This SBIR Phase II award is for the integration of optical CAM system parameters directly into an optical CAD system. The importance of the integration concept will be demonstrated by the design and manufacture of a sample optical system. With CAM systems emerging, it is important to be able to represent directly in the optical design program the families of surfaces which can be manufactured using CAM technology. This allows the optical design engineer the freedom to use aspheric surfaces with the confidence that the resulting design can be manufactured. Mathematical models will be included directly into a commercial optical design program which will then be used to study tolerance of some typical optical systems directly in terms of CAM process parameters. The implications of successful completion of this research are far- reaching in simplification of optical system designs, increased reliability, and reduced optical production costs.
