Damon Diehl

Recent Posts

Five Reasons to Buy Pre-Coated Optics

By Damon Diehl | Dec 14, 2018 10:56:26 AM

Ross has been providing quality thin-film coatings on our optics for over a decade, and last year we announced a partnership with Penn Optical Coatings to extend our capabilities even further. Here are five reasons you should consider integrating optical coatings onto your components at the time of purchase:

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Design Concerns When Working with Dome Optics

By Damon Diehl | Nov 20, 2018 9:43:05 AM

A "dome" is an optical element that features a concave internal surface that is precisely matched to a convex exterior surface so that the interior and exterior surfaces are parallel and equally spaced over the entire optical element. The most common use of a dome optic is as a protective window from water, wind, radiation, or debris. Chemical and mechanical stability make glass and acrylic very popular materials for domes. Domes of this type are used for applications such as security systems, remote-controlled vehicles (such as the Mars rovers!), solar radiation sensors, underwater photography, and submarine portals. Dome windows are preferred over flat windows for four reasons:

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Secrets of Optical Design, Part 3: Mastering Design Software

By Damon Diehl | Aug 3, 2018 11:17:00 AM

This article is the last of our three-part series on optical design secrets. In previous blogs we explained some important aspects of optical manufacturing, and we offered advice on how to protect your production schedule by using reliable optics sourcing to defend your optics supply chain. This final article provides some best practices to follow when using optical design software. There are too many programs and applications for us to give software-specific advice, but our optical design expertise enables us to provide some important principles that apply whenever you use software to optimize the performance of an optical system design .

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Secrets of Optical Design, Part 2: Sourcing Optics

By Damon Diehl | Jun 28, 2018 8:07:35 AM

This article is the second in our three-part series on "secrets" that good optical designers must understand in order to become great. These tips are things that you can only learn from experience---or reading these articles!

In this article, we identify some of the supply-side challenges that optical designers face and offer some solutions. This knowledge will help you develop and protect your supply chain.

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Secrets of Optical Design, Part 1: Understanding Optical Manufacturing

By Damon Diehl | May 29, 2018 11:43:43 AM

This article is the first of a three-part series on aspects of design that are sometimes overlooked in optics courses. Optical design is often as much art as science. However, it is not magic! Like any art or science, skill in the trade comes only with experience and practice. That said, you can save time by learning from the experience of others.

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The Importance of Designing for Optical Assembly

By Damon Diehl | May 15, 2018 10:48:00 AM

The optical assembly process is often treated as an afterthought of the design process; however, once a product has gone into production, assembly becomes a dominant cost. Designing for ease of assembly becomes a considerable cost-saver in the long run. Below we offer three important points to consider as you develop a product.

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Top 3 Reasons for Long Lead Times in Optical Manufacturing: Part 1 in our Reducing Lead Time Series

By Damon Diehl | Apr 23, 2018 11:05:00 AM

Our series explains how Ross Optical can help you reduce lead time on your orders. This article will explain the three factors that most impact lead time for optical components:

  • Choice of materials
  • Method of fabrication
  • Method of testing

While these three factors impact any manufacturing process, they present unique challenges in optical manufacturing.

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Optical Design: Five Tolerancing Guidelines for Smart Designers

By Damon Diehl | Apr 13, 2018 12:40:00 PM

In the design of any optical system, managing cost versus performance is always a challenge. When faced with this challenge, it is important to realize that properly tolerancing the design is every bit as important as the design itself.

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Security Blanket: How Blanket Purchase Orders Can Protect Your Optics Supply Chain

By Damon Diehl | Mar 22, 2018 9:23:10 AM

For companies struggling with supply chain dilemmas, one of the solutions we offer is blanket purchase orders to help ensure a reliable stream of components. To understand whether a blanket purchase order is right for you, you need to understand how they work.

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