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Welcome to the Autumn 2013 edition of 'Lens Innovation' - a periodic eNewsletter from Resolve Optics Ltd. designed to keep you informed about the latest technological developments, applications advances and breaking news in optical design and manufacture. If a particular feature interests you do not hesitate to contact us or follow the link for further information. We welcome your feedback. Mark Pontin (Managing Director) Click here to subscribe to receive future issues of 'Lens Innovation' |
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Technology Forum Designed for Purpose Military Lenses In tougher economic times where Defense budgets are being squeezed many governments - military contractors are looking for ways to provide fit for purpose products at competitive prices. One approach to reducing cost has been to source the lowest price standard optical components / systems and then work to make them suitable for the military application the product is being supplied for. However producing a lens / lens system for military use requires careful consideration of its resistance to vibration, shock, temperature and water ingress in addition to ensuring high reliability and top performance. The benefits of sourcing a designed for purpose Mil-Spec lens extend far beyond operational considerations as many contractors will admit to the huge amount of time they have wasted on trying to adapt 'low cost' off-the-shelf lenses without success. In a military scenario - operators demand much higher reliability than for commercial products. Resolve Optics Mil-Spec lenses have much higher life expectancy than regular commercial grade lenses. The defective rate is also extremely low. Often lenses in military products are regularly subject to vibration. When functioning, vibration can be quite harmful for the main structure of the lenses. Slight vibration might cause malfunction in lenses, severe vibration to the body structure may result in damage that’s beyond repair. A Mil-Spec lens can be designed to withstand vibration effects. Shock waves are also highly detrimental to the performance and operation of high precision military optical instruments. When you place the device in a vehicle, ship or aircraft, it is not only affected by vibration, but shock waves can shatter a motor gear, damage an aperture and reduce a motor’s life expectancy. A Mil-Spec lens can be designed to withstand shock effects. Regular commercial grade lenses often do not react well to abrupt temperature changes. In different military scenarios - lenses can also be subject to extremes of temperature - for instance the temperature for aerial photography is often less than -30°C, the temperature on the deck of a ship or for vehicles operating in the desert can often be higher than 50°C. Only designed for purpose Mil-Spec lens can offer this type of temperature resistance. Used outside military optical systems are subject to 24/7 weather conditions - many commercial grade lenses cannot withstand the ingress of water or provide long term resistance to the corrosive effect of the salt in sea spray. Producing a rugged MIL-Spec lens optimised to your application is a complex task. However drawing upon over 20 years of experience - Resolve Optics optical, mechanical and electronic engineers and designers have a proven track record of producing high quality military fixed focus and zoom lenses. Sourcing a 'fit for purpose' lens from Resolve Optics has resulted in shorter lead time, lower cost and a better overall product for a growing number of military contractors. To confidentially discuss the requirements of a key optical element for your military product please contact Resolve Optics on +44-1494-777100 or email markpontin@resolveoptics.com. |
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Product Focus Remote Inspection Of Harsh Environments Specialist endoscopic viewing systems enable remote inspections of harsh environments where radiation, extremes of temperature / pressure or contact with corrosive liquids and gases would render standard products unusable. For high-temperature environments - Resolve Optics has developed optical systems that will operate up to 950°C without cooling. This make it possible to inspect the inside of an operating furnace / boiler or non-invasively analyse high temperature processes including incineration, recycling, smelting and chemical manufacturing. For radioactive environments - Resolve Optics has developed custom through wall endoscopes capable of withstanding radiation doses of up to 100,000,000 rads without degradation of performance. To learn more about endoscopic inspection systems for harsh environments or to discuss a specific project please contact us or telephone +44 (0)1494-777100. |
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Quick Survey: Every year the number of conferences and exhibitions claiming to offer the best access to new Photonics / Imaging products and application innovations seems to grow. Resolve Optics values the opportunity to meet face-to-face with end users and OEMs to listen to your needs and propose a standard or custom lens or optical system that provides an optimal solution. Please email us which conferences / exhibitions you are aiming to attend to help us plan our events schedule for 2014. All respondents to this quick survey will receive a free copy of Resolve Optics easy-to-use iPhone App that enables you to quickly calculate the field-of-view for different lens focal lengths. | |
ViewPoint Replacing Hard To Source and Obsolete Optical Components 
