If the ray then splits into two rays, each of those are new segments (total of three segments). If each of those rays splits again, it results in seven segments. Because the number of ray segments grows far faster than the number of ray-object intersections, we recommend that the optical engineer set a higher value for the maximum number of ray segments. (Default setting = 500) Minimum relative ray intensity: With each instance of splitting, the energy of the resulting rays is decreased. The relative ray intensity is a lower limit of how much energy a ray can carry and still be traced. This parameter is a fraction, such as 0.001, relative to the starting ray intensity from the source. If a child ray falls below this relative energy, the ray is terminated. (Default setting = 1.0000E-003)

Minimum absolute ray intensity: This parameter is very similar to the minimum relative ray intensity, except it is absolute in system source units rather than relative to the starting intensity. If the minimum absolute ray intensity is zero, LensMechanix ignores the absolute ray intensity threshold. LensMechanix always calculates the initial intensity of each ray by the source intensity, divided by the total number of analysis rays for that source. (Default setting = 0.000E+000)

Notes: Changes to the default settings must be made in OpticStudio. Ray splitting is disabled by default. You can enable ray splitting in the Source and Scatter dialog box.

Turn on ray splitting Note: Ray splitting is disabled by default.

• In the Source and Scatter dialog box, click Image quality + light scattering + ray splitting, and click OK.

About scatter profiles Scatter profiles are a surface property. They include finishes and textures, such as black paint, black foil, gray plastic, and stainless steel. Using a scatter profile gives you a more accurate ray trace and insight about your design. LensMechanix changes the surfaces of the mechanical parts from perfect reflectors to the scatter profile that you choose. For any mechanical geometry without a scatter profile, LensMechanix assumes it is a perfect reflective surface during a ray trace. LensMechanix includes 11 of the most common surface property profiles. You can select any component in your Computational Domain and assign a scatter profile to the component. You can assign scatter profiles to one or more surfaces or to the entire component. Note: Properties of mechanical components are assembly properties, so scatter profiles that are

assigned to mechanical components do not change from configuration to configuration when you work

with multi-configuration files.

Apply a scatter profile that comes with LensMechanix

You can apply a scatter profile to an entire component, such as the housing. You can also apply a scatter profile to individual surfaces of a component, such as the bezel of a housing. 1. In the Input Tree, under Mechanical Components, right-click a

component, and click Edit Surface Properties.

2. To edit an entire component, under Scatter Profile, in the dropdown menu, select the scatter profile you want, and click Apply to Component.

- Or -

To edit specific surfaces, select the surfaces you want to modify in the graphics area. Under Scatter Profile, in the dropdown menu, select the scatter profile you want, and click Apply to Selection.

Note: When you select specific surfaces, you can choose only surfaces of the component that you are modifying.

Add your own scatter profile

• In the Surface Properties dialog box, click Browse to find the scatter profile that you want to

apply.

Tip: If you plan to use a specific scatter profile frequently, add it to your scatter data folder, located at C:/Users/<Username>/Documents/Zemax/ScatterData.

Why can’t I get an Image Viewer analysis? The input file must come from the correct type of OpticStudio file: either a sequential file that goes to an image plane, or a non-sequential file that includes the proper components. You cannot use the Image Viewer if the sequential file does not have an image surface as the last object. In a non-sequential file, the Lambertian overfill source, slide object, and a color detector must all be present in the proper locations.

Set up a surface power analysis

You can view the power on a surface of any component by selecting the optical or mechanical components and then running a ray trace. You can analyze one or multiple components in a surface power analysis. Always set up a surface power analysis before you run a ray trace.

To set up a surface power analysis:

1. In the Command Manager, click Add Inputs > Surface Power Input.

2. In the graphics area, select the components you want to add to your surface power analysis.

3. In the Surface Power window, under Display, click Flux or Irradiance.

4. Under Choose a color scale, select a color scale option.

5. In the Resolution dropdown, select the resolution for your analysis.

6. At the top of the Surface Power window, select the green check mark.

7. Run a ray trace.

The surface power analysis appears in the graphics area.

