Over the past years precision polymer optics have improved rapidly. This material evolution shows in the capabilities of polymer optics. At LUXeXceL we use an unique type of UV cured PMMA. Other companies might use injection molded plastic optics. Precision polymer optics are used in different industries. In this blogpost you will learn more about the applications that are fit for polymer optics.
What are precision polymer optics?
Precision polymer optics are commonly used in different types of industries and have many usages. The key advantages of plastic optics are their light weight and the fact that they are less costly than their glass counterparts. Therefore precision polymer optics have seen an huge growth in terms of usages and applications.
Precision polymer optics in consumer products..
The capabilities of plastic optics have greatly improved over the years. As a result polymer optics have been used in a variety of products; from cell phone cameras to automotive heads-up displays and PCs. Precision polymer optics are capable of fulfilling more and more demands when it comes to optical funcionality. The ever increasing quality of the optics makes them take over in areas where before, only glass optics could be used. Glass has the disadvantage of limited shaping. Freeform optics are hard to make out of glass, and the designs are limited to what can be shaped and cut out of glass using for example single point diamond turning.
Plastic optics in biometrics.
Precision, cost-effectiveness and design versatility make polymer optics a fit for scanners, 3D facial imaging and so forth. Over the past year polymer optics have seen more usages in the field of biometrics. The standards in these fields are generally higher, but the improvement in manufacturing methods, allows for more and more polymer optics to be used in technical applications.
And applications in illumination systems
Precision polymer optics are commonly used in illumination systems. Because of the huge growth in LED, an enormous market has opened up to polymer optics. One of the benefits of the usage of precision polymer optics, are their relatively low production costs in comparison to other materials. Polymer LED optics have some properties which make them suitable for illumination systems; such as a full-spectrum color display, high brightness at low drive voltage and long operating lifetimes.
PMMA as a material for polymer optics
PMMA (short for Polymethyl methacrylate) is a thermoplastic with transparent properties. As a result it is common to use PMMA as an alternative to glass. It is lightweight and shatter resistant and is available in a great variëty.
At LUXeXceL we use an unique type of UV curable PMMA. Our Printoptical Technology enables us to 3D print this material. This allows full design freedom.
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