INDUSTRY SOLUTION: LIGHTING & OPTICS

Illuminating Your Vision

From architectural fixtures to automotive headlamps, we provide the advanced manufacturing services needed to develop high-performance lighting products with exceptional optical quality.

Prototype Your Lighting Product

A clear, transparent cover for an automotive light, showcasing optical component manufacturing

Components for Every Part of the Luminaire

We produce both the optical components that shape the light and the mechanical components that house and support the system.

Lenses & Light Pipes

We CNC machine and polish optically clear plastics like Acrylic (PMMA) and Polycarbonate (PC) to create custom lenses, light guides, and light pipes with precise optical surfaces.

Reflectors & Diffusers

Create custom reflectors by machining aluminum with a highly polished surface finish. For diffusers, we can machine frosted or textured acrylic to evenly spread and soften the light source.

Housings & Heat Sinks

We CNC machine aluminum heat sinks to provide critical thermal management for high-power LEDs. We also produce aesthetic housings from a variety of plastics and metals with premium finishes.

The Path to Optical Clarity

Creating a truly transparent prototype requires a multi-stage process. While clear 3D printing resins are good for general shape validation, achieving true optical performance requires a different approach.

1. Material Selection: We start with a high-quality, optical-grade block of Acrylic (for best clarity and scratch resistance) or Polycarbonate (for best impact strength).
2. Precision Machining: We use specialized tooling and techniques in our CNC centers to machine the precise geometry of your lens or light pipe.
3. Polishing: This is the critical final step. Our skilled technicians use a multi-stage process of sanding and buffing with progressively finer compounds to remove all tool marks and achieve a glass-like, optically clear finish. For complex internal surfaces, vapor polishing can also be used.

A perfectly polished clear PC part, illustrating the final result of optical prototyping

Lighting & Optics FAQ

Which clear material is better for lenses, Acrylic or Polycarbonate?

It depends on the application. Acrylic (PMMA) has better optical clarity, higher light transmission, and is more scratch-resistant. Polycarbonate (PC) is vastly superior in terms of impact strength and toughness. For a car headlamp that might get hit by a rock, PC is used. For a stationary indoor light fixture, Acrylic is often the better choice.

Can you achieve a mirror finish on a reflector?

Yes. We can CNC machine a reflector from aluminum and then use diamond turning or hand polishing techniques to create a highly reflective, mirror-like surface finish (low Ra value) for optimal light reflection.

What is a TIR optic?

A TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optic is a specially designed lens that uses both refraction (bending light as it passes through) and total internal reflection (bouncing light off internal surfaces) to precisely collect and control the light from an LED source. We can produce complex TIR optics via precision CNC machining and polishing.