Note: To view a different surface power that you created, in the Output Tree, right-click the surface

power analysis you want to see, and click Show.

About ray traces LensMechanix includes two types of ray traces: baseline ray trace and full ray trace. We recommend that you run a baseline ray trace after you load the OpticStudio file to verify that the system performs correctly in LensMechanix.

Baseline Ray Trace - Uses only the optical components and ignores mechanical components. Run a baseline ray trace to isolate design issues. For optical systems coming from a sequential design, a baseline ray trace validates that the underlying optical system still meets the performance requirements. For optical systems coming from non-sequential designs, a baseline ray trace creates the performance baseline so that you can compare it to a full ray trace, which includes both optical and mechanical components. Running a baseline ray trace populates the LensMechanix baseline cell in the Optical Performance Summary (OPS). Full Ray Trace - Analyzes the entire system using the inputs and settings that you establish. A full ray trace is the most robust ray trace in LensMechanix. Run a full ray trace when your mechanical geometry is ready for a full analysis—in other words, after you run a baseline ray trace. A full ray trace takes the longest to perform of the ray traces because it is the most robust. A full ray trace always results in a LensMechanix output. There is no OpticStudio ray trace in LensMechanix; that data comes with the files when you are loaded into LensMechanix.

Note: You must load sources and light detectors before you can run a ray trace. Get the sources and light detector files from the optical engineer.

Run a ray trace in LensMechanix You can select more than one type of ray trace for one instance. LensMechanix performs all selected ray

traces in the order shown in the PMP. However, running multiple ray traces increases the overall

ray-trace time.

1. On the LensMechanix tab in the Command Manager, click Ray Trace.

2. In the Ray Trace PMP, select the type of ray trace you want to run.

3. Click Run.

Note: You can run a ray trace multiple times to evaluate the system as the design matures or changes

are made. Each ray trace overwrites the data in the Optical Performance Summary (OPS). To save

previous ray trace data, create a new analysis.

Troubleshoot a ray-trace failure There are a couple reasons that a ray trace might fail:

• The ray trace tool timed out

• An error occurred while LensMechanix was processing ray-trace results

We recommend that you save your assembly, restart SOLIDWORKS, and run another ray trace. If the

issue persists, please email [email protected].

About an OpticStudio baseline vs. a LensMechanix baseline Baseline files store performance data, and then use the data to compare any subsequent output as you develop the optomechanical design. If you make changes to your design, the baseline tells you if the design is within or outside the performance tolerances. There are two types of baselines in LensMechanix:

OpticStudio baseline - Includes data generated from the sequential OpticStudio design for the three performance criteria in Optical Performance Summary (OPS): spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination. If you load a sequential design from OpticStudio, an OpticStudio baseline is saved in your LensMechanix analysis. This data serves as a performance baseline to compare the optical output of the design for your analysis. If you load a non-sequential design from OpticStudio, you won't need an OpticStudio baseline. Thus, this cell is blank and grayed out in the OPS . LensMechanix baseline - Includes data collected during a ray trace for spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination using only the optical components in your design. This baseline establishes the expected performance of the system; it verifies that the OpticStudio files are loaded successfully. If you load a sequential design from OpticStudio, the LensMechanix baseline shows you the changes in performance after LensMechanix converted the design to non-sequential. If you load a non-sequential design from OpticStudio, the LensMechanix baseline serves as a performance baseline to compare the optical output of the design for your analysis.

Validating Overview of validating in LensMechanix In LensMechanix, validating refers to the process of using information that is generated from ray traces

to visualize how light travels through your optomechanical system. The Optical Performance Summary

(OPS) compares the performance of your complete system to the performance of the original

OpticStudio design. The OPS measures spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination to determine

the success or failure of the system after you run a ray trace. You can also create output files to send to

the optical engineer for final review and validation. Use the five buttons highlighted below in the

Command Manager to validate your optomechanical system.

In validating your system, you will:

• Diagnose and resolve issues in the system using the Optical Performance Summary (OPS).

