Opto-Mechanical Design and Applications

  • Overview
  • Course Content
Overview

Opto-Mechanical Design and Applications

Course Description

Opto-mechanical design brings together the many components required to build optical, electro-optical and infrared hardware. This is the part of the engineering cycle where all design concepts are expected to be resolved into real-world components that can be either bought or built. To prepare learners who are developing, specifying, or purchasing optical, electro-optical, and infrared systems, critical components that are covered in this Opto-Mechanical Design and Applications course include the tolerancing and fabrication limitations of optical components, alignment mechanisms, and "go" or "no-go" decisions on their use. It also covers structural design as it applies to low-strain lens and mirror mounts, as well as kinematic mounts and alignment and structural vibrations under sinusoidal and random production Power Spectral Density (PSD) loads.

Course Content

INTRODUCTION/OPTICS FUNDAMENTALS

  • Geometric optics
  • Aberrations and diffraction
  • Optomechanical overview

OPTICAL FABRICATION

  • Index of refraction
  • Internal transmission
  • Surface qualities
  • Thickness
  • Tilt/Wedge
  • Clear aperture
  • Tolerancing
  • ISO 10110
  • Design considerations

OPTICAL ALIGNMENT

  • Types of misalignments
  • Requirements
  • Correction, mitigation, and minimization
  • Line-of-Sight (LOS) pointing and boresighting

STRUCTURAL DESIGN

  • Stress and strain
  • Mechanics
  • Beams
  • Structural geometry and materials
  • Plates (lenses, windows and mirrors)
  • Glass strength
  • Vibrations

THERMAL DESIGN

  • Thermal-structural design
  • Thermal-optic effects
  • Thermal management

KINEMATIC DESIGN

  • Kinematic and semi-kinematic principles
  • Optical mounts
  • Positioning and alignment mechanisms
  • Material selection
  • Mechanical components

SYSTEM DESIGN

  • Structural, thermal, and optical analysis
  • Finite element analysis
  • Material trades

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for engineers, scientists, technicians, and managers who are developing, specifying, or purchasing optical, electro-optical, and infrared systems.

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What You Will Learn

  • Key optical concepts
  • Ray tracing and lens prescriptions
  • Fabrication, alignment, and structural design statics and dynamics
  • Thermal design heat sources, conduction, convection, radiation, thermal expansion, thermo-optic effects, active cooling, and typical commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components
  • System design structural-thermal-optical-performance (STOP) analysis, wavefront, and logistics outfitting system error budgets
Defense tech professional attending a short course

How You Will Benefit

  • Understand the tolerance and fabrication limitations of optical components.
  • Gain experience in developing optical component drawings using the ISO 10110 standard.
  • Know alignment mechanisms and their limitations.
  • Estimate structural static-loading effects on the performance of an optical system.
  • Use PSD curves to estimate dynamic-loading effects.
  • Estimate thermal effects on the performance of an optical system.
  • Select typical COTS components for alignment, lens mounting, thermal management, and shock and vibration control.
  • Utilize the results of an integrated STOP analysis.
  • Taught by Experts in the Field icon
    Taught by Experts in the Field
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The course schedule was well-structured with a mix of lectures, class discussions, and hands-on exercises led by knowledgeable and engaging instructors.

- Abe Kani
President

TRAIN AT YOUR LOCATION

We enable employers to provide specialized, on-location training on their own timetables. Our world-renowned experts can create unique content that meets your employees' specific needs. We also have the ability to deliver courses via web conferencing or on-demand online videos. For 15 or more students, it is more cost-effective for us to come to you.

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  • Flexible Schedule
  • Group Training
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  • On-Site Training
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