Skills and Expertise

Introduction

My clients are mainly companies involved in the manufacture of electro-optical systems or components, who need guidance and/or implementation assistance from a experienced, practical-minded expert in the specialised field of optics. I have worked with companies that are large, medium and small, some with their own optical engineers and some with no in-house optics expertise at all.

I am a highly qualified and experienced Optical Engineer, with extensive management experience. I studied at Imperial College, in one of the world’s top Optics faculties. My experience encompasses all phases of the product life cycle, from product definition through to field service. I have extensive experience with small- and medium-volume production of complex electro-optical systems (up to 1000 units/year), including development of manual and computer-controlled alignment/test procedures, jigs and equipment. Having worked with a wide variety of scanning systems, I can quickly grasp new applications and relate my past experience to any scanning system, minimising the learning curve on new projects.

Take advantage of my experience to improve your product performance, time to market, development costs and production costs under conditions of total confidentiality and client control of projects. I will work with your existing team to achieve your goals.

Optical Design/Engineering Services

Conceptual Design

v Critical requirements analysis.

· Review requirements and identify critical unknown or unclear requirements

· Translate product requirements into clear and precise optical specifications

v Optical design feasibility studies.

· Identify and analyse critical design issues

· Identify potential optical design solutions

· Analyse and compare alternative designs

v Optical design studies.

· First order design: size, shape, complexity of optical system

· Major design decisions: lens design forms, materials

Engineering

v Optical system design.

· First order design

§ Design from first principles, using spreadsheets, modelling

§ Selection of design forms, using past experience

· Computer optimisation, using Zemax

§ Lenses: focussing and imaging systems

§ Scanning mirror systems

§ Non-imaging optical systems

· Detailed optomechanical layouts

§ Including fold mirrors, prisms, etc.

§ Export solid model to mechanical CAD

· Full tolerance analysis for lenses and complex system alignment

§ Identify critical optical and mechanical tolerances

§ Monte Carlo simulation of performance with production tolerances

· Optical component drawings for manufacture

v Technical assessment of existing electro-optical system designs.

· Optical performance – analysis

· Optical performance – testing

· Documentation audit

v Development of optical test methods.

· Optomechanical alignment of complex systems

· Optical system and subsystem test methods

· Development, production and field tests

· Alignment/test jigs and fixtures

· Clear, rigorous test specifications and procedures

v Procurement

· Detailed specification of, and recommendation of suppliers for:

§ Optical components and assemblies

§ Lasers and electro-optics

§ Optomechanical deflectors

§ Scanning sub-systems

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Skills and Expertise

Engineering skills

v Optical system design, including advanced use of Zemax.

· Creative design and optimisation of complex optical systems and lenses

· Comprehensive optomechanical tolerancing for manufacture and alignment

v Optical system performance modelling.

· Non-sequential analysis using Zemax

· Quantitative system performance analysis

· Radiometric analysis of illumination & detection systems

· Stray light analysis and reduction

v Project management

· Microsoft Project

Knowledge of optical and electro-optical component suppliers

v Extensive knowledge of suppliers in UK, Europe & USA

v Experience of working within both system and supplier environments.

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