• Demonstrate the impact of mechanical components on optical performance using ray filtering

and surface power analysis.

Add rays to the graphics area

1. In the Run Ray Trace dropdown, click Full Ray Trace. 2. In the Command Manager, click Display Outputs > Rays.

- Or - In the Output Tree, right-click Rays > Add Rays.

3. In the Choose number of rays text box, enter a number between 1 and 250 to indicate the number of rays you want to see in the graphics area from each source.

4. In the Choose the type of rays dropdown menu, select one of the three options to visually represent light rays: lines, lines with fletches, or pipes.

Lines are the simplest way to demonstrate light rays:

Lines with fletches show the direction that light is travelling:

Pipes are easier to visualize:

5. In the Choose a color dropdown menu, select the color you want to apply to the rays. 6. To isolate the rays you want to see, under Filter rays, select the appropriate options for the

sources, detectors, and components. 7. Under Edit Rays, click the green checkmark.

Note: If you do not add rays to the graphics area before running a ray trace, LensMechanix automatically adds a ray output to the graphics area by using the default settings of 25 rays and the Color by Source option enabled.

About caching a rendered system during a ray trace When you run a full ray trace for the first time, LensMechanix renders and caches the optomechanical

system in memory. When you run a second ray trace, LensMechanix evaluates what components have

changed and updates only changed components in the analysis. Components without any changes are

not recreated, so that the time it takes for LensMechanix to run a subsequent full ray trace is greatly

reduced.

Filter rays The ray filtering engine in LensMechanix helps you analyze and troubleshoot the optomechanical design. Filtering rays enables you to isolate rays in the graphics area based on certain behavioral criteria, such as the source of the rays, and the components and detectors that the rays interact with or do not interact with.

To filter rays

• Select 1 to 250 rays that meet the criteria you set in the Rays PMP. For example, you can see how 50 rays are impacting a specific component, or you can see 25 rays that are not hitting a detector.

Animate rays When a ray trace is completed, you can watch rays travel through the system by animating them. Ray

animation is useful for determining which features of the mechanical components interact with light

first, so that you can make changes to those components first. Stray light issues can be resolved

efficiently if you focus on modifying the first component that light interacts with unintentionally. These

are typically mechanical components.

• In the Ray Animation PMP, select the settings that you want.

Speed: You can select the length of time it takes to play the animation from start to finish.

• Slow: 15 seconds

• Medium: 10 seconds

• Fast: 5 seconds

Loop Animation: When you select this check box, the animation continues to play.

Play and pause: You can pause the animation at any point to see where rays are interacting.

Step Forward and Step Back: You can step through the animation in very fine increments.

Progress bar: You can move forward or backward in the animation by dragging the icon across the

animation progress bar.

Tools to identify stray light LensMechanix includes several features to help you identify stray light. These tools include Optical Performance Summary (OPS), ray filtering, surface power, and the Image Viewer.

Optical Performance Summary - Compares the performance of your complete system to the performance of the original OpticStudio design. OPS measures spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination to determine the success or failure of the system after you run a ray trace. You can change performance tolerances directly in the OPS; the OPS will then indicate if you are in the allowable range. Red indicates failure; green indicates success. Ray filtering - Isolates rays in the graphics area based on the criteria you choose, including the source of the rays, and the components and detectors that the rays do or do not interact with. Surface power - Graphically displays the intensity of light that falls on a specific mechanical or optical component. Select a component, and then run a ray trace. Image Viewer - Shows your image side by side with the original image input. Image Viewer is an approximation that is intended for qualitative analysis, not quantitative analysis. It is useful for assessing stray light, field of view, or beam clipping. The Image Viewer does not produce measured data, such as resolution or energy. To improve the quality of the output of the Image Viewer, increase your precision settings in the Analysis settings (Command Manager > Start Analysis > Start Analysis Wizard). We recommend that you run at least 1 million rays by selecting setting 3.

