Variotherm assisted precision injection molding of plastic optical lenses based on improved cooling stage control model

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering
• Manufacturing Processes

Background:

• Precision injection molding is crucial for plastic optical lenses in imaging systems.
• Residual stress and surface deformation negatively impact imaging quality.
• Conventional methods struggle to fully mitigate these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate an improved variotherm assisted precision injection molding method.
• To optimize residual stress and deformation in plastic optical lenses.
• To enhance the imaging quality of optical components.

Main Methods:

• Developed an improved cooling control model for variotherm assisted injection molding.
• Determined cooling time based on lens thickness distribution from its surface equation.
• Conducted simulations and experiments on aspherical plastic optical lenses.

Main Results:

• The proposed method effectively minimizes residual stress and deformation.
• Simulation results closely matched experimental data trends.
• Optimized cooling control significantly reduced optical imperfections.

Conclusions:

• The improved variotherm assisted injection molding method offers superior control over residual stress and deformation.
• This technique enhances the performance of plastic optical lenses for imaging systems.
• The findings provide a pathway for higher quality plastic optics manufacturing.