Lens Shaping Method and Applications Using UV Printer

Abstract

Recently, as digital machine tools have become popular, even ordinary people have become involved in personal fabrication. However, optical elements such as lenses are difficult to be manufactured because they require post-output processing such as polishing. To solve this problem, we focus on an ultraviolet (UV) printer, which is getting popular in Makerspaces and Fab Labs. We propose a lens forming method that does not require post-output processing using the UV printer. The transparent ink is first laminated to form a shape. The UV printer then smooths its surface by filling the layer roughness with glossy printing. We implemented tools to design the lens shape by inputting the lens diameter, focal length, and so on. In this paper, we introduce the concept, implementation, and applications of our lens forming method. We also explain the results of performance evaluation and user study.