A new company hopes to use volumetric 3D printing to revolutionize the production of optics.
The company is opdo, founded by none other than Stephen Keuer, former founder of 3YOURMIND and recently with Xolo, another company using volumetric 3D printing approaches.
The company is attempting to fill some gaps in the optics industry using advanced manufacturing and AI software tools. They found the market for optics software quite fragmented, causing complex workflows requiring multiple tools. They also found that most optics companies have a very challenging time hiring qualified optical engineers.
This led to their creation of their optics “co-pilot”, described thusly:
“A platform that enables engineers to generate advanced, manufacturable optical systems from a simple prompt—in minutes. The platform combines AI-driven simulation and optimization with integrated manufacturing, starting with volumetric lens fabrication and soon expanding to catalog optics and all major production technologies.”
In other words, their platform allows engineers to not only design the optical system, but also manufacture it in an integrated manner. That should save considerable time.
They are also making heavy use of AI technology to generate the designs. While other software makes some use of AI technology, it is not the central story as it seems to be with opdo.
This is quite an interesting approach: integrating design and production — and also adding (later) stock ordering of lenses. It’s a one-stop shop for optical engineers.
They also retain the 3D print technology. This is an approach we’ve seen several times. A company invents a unique 3D print technology, but instead of selling it in machines directly to customers, they retain it in-house and operate as a service bureau. That’s what’s going on here: design the optical system and then hit the “manufacture” button to send it to their machines for production.
Obviously, opdo’s services are not going to be of interest to the wider 3D print community. They are targeting a niche market, and possibly one that could be quite profitable. This seems to be the way of the future for 3D print startups, as the general 3D printing market has been swallowed up by several giant companies that would be exceedingly difficult to overtake.
Via opdo
