Month: April 2026

From Prototype to Production: How DFM Lowers Costs for Custom Lens Assemblies

Custom lens assemblies can perform well in early builds and have issues come up when production planning begins and the realities of time, labor, and repeatability come into play. This can lead to longer timelines and drive up costs.

Design for manufacturability (DFM) ensures that a design can be produced consistently and affordably in production. At OSE Optics, we focus on closing that gap so our clients can move from one successful build to a reliable production run without unnecessary redesigns.

The Role of Standardization in Component Optimization

When a system is custom, it can be tempting to design each component from scratch. In early development, that flexibility can help solve specific challenges. In production, however, too many unique parts can at times slow procurement and complicate assembly, impacting costs and the final result. 

There are a number of ways to consider where standardization can support component optimization while managing costs. Selecting materials that are easier to source, adjusting dimensions to match common tooling, and making other minor changes at this stage can reduce lead times and cost per unit once volumes increase.

Prototyping and Development: How Tolerances Fit In

Prototyping can involve balancing innovation with meeting strict tolerance requirements. It also requires reviewing tolerance stacks with production in mind to anticipate potential issues later in the process. Defining key parameters clearly and measuring them consistently during pilot builds allows teams to identify trends before full production begins, which helps prevent costly surprises down the line.

Using Active Alignment to Improve Performance

Tying the alignment strategy directly to the mechanical design ensures that optical performance remains stable across varying environmental conditions and production scales. Compared to passive assembly, which relies on the physical precision of machined parts to hold lenses in place, Active Alignment (AA) utilizes sensor feedback to position components based on optical output. 

While active alignment can involve a higher initial cost, it can enhance image quality and compensate for slight variances in lens barrels or other components. It can be critical in complex or high-precision applications, helping avoid the need for disassembling and costly rework. 

The OSE Advantage: Bridging Engineering and Impact

At OSE Optics, we have experience bridging design and manufacturability to achieve high-performance, cost-effective optical assemblies. We can work with a range of project types, including:

• Prototyping
• Low-volume custom builds
• High-volume production

Our DFM approach focuses on component selection, tolerances, alignment, and other aspects of design and engineering that contribute to cost-effectiveness in the final assembly while maximizing performance in demanding environments.

Contact OSE Optics to Learn More

While a successful prototype is an important milestone, it’s just the start. Cost-effective processes for custom optical assemblies demand consistency, efficiency, and engineering expertise at each stage of the process. OSE Optics can move your team from proof of concept to production with confidence. By integrating design for manufacturability into custom lens assemblies from the onset, we protect optical performance while supporting a smoother path to market. 

Contact OSE Optics or request a quote to get started.

Custom Traditional Optic Assemblies for Harsh Environments: A Guide for Defense & Aerospace

The global defense and aerospace optics market continues to grow as programs modernize and sensor technology advances. Infrared targeting systems, night vision devices, and surveillance platforms need to operate in variable temperature ranges while surviving shock loads, vibration, and exposure to the elements. 

Below, learn more about optical assembly and engineering for critical aerospace and defense requirements.

Traditional Glass Optical Assemblies: Ensuring Performance in Harsh Environments

Traditional glass optical assembly involves precision engineering, with material selection, design for manufacturability (DFM), and environmental stability impacting overall fit and performance. This involves combining durable glass materials with precision fabrication and mounting. Optimizing assemblies can mean reducing weight, minimizing distortion, or accounting for thermal expansion differences across the assembly. 

Ruggedization: Withstanding Extreme Vibration and Shock

Military environments frequently involve vibration and shock levels that exceed commercial environments. As a result, optical assemblies often require ruggedization to perform in these conditions.

Environmental sealing and mounting lock components in place to support structural integrity. Active alignment during optic assembly compensates for manufacturing tolerances. Mechanical stabilization can involve using robust housings and other methods to improve stability in exposure to mechanical shock and vibration. 

Athermalization for Thermal Correction

Temperature shifts create a few challenges that can impact optical assemblies. Glass expands at different rates than metal housings, which changes lens spacing. Glass refractive index also varies with temperature, degrading image quality.

Athermalization compensates through mechanical design. Housing materials are selected with thermal expansion coefficients that offset glass behavior. For wider temperature ranges, optical design compensation and mechanical compensation (i.e. with spring-loaded elements) are employed.