Periodically organisations are faced with replacing hard to source or obsolete optical components within their camera, sensor or instrument systems. It is at this critical point that you have to choose whether to search for an off-the-shelf component or to specify a bespoke component that fully meets your needs. Driven by financial considerations - company's often seek to find an off-the-shelf lens / lens system to replace the obsolete / hard to source component in their product. However adopting an off-the-shelf strategy necessitates accepting risks including having little control over security of supply and compromised performance compared to an optimised bespoke design. Over the last 20 years Resolve Optics has successfully developed many innovative, high performance OEM lenses for customers seeking to replace hard to source or obsolete optical components with their camera, sensor or instrument system. Drawing upon an experienced team of optical designers – we are able to quickly gain an understanding of the basic physics of the technology associated with your product enabling a novel, optimised and affordable solution to be proposed. Our goal is to provide a fast and flexible optical and mechanical design assessment on all projects. A project engineer is assigned to closely liaise with customers at all points of a development to ensure complete satisfaction with the final lens or optical system. To create an optimised bespoke design we employ the latest Computer Aided 3D modelling techniques aided by our many years experience in the design and manufacture of specialist lenses and optical products. It is here that quality and reliability are designed into your lens / optical system. Advanced optical manufacturing and CNC machining technology is used to produce high quality components. In assembly, experienced workers build complete assemblies with care and attention to detail. All products are tested before leaving our factory to ensure your complete satisfaction. It is this blend of skills, experience and flexibility that have established Resolve Optics as a leading manufacturer of special OEM lenses and optical products for a significant and growing portfolio of small and large high technology businesses. If your are finding a critical lens / optical system in your product is becoming increasing hard to source or is now obsolete optics please click here or contact Resolve Optics Ltd. now on +44-1494-777100 / sales@resolveoptics.com for further information. |
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Case Study 1 Waterproofed Lens Adapter Enhances Outside Broadcast TV The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is recognised worldwide as a leading TV broadcaster with particular expertise and experience in producing high quality outside broadcasts. Recently Resolve Optics supplied a number of its Model 287 wide angle lens adapters to enable high quality, external broadcasts by the BBC Springwatch group which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom.
The compromise-free performance of the Model 287 is achieved by designing the adapter to work with the moving pupils of zoom lenses. Its unique design combined with the use of special high index glasses carefully balances the provision of a low distortion wide angle view with the higher level of correction needed at the narrow angles of view. The result is a high quality lens that has an unprecedented full 'zoom through' capability resulting in high contrast images regardless of zoom position whilst still maintaining both resolution and focus to the very edges of the image. For further information on waterproofed lens systems please contact Resolve Optics on +44-1494-777100 or sales@resolveoptics.com. |
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Case Study 2 Motorised Zoom Lens Helps Improve the Quality of Underwater Welding Traditionally underwater welding repair to secure the integrity of pipes and other marine structures has been carried out by diving welders. To carry out such tasks these highly trained individuals face the perils of deep water and because of poor visibility welding joint quality has often been variable. For these reasons Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV’s) are becoming increasingly popular for underwater welding projects. ROV’s are particularly useful because they have no depth restrictions which may limit divers, no depth time limitations, are able to enter dangerous and small spaces or contaminated water, and with the help of innovative optical design from Resolve Optics Ltd are able to monitor operation with high quality video. A manufacturer of ROV's approached Resolve Optics to help improve the deep sea welding capability of their system. The application required a compact motorised zoom lens (for their video camera) which had the ability to provide a wide angle view such that the operator could more easily locate the area that required welding. The unique close focus feature of the Model 207 allowed the lens to be placed closer to the welding head and incorporation of an ND spot to provide a wide aperture range of f/2.8 - f /160 enabled the operator to monitor the weld as it happens without the camera flaring out. |
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HOT OFF THE PRESS |
Studying Ultra Fast UV Phenomena
Using the new UV optical module and UV ICCD enables the SIM camera to optimally operate in the 230-400nm region allowing scientists to study phenomena that emit ultraviolet radiation during the initial phase, such as corona from a pre-streamer in electrical discharge studies. |
Z-10 HD Mini Zoom Lens Sales Climb
Considerably smaller and much lighter (< 500g) than comparible HD zoom lenses – the Z10 is generating sales from broadcast TV, space restricted machine vision and CCTV monitoring organisations that require the highest quality images. |
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Resolve Optics Ltd, Asheridge Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire HP5 2PT, UK. |
The BBC Springwatch team required that the Model 287 lens be capable of being used outdoors for often days on end without any deterioration in image quality. To stop the incursion of condensation into the Model 287 - all lens elements were mounted under dry nitrogen and a new lens bonding technique was developed to enhance the robustness of the system. To prove that the lens would withstand the rigours of extended length outdoors broadcasts - engineers at Resolve Optics immersed the lens in water for several days, dried the lens and still got perfect high resolution images.