About the Critical Ray Trace tool When a sequential OpticStudio design is loaded into LensMechanix, a critical set of rays is created. The

design is then converted to non-sequential mode. The same set of critical rays are traced through the

newly converted system. This is advantageous because the same set of rays are guaranteed to be traced

so a true comparison can be made to ensure that the performance of the optical system has not been

degraded during the conversion process. When mechanical components are added to the system, the

same critical rays are traced again to ensure that the performance of the optical system has not been

altered.

The Critical Ray Trace tool is located at Command Manager > Display Output > Critical Rays.

Ray Pattern – Three different ray patterns of critical rays can be displayed in the graphics area: Chief

and Marginal, XY Fan, and Chief and Ring.

Chief and Marginal XY Fan Chief and Ring

Rays to Display – Choose to display rays that: reach their target destination (Pass), rays that do not

reach their target destination (Fail), or both (All).

Hit Data – Choose the format of the data to display: XYZ positions or LMX directional cosines.

Position Tolerance – Maximum allowed difference between the ray’s target position and the ray’s actual

position in mm.

Angle Tolerance – Maximum allowed angle between the ray’s target ray vector and the ray’s actual ray

vector in degrees.

Display Start Data – Display the ray’s initial data.

Display Actual End Data – Display the data for the ray’s terminating segment.

Display Target End Data – Display the data for the ray’s intended terminating segment.

Invalidation of the Critical Ray Trace The termination coordinates of the critical rays are compared to the coordinates from the sequential

design. It is for this reason that if a fold mirror is added in LensMechanix, there is no possibility for the

critical rays to reach their target location. To prevent reliance on incorrect results, the Critical Ray Trace

tool is made unavailable.

About the Optical Performance Summary (OPS)

The Optical Performance Summary (OPS) in LensMechanix compares the optical performance of your design during different stages. The OPS aggregates optical performance metrics into single numeric outputs so you can assess the performance of the system on a pass/fail basis.

The OPS is most relevant for evaluating imaging systems. The performance metrics used in the OPS may not be relevant to non-imaging products, including many non-sequential designs. Additionally, if the design is non-sequential, the OpticStudio baseline is grayed out. We recommend that you use the other analysis and validation tools in LensMechanix to analyze non-imaging designs. LensMechanix uses four types of output measurements: spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination.

Spot size - Refers to the RMS spot radius of any field detector. The number in the LensMechanix cells represents the largest change in root mean square (RMS) spot radius for any source. This number is not the RMS spot size; it is the largest measured change for that field detector.

Beam clipping - Measures the decrease in light that follows the intended path through the system. The intended path is determined by the paths that go from each source to the detectors in the baseline ray trace. If any rays do not follow one of the original paths from a source to the detector, they are considered clipped. The number in both LensMechanix cells represent the decrease in rays that no longer terminate on a detector as a percentage of total initial rays.

Image contamination - Measures the total amount of unintended light that impacts the image plane. LensMechanix determines the unintended light by comparing the baseline performance to the output of a new ray trace. Any light hitting a detector that is not present in the original system is considered unintended. The numbers in the LensMechanix Baseline cell and the LensMechanix Output cell represent the percentage increase of unintended light on any detector compared to the total power of the system. LensMechanix generates this number by tracing light from all sources and then evaluating the total amount of light that does not follow the intended path but that reaches a detector.

To determine pass or fail, LensMechanix requires four inputs: allowable delta, OpticStudio baseline, LensMechanix baseline, and LensMechanix output.

Allowable delta - Determines how much your measured data can change before the optical performance of your system fails. By default, LensMechanix sets the performance tolerances at 1, regardless of your optical system. We recommend that you change these values in the Allowable delta page based on the optical design requirements. For accurate results, get the performance tolerances from your optical engineer and manually enter them in the three boxes on this page.

OpticStudio Baseline - This data set is generated from the OpticStudio design after conversion to non-sequential mode during the loading process. The OpticStudio Baseline serves as a performance baseline to compare the optical output of the design for your analysis. If you load a non-sequential design from OpticStudio, you do not need an OpticStudio baseline. As a result, this cell is blank and grayed out.