Using Specialized Coatings for Durability and Added Resistance

Certain defense and aerospace optical assemblies can benefit from coatings to enhance the following properties:

• Durability. MIL-C-48497 and MIL-PRF-13830 specify abrasion resistance.
• Environmental resistance. The right coatings can survive salt fog, humidity, and temperature cycling while resisting degradation.
• Reduced surface reflection. Anti-reflective coatings can be applied to glass to eliminate or reduce hazards due to back-reflection.
• Laser damage threshold. High-power systems can require coatings that resist thermal damage at operating wavelengths.

Coating options can be evaluated to optimize durability, transmission, and environmental resistance for each application. 

Testing Optical Assemblies to Meet Industry Needs

Environmental testing validates the optic assemblies’ design decisions. Vibration testing is a method that reproduces field conditions using electrodynamic shakers, while thermal cycling moves assemblies between temperature extremes. 

Optical testing at temperature verifies athermalization performance. After each cycle, engineers measure image quality, focus, and alignment to confirm the system remains within specification before delivery.

OSE Optics: Partners in Aerospace and Defense Optical Assembly

Defense optical components and aerospace optics succeed or fail based on engineering details. Ruggedized mounting systems protect glass elements. Athermalization maintains focus across temperature ranges, and specialized coatings resist environmental degradation, while testing validates performance before deployment.

OSE Optics specializes in precision optical assemblies for defense and aerospace requirements. Founded in 2015, the company has experience providing lens assemblies, fiber optic components, optomechanical integration, and metrology services.

Contact us or request a quote to discuss your optical assembly requirements and environmental specifications.

Design for Manufacturability (DFM) in Optical Systems: 5 Challenges and How to Avoid Them

Optical assembly manufacturing combines precision components such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and other components that must perform in demanding environments. Taking complex optical systems from simulation into production involves meeting a range of mechanical, functional, and other requirements. Challenges can include managing complex geometries, designing for tolerances, accounting for thermal expansion, and more. 

In this blog post, we’ll look at several Design for Manufacturability (DFM) challenges and strategies for delivering optical systems to meet specific requirements.

Spacing and Tolerance Requirements

Tolerances that exceed what machining and assembly processes can consistently achieve make production difficult. In other cases, tolerance analysis focuses only on optical components and overlooks mechanical contributors such as housing variation or lens seat geometry. 

It’s important to assess optical sensitivity alongside real manufacturing capability and align specifications with repeatable processes. This results in a design that performs across production volumes, not just in a controlled prototype build.

Managing Thermal Expansion

Thermal cycling also affects glass, metals, and adhesives differently. These differences can lead to stress building in specific points, which can shift alignment, distort optical elements, or weaken adhesive joints. Managing thermal expansion in optical assemblies can involve using athermalization techniques to prevent defocusing and stress.

DFM reviews also include modeling expected operating ranges and assessing material compatibility early on. These steps can address differences in expansion between lenses and other system parts.  

Challenges with Mounting Lenses

Lens mounting presents specific challenges during physical assembly. While a design may indicate proper centering and axial control, the success of the build depends on mechanical features and repeatable assembly methods, as slight decentering or tilt can degrade image quality or impact system performance.

Tackling these challenges means reviewing lens mounting from a practical standpoint to analyze how the lens will seat in the housing and how technicians will control spacing and centering during assembly. Refining geometry and clarifying assembly intent before production improves repeatability and reduces rework.

Contamination and Environmental Control

You need clean surfaces and controlled environments for optical performance. This can be achieved by incorporating environmental considerations into DFM discussions. That includes reviewing cleanroom requirements, handling procedures, and sealing strategies alongside optical layout. 

By bringing contamination control into the design, assembly processes become more predictable, and production stability improves.

Verifying Industry-Specific Performance

Every application carries its own performance and compliance requirements. Medical systems must meet regulatory validation standards, while defense optics must withstand vibration and shock. Meanwhile, industrial systems often operate in heat, dust, or chemical exposure.

When verification planning begins too late, teams face redesign and extended timelines. A proactive DFM process considers the following from initial phases:

• Performance requirements
• Test methods
• Mechanical integration 

In addition, qualification testing can verify real-world performance and that the design supports certification without last-minute changes.

OSE Optics: Optimizing Optical Designs for Defense, Aerospace, Medical, and More

A system that performs well in simulation also needs to survive machining, assembly, thermal cycling, environmental exposure, and qualification testing. Design for manufacturability (DFM) brings those realities into focus early. 

At OSE Optics, we integrate DFM into optical system development from the beginning, ensuring performance holds up not only in simulation but also in production and the field. We approach every optical system with production in mind, helping ensure that what works in theory works reliably in practice. 

Contact us or submit an RFQ to see how we can help with your application.