Panacol is new ACOP member

As a new member of the expert group of companies coming together with different projects and issues with a focus on optical systems, Panacol can contribute with its expertise to develop sustainable solutions. This includes conceptual design, mold making, metrology and all development steps from the creation of initial prototypes to series production and the associated documentation requirements. In the very first year of membership, Panacol is actively involved in projects, contributing its expertise in adhesives to enable and promote innovation in this field. The projects are not only about adhesives as composite materials for optical assembling, but also about liquid-applied and produced polymer optics. The projects are extremely diverse: One project, for example, is concerned with transferring the expertise of process simulation of glass forming to bonded optical systems in order to predict characteristic data such as shrinkage behavior or other mechanical and optical parameters or to be able to better estimate their influence. Another project is concerned with suitable cleaning methods for the pretreatment of optical elements prior to further processing and assembling.

Particularly in the area of free-form optics with liquid polymers, Panacol sees an enormous variety of production and product variants. Products from consumer electronics, consumer electronics and sensor technology offer a lot of potential for MLAs (Micro Lens Arrays), DOEs (Diffractive Optical Elements) and metal lenses, i.e. optical components that do not focus light like conventional lenses but are based on micro- or nanostructured surfaces. Ever smaller designs, more homogeneous signal pickup and distribution contribute enormously to increased performance potential in such applications. In this context, it is essential to understand and master the overall object or the entire manufacturing chain. The diversity of different member companies, the technical issues and the associated variety of synergies that can result offer great opportunities for all ACOP partners. Especially in the field of manufacturing technology as well as in the metrology of optical systems, it is important to deepen the knowledge and to gain new impressions. These new concepts and ideas can be used to support manufacturers in their own product and process improvements. Together with the other ACOP members along the value chain, Panacol plans to contribute further proposals in the coming years in order to jointly establish polymer optics on the market that are competitive and suitable for mass production.