Mechanical Engineering / Apps / Lens Mounts Designer

The optomechanical cell mount application helps you design various types of cell mounts including

• Subcells where each lens is independently held by a retainer ring;
• “L” junctions and “T” junctions cells for mounting multiple lenses in a stack.

Design can be exported using the top toolbar as vectorial image (.SVG), 3d drawing (.STEP) and full drawing print. To save drawings as .PDF documents, use the print option and select your PDF driver I the print options. Prints are designed to be exported as A3 sheets.

The top toolbar also includes an “expert mode” switch. When the switch is disabled (option is grayed out), the application enters wizard mode and will guess the cell mount settings based on the shape of your lens and the provided wizard settings (see below). When the switch is enabled, the application enters expert mode where you can fine tune the cell settings inputs.

When fine-tuning the cell settings, you may run into design errors and warnings. Each warning or error will be annotated on the design to assist you:

You can adjust the amount of information displayed on the current plot using the left toolbar:

In full assembly mode, the cell is shown with the lens and the eventual retainer ring. You can also switch on/off distances annotations and cards annotations. The “show all view” settings will display the front view of the cell as shown in the full drawing.

The settings of the left toolbar will be applied when exporting vectorial image (.SVG) files. Drawings are always generated with the cell only (no assembly), full annotations and front view on. If you need to generate an assembly view for a report, use the vectorial image export button. The settings of the left toolbar also has no effect on STEP file export.

Use the main toolbar to modify the cell mount:

Each pane consists of multiple fields. When selecting a specific field, the value will be highlighted on the main drawing when applicable.

In lens settings you can adjust

• Front and back curvature of your lens. By unchecking the checkboxes in front of these fields, the application will assume a planar surface.
• Thickness and outer diameter of the lens.
• Front and back clear aperture of the lens. When switched off, the application will use the outer diameter of the lens. When switched on, a flat will be introduced in the top and bottom parts of the lens surface.

Inter-distance settings is only available in the “T” junction application. It corresponds to the distance between the first and second lens rear and front surface respectively, measured on the optical axis.

Retainer-ring settings is only available in the subcell application. It configures the thread to be used for the cell. Retainer-ring settings are filled automatically in wizard mode.

You can choose either from an off-the-shelve retainer ring or customize your own retainer.

When selecting an off-the-shelve retainer ring, all thread settings are imported from the manufacturer’s data, including the label to display on the drawing.

Aperture settings can change between the different applications. Aperture settings are filled automatically in wizard mode.

In all cases, you will be able to choose the clear aperture of the cell.

In the subcell and “L” junctions applications, you can also choose to use an aperture cone in front of the cell. When using an aperture cone, you need to provide a cone angle and a flat distance. The aperture diameter will be measured at the flat portion of the cell.

Cell settings can change between the different applications. Cell settings are filled automatically in wizard mode.

In all applications, you can set

• The outer diameter of the cell;
• The chamfer to apply on non-lens-contacting parts to ease up insertion of the cell
• The necessary gap between the lens and the cell to accommodate for manufacturing tolerances and thermal loads;
• The lip thickness when contacting concave surfaces.

In the subcell application, you can further set

• The distance between the front part of the cell and the lens, and the back part of the cell and the lens. These distances are always measured along the optical axis;
• The thread relief gap to end the threaded section;
• The possibility to add bearing surfaces. Bearing surfaces are useful for very thick lenses to ease up insertion.

In the “L” junction application, you can further set

• The front distance to the lens as in the subcell application;
• The distance between the rear part of the cell and the center of the edge of the lens.

In the “T” junction application, you can further set

• The distance between the rear and front parts of the cell and the center of the edges of the lenses.

In the tolerances settings pane, you can adjust the various tolerances annotated on the mechanical drawing.

Sensitive tolerances are used as default. Consult your machining center before changing these.

In the wizard settings pane, you can adjust different values that affect the wizard mode and the error checking mode:

• You can authorize the lens to protrude from the cell when applicable. This is not recommended as it may damage the lens during handling;
• Minimum metal thickness and gap size;
• Rounding values for diameters and lengths for the wizard mode.

In the drawing settings pane, you can adjust the different annotations that appears on the printed drawing such as:

• Company name or author name;
• Name of the part;
• ID of the part. Each part should have a different ID to be identified uniquely;
• Revision of the part. Increment the revision everytime you issue a modification of your drawing to your machining center;
• Material. By default, we assume you will be using Brass MS58 for your cell.