LensMechanix Baseline - This data set is generated from only the optical components in your design for spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination. If you load a non-sequential file from OpticStudio, the LensMechanix baseline serves as a performance baseline to compare the optical output of the design for your analysis.

LensMechanix Output - This data is generated from both the optical and mechanical components in the design for spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination.

The OPS uses a ray trace to establish a baseline performance for the system. LensMechanix then compares the output of the ray trace to the performance of the system during later design stages. The allowable delta determines the maximum change in any one measurement when the measurement is compared to the baseline data. Any change in performance is assumed to be undesirable. So, if a change in performance measurement is larger than the allowable delta for that metric, LensMechanix considers the performance to have failed, and the corresponding cell is filled in red. If the change in performance measurement is less than the allowable delta for that metric, LensMechanix considers the performance to have passed, and the cell is filled in green.

About visualizing data in the Optical Performance Summary LensMechanix compares the results of the OpticStudio baseline, the LensMechanix baseline, and the

LensMechanix output. The OPS provides this comparison for three optical design checkpoints.

Show Detectors (Spot Size) - Displays the output of the spot detectors in a bitmap. The scale shows the

irradiance on each field point detector relative to the number of rays used. The OpticStudio baseline

typically uses more rays in its calculation, which makes the spot diagram’s scale bar different. To

normalize the scale bars with respect to the maximum of each dataset, select the Equal Color Scales

check box.

Show Ray Paths (Beam clipping) - Displays the order in which rays interact with components as they

propagate through the system. Any path that includes an object number corresponding to a mechanical

component is considered clipped.

Show Ray Paths (Image contamination) - Displays the order in which rays interact with components as

they flow through the complete system.

About the Detector Viewer The Detector Viewer displays data from the detectors in the computational domain. The information is

collected from all types of detectors including Detector Rectangles and Detector Color.

To access the Detector Viewer:

1. In the Command Manager, click Display OPS.

2. In the Spot Size tab of the OPS, click Show Detectors.

In addition to a graphical depiction of the spot size, LensMechanix will display more granular

information for each detector including:

RMS spot size – The RMS spot size measured by the detector.

Total Hits – Number of rays that intersected with the detector during the ray trace.

Peak Irradiance – Maximum power per unit area on the detector.

Total Power – Total amount of power on the detector.

Detector Viewer Settings The settings dropdown menu of the Detector Viewer can be used to both enhance the quality of the

detector’s image as well as change the type of information displayed.

Scale – The data can be displayed on linear or logarithmic scales.

Show As – The data can be displayed with different color scales.

Show Data – The Detector Viewer can also display different aspects of the data recorded by the

detectors as well. In the Show Data option of the Settings dropdown the options are:

• Incoherent Irradiance – Incoherent power per area as a function of spatial position on the

detector. The power of each ray that strikes the same pixel is summed without regard to the

phase of the ray.

• Coherent Irradiance – Coherent power per area as a function of spatial position on the detector.

The complex amplitude of each ray that strikes the same pixel is summed, keeping track of the

real and imaginary parts separately considering the phase of each ray. The final amplitude is

then squared to yield the coherent power.

• Coherent Phase – The phase angle of the complex amplitude sum used in Coherent Irradiance.

• Radiant Intensity – The power per solid angle in steradians as a function of incident angle upon

the detector.

• Radiance (Position space) – The power per area per solid angle in steradians as a function of

incident angle upon the detector.

• Radiance (Angle space) – The power per area per solid angle in steradians as a function of

incident angle upon the detector.

Resolve common issues using the OPS The three pages in the OPS provide information about spot size, beam clipping, and image contamination in your optomechanical system. Many times, you can use the OPS to detect and resolve issues before you send the complete system to the optical engineer to validate.

Spot size - Deviations from the ideal spot size likely stem from a change in the position of one or more optical components from the loaded OpticStudio file. These deviations may be caused by space constraints or the use of differently sized mechanical components when you investigated tolerancing. In the following two images, the spacing between two lens elements was changed by 0.1 mm. The calculated spot size from the full ray trace is significantly different from the original spot size that LensMechanix calculated during the baseline ray trace.

