Additive Eyewear Lens Printing with Diffused Light Pattern Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current lens manufacturing technologies, such as free-form and 3D printing, are expensive, bulky, slow, and require significant resources, limiting their accessibility to small businesses and eye care professionals, and existing 3D printing methods struggle with producing curved lenses efficiently.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing additive manufacturing with improved light patterns, specifically through a spatial light modulator and diffuser system, to create lenses with controlled polymerization fronts, ensuring each resin point receives light from a significant area of the diffuser, eliminating self-focusing defects and enabling efficient production of curved lenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If resin-jet technology is used for lens creation, then lenses can be produced with smooth surfaces and sufficient optical quality, but manufacturing time increases to roughly one hour per lens and machine footprint becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from layer-by-layer additive manufacturing (2D stacking) to volumetric printing (3D simultaneous fabrication). By using a diffuser to scatter light throughout the resin volume and controlling polymerization front propagation in three dimensions, the system cures the entire lens volume in a single operation rather than building it layer by layer, reducing manufacturing time from hours to minutes while maintaining optical quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical layer-by-layer deposition and curing mechanism with an optical field-based volumetric polymerization system. Using a spatial light modulator and diffuser to create controlled light patterns that propagate through the resin, the system initiates polymerization throughout the volume simultaneously, eliminating the mechanical constraints of layer stacking and enabling faster production
2Manufacturing precision
If resin-jet technology is used for lens creation, then lenses with smooth surfaces are produced, but the machine size and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary mechanical components from traditional resin-jet systems. By using a simple planar diffuser instead of complex layer-by-layer dispensing mechanisms, and employing a spatial light modulator for precise light control, the system achieves volumetric printing with fewer moving parts, smaller footprint, and lower cost while maintaining surface smoothness through optical control of polymerization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a diffuser as an intermediary element that transforms directional light into scattered light patterns throughout the resin volume. This simple optical component enables volumetric polymerization without requiring complex mechanical systems, acting as a mediator between the light source and resin to achieve uniform curing throughout the lens volume with minimal equipment
3Shape
If traditional additive manufacturing is used for curved lenses, then lenses can be produced, but the process requires multiple prints and cementing steps resulting in thick lenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses volumetric 3D printing to create curved lenses in a single operation. By controlling the polymerization front propagation through spatially patterned light in three dimensions, the system can directly fabricate complex curved lens geometries without requiring multiple separate printing operations or assembly steps, eliminating the need to stack flat lenses to achieve curvature
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method results in a lightweight, cost-effective, and efficient lens production system that can be used by smaller enterprises, producing high-quality, transparent, and optically clear lenses with reduced waste and minimal consumables.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting light from a pixelated or beam scan light source having improved light patterns onto and through a curved diffuser located in a chamber of the polymerization apparatus containing the resin and the substrate according to an irradiation pattern such that each point in the resin is illuminated by light from points in the diffuser covering an area which is at least 10% of the total area of the diffuser
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a substrate partially transparent to a curing radiation having an improved light pattern; a photocurable resin on top of the substrate; and a spatial light modulator for illuminating the resin with curing radiation that passes through a diffuser and the substrate, then enters the resin. The improved light pattern is such that each point in the resin is illuminated by light from a set of points in the diffuser covering at least 10% of a surface of the diffuser. The improved light pattern may be improved and optimized to compensate for a distortion generated by the spatial light modulator, a distortion effect of using curved diffusers, a variability of the spatial response of the light modulator, or for a lack of linearity of the irradiance response of the spatial light modulator. Or the improved light pattern may change over time while projected onto the diffuser surface.