Purchasing advisor for freeform optics with supplier directory and AI-based advice; non-rotationally symmetric, custom optics, advanced imaging (original) (raw)
Find all you need for professional sourcing of freeform optics: a comprehensive expert-curated directory of suppliers, scientific and technical background information, and an interactive AI-based tool with guidance for a structured decision process.
NEW: Not only hardware can be listed here, but also consulting, software, training on freeform optics, etc. – see the "offer types" below.
🌐 You appear to be visiting from North America. Many listed suppliers are based in this region, making the RP Photonics Buyer's Guide highly relevant for your needs.
Purchasing high-value photonics products is a substantial responsibility. Using a structured decision-making process and high quality supplier data helps a lot:
- Find all relevant suppliers (not limited to advertisers).
- Our interactive tool conveniently assists you in defining and applying your application-specific requirements.
Note that purchasing decisions based on just a few randomly picked suppliers and without carefully defined specifications are risky; therefore, we strongly recommend using our data and tool. See also:
- How Responsible Purchase Decisions for Expensive Goods Like Lasers Are Done
- Explanations on this purchasing tool
Go through the process:
1. Understand the technical background
It is important to sufficiently understand the technology before buying.
Use the comprehensive learning resources of RP Photonics:
If you need personal help, contact RP Photonics to get technical consultancy.
I feel that I sufficiently understand the technical background.
2. Define your requirements
It is essential to fully understand and clearly define your requirements before you purchase.
We recommend that you develop a list of clear specifications according to your specific needs, against which you can later check the suitability of found product offers:
To help you, we have already listed some aspects we recommend you consider when buying freeform optics. Of course, there may be other aspects that are relevant to your specific case.
This list is for your own preparation, and can later (possibly in modified form) be used for quotation requests to suppliers.
I think that I am sufficiently informed about our requirements.
Otherwise, you will need to talk to your technical colleagues.
I consider the above list of specifications to be sufficiently complete, clear and accurate.
If you cannot sufficiently clarify your requirements, you may want to get technical consultancy from RP Photonics.
Insert these criteria when creating inquiry mails to suppliers with the buttons "Get quotation".
You find these buttons in the supplier list below or under "3. Find suitable suppliers".
3. Find suitable suppliers
We suggest three steps:
- Below, you can find our list of suppliers for freeform optics. Use the checkboxes to mark possibly suitable suppliers.
- The selected suppliers will appear below this list, along with your list of specifications. You can then indicate which specifications they meet according to your research. (You should finalize your specifications before doing this.)
- Based on the results, you can finally choose a supplier that is hopefully a good enough fit.
Selected suppliers:
(none so far)
Decision
The most suitable supplier you found:
Comments, e.g. reasons for your choice, or things which still need to be checked:
4. Document the decision process
It is essential to document your purchasing process, not only its result (chosen supplier):
- You will find it easier next time.
- If something goes wrong, you can defend your decision by showing that you properly considered all important aspects. Or you see what needs to be done better next time.
Our interactive tool makes it easy: Fill out the form, and in the end print it to a PDF. Note that the document will show all sections (including those not currently shown on the screen), while omitting some irrelevant details such as the page navigation.
Suppliers for Freeform Optics
21 suppliers for freeform optics are listed in the RP Photonics Buyer's Guide, out of which three present their product descriptions and images. Both manufacturers and distributors can be registered.
 Enhancing Beam Performance PowerPhotonic Ltd.5A St David's DriveDalgety BayFife KY11 9PFUnited Kingdom |
⚙ hardware LightForge™ is a low-cost rapid fabrication service giving optical designers the ability to create innovative new freeform surfaces, test new ideas and verify designs for production without incurring expensive upfront engineering charges and lengthy prototyping lead times. LightForge™ can be used to create a wide range of refractive optical elements, from beam transformers and microlens arrays, to unique components such as diode laser smile correctors and wavefront compensator phaseplates, to completely custom surface shapes. Product-specific web page |
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 Empowering Optical Innovations Avantier1100 US-22North Plainfield, NJ 07060United StatesSee us at BiOS 2026 in San Francisco, January 17 – 18 (booth 8220) and Photonics West 2026 in San Francisco, Jan. 20–22 (booth 857)! |
⚙ hardware At Avantier, we produce custom freeform optics for cutting-edge applications in industry, defense, research, and medicine. We specialize in custom freeform optics design and manufacturing solutions for imaging, catering to single prototypes and bulk production alike. A freeform optic is defined as one that has at least one surface with no translational or rotational symmetry about any axes that are normal to the mean plane. In practice, this means that freeform systems may be free from any constraints of symmetry. Manufacturing processes: Unique challenges due to non-rotational symmetry. Utilizes state-of-the-art CNC optical grinding technology. Begins with roughing out the surface using CNC technology and diamond turning. Involves rough and fine grinding followed by sub-aperture polishing. Rigorous metrology checks ensure compliance with standards. Substrate options include metal, plastic, and various optical materials like germanium, calcium fluoride, etc. Product-specific web page |
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Report Additional Suppliers for These Products
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An already registered supplier can use a customized form to report the full list of offered photonics products. That form is reachable with the red button "Edit profile data" on the supplier's profile page.
Anyone, not only suppliers themselves, can [**report additional suppliers**](/report%5Fsupplier.html?product=Freeform Optics).