The change in spot size is apparent when you click Show Detectors on the Spot Size page:

Beam clipping -When a ray follows an unintended path during a full ray trace, LensMechanix identifies it as beam clipping. We recommend that you investigate the mechanical components as the primary source of beam clipping.

If you click Show Ray Paths on to the Beam clipping page, you can see the specific sources that are affected and how many unintended paths are present. In the following image, all paths except paths 1, 2, and 3 are unintended paths and are considered clipped.

Image contamination - As LensMechanix traces rays, it monitors both the amount of light and the

order in which light interacts with the objects in the optomechanical system. The Image

contamination page displays a change in the amount of stray light that goes through the system and

reaches a detector. If you click Show Ray paths on the Image contamination page, you can see a

path analysis report. This report indicates the total amount of flux through the system. The report

also summarizes the relative flux of each path and the object sequence in the path. You can use this

information to better understand how stray light is behaving in your optomechanical system.

Troubleshoot spot size, beam clipping, or image contamination issues After you run a full ray trace, the results appear in the OPS . You can troubleshoot the measurement for

spot size, beam clipping, or image contamination by clicking the corresponding button on the OPS.

To troubleshoot the spot size measurement:

1. On the Spot size page, click Compare Ray Traces.

2. In the Compare to OpticStudio Baseline dialog box, compare the data that appears in the

LensMechanix Output cell to the original data in the OpticStudio Baseline cell.

In the following example, changes to the overfill source, temperature, and lens position of object 7

appear in the LensMechanix Output cell.

To troubleshoot the beam clipping measurement:

• On the Beam clipping page, click Display Clipped Rays. In the graphics area, you now see rays

from all sources that hit any mechanical components and miss the Detector Color. The ray filter

also displays rays that hit any optical components that are defined as ABSORB, which terminates

the rays.

To troubleshoot the image contamination measurement:

• On the Image contamination page, click Display Contaminating Rays. In the graphics area, you

now see rays from all sources that hit any mechanical components, miss any Detector Rectangle,

and hit the Detector Color.

Note: You can edit the ray filters that appear in the Output Tree for your analysis. For example, the

following screenshot shows five display rays that can all use different ray filters.

Understanding allowable delta

The allowable delta is a performance tolerance for your design. You can manually change the three allowable deltas in the Allowable delta page. These values indicate the success or failure of your design by defining the maximum change in your measured metrics when LensMechanix compares your baseline data to a LensMechanix output. We recommend that you obtain the allowable deltas from the optical engineer.

Why don’t I have an OpticStudio baseline? An OpticStudio baseline can come only from a sequential file from OpticStudio; it cannot be generated in LensMechanix. If you want a baseline, use the LensMechanix baseline instead. You can be confident that the performance in LensMechanix will be the same as it was in non-sequential mode in OpticStudio.

Validate the performance of a design from a sequential or non-sequential file To get the best results when validating the performance of your designs in the OPS , follow the steps in the order below. Correcting one issue can change the results downstream, so attempting to address issues out of order can create problems. At any step, if your design does not meet the specifications, resolve the issue first, before you move to the next step. Note: The order of steps differs, depending on whether the design came from a sequential file or a non-sequential file. To validate the performance of a design from a sequential file:

1. In the OpticStudio Baseline cell, verify that you have a baseline data set, which is indicated by

green check marks.

2. Obtain the allowable deltas from the OpticStudio user, and then manually enter them in the

Allowable Δ page.

3. In the Command Manager, click Run Ray Trace.

4. In the Run Ray Trace PMP, select Baseline ray trace and click Run.

5. In the LensMechanix Baseline cell, verify that spot size cell is green, which indicates that the

design meets the specification.

