The sealed, the athermaled, and