Seminar by Dr Liam Rooney, University of Sheffield on 1st May at 12:00 via Zoom
Focussing on the application of 3D printed lenses; from rapid prototyping to low-resource field diagnostics
High-quality glass bulk optics are commonplace in the design of optical instrumentation. However, research-grade glass lenses are often costly, delicate and, depending on the prescription, can involve intricate and lengthy manufacturing. This work describes 3D printing as a viable alternative for the manufacture of glass-like optical elements, where I will also discuss the creation of the world’s first fully 3D printed microscope. 3D printed lenses were manufactured using low-cost consumer-grade 3D printers and resin, but exhibited the same optical performance of glass lenses, while having 225x lower materials cost. Following performance validation, we applied our 3D printed optics to the construction of a fully 3D printed microscope and demonstrated its use in histological/diagnostic imaging applications. Our findings showed that 3D printed lenses are a viable substitute for commercial glass lenses, with the advantage of being relatively low-cost, accessible, and suitable for use in optical instruments. Moreover, combining 3D printed lenses with open-source 3D printed microscope chassis designs opens the doors for low-cost applications for rapid prototyping, low-resource field diagnostics, and the creation of cheap educational tools.
https://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/rooneyliamdr/