6. In the LensMechanix Baseline cell, verify that beam clipping meets the specification.

7. In the LensMechanix Baseline cell, verify that image contamination meets the specification.

8. In the Run Ray Trace PMP , select Full ray trace and click Run.

9. In the OPS, verify that spot size meets the specification.

10. In the OPS, verify that beam clipping meets the specification.

11. In the OPS, verify that image contamination meets the specification.

If your design does not meet specifications in the LensMechanix Baseline cell, contact the OpticStudio user to verify that the as-designed optical system meets the performance requirements after it was converted to non-sequential. Note: If you are using the overfill clear aperture function in the analysis type control, always validate the system without overfilling the clear aperture first. After the base system is validated, you can overfill the clear aperture and reanalyze the system in the OPS. The measurements in the OPS are likely to change when the aperture is overfilled. It is up to you or the OpticStudio user to determine if the changes are acceptable. To validate the performance of a design from a non-sequential file:

1. Obtain the allowable deltas from the OpticStudio user, and then manually enter them in the

Allowable Δ page.

2. In the Command Manager, click Run Ray Trace.

3. In the Run Ray Trace PMP, click Baseline ray trace and Full ray trace and click Run.

4. In the OPS, verify that spot size meets the specification.

5. In the OPS, verify that beam clipping meets the specification.

6. In theOPS, verify that image contamination meets the specification.

Generating a report from the Optical Performance Summary To generate a report in LensMechanix:

1. In the Command Manager, click Generate Files > Generate Report.

2. Select the data to include in your report and then save the report.

The report will open in a LensMechanix template. If you cannot open a .docx file, LensMechanix

saves the report as an RTF file, which you can open with WordPad; however, some of the

template formatting may be lost.

About the Image Viewer The Image Viewer is designed to help you assess the image quality of your complete design by showing your image side by side with the original image input. Image Viewer is an approximation that is intended for qualitative analysis, not quantitative analysis. It is useful for assessing stray light, field of view, or beam clipping. The Image Viewer does not produce measured data, such as resolution or energy. Tip: To improve the quality of the output of the Image Viewer, increase your precision settings in the Prototype settings (Ribbon > Prototype Settings > Precision Settings). We recommend that you run at least 1 million rays by selecting setting 3.

About power throughput

Power throughput calculates the amount of power that passes through an optical or optomechanical

system. The amount of power that enters a system (flux in) is defined by the sources in the OpticStudio

design. The amount of power that makes it through the system to the detectors is called flux out.

LensMechanix divides the total power lost into two numbers: power lost to optical components and

power lost to mechanical components. The power that is lost due to optical components is caused by

internal reflections, absorption, and thin film or coating effects of the optical components. The power

that is lost due to mechanical components is caused by reflections and absorption of the mechanical

components.

Review the power throughput in your system To view the power throughput of your system:

1. Run a full ray trace. 2. Click Display Outputs > Power Throughput.

Create an OpticStudio output file LensMechanix can create a Zemax archive file (ZAR), which includes the geometry and settings from the last ray trace. A ZAR file can be opened in OpticStudio using the Load Archive feature in OpticStudio. To have changes reflected in the output file, run another full ray trace before saving your file.

1. In the Command Manager, click Display Output. 2. Click Save OpticStudio Output. 3. In the Save Output As dialog box, click Bse to find the location where you want to export the

file. Note: If you run a baseline ray trace, none of the mechanical geometry is included in the output file.

Save a multi-configuration output file After you analyze different configurations, you can save an OpticStudio output file with multiple

configurations. This enables you to share all design configurations with your optical engineer in one file.

1. In the LensMechanix tab, in the Generate Files dropdown, click Save Multi-configuration OpticStudio Output.

2. In the Select Prototypes to Save dialog box, select the check boxes for the designs that you want to include in the output file.

3. Click Save As. 4. In the Save OpticStudio Output dialog box, click Browse to find the location where you want to

save the file.

Create manufacturing drawings You can create 2D SOLIDWORKS drawings in LensMechanix for standard and aspheric lenses to communicate how your design should be manufactured. You can then modify them with other views and dimensions.

1. In the Command Manager, click Generate Drawing. 2. In the Drawing PMP, select the components that you want drawings of, and click the green

check mark.

A drawing is created for each lens selected.

Based on the ISO 10110 specification, the drawing template displays dimensions, coatings, material information, and other information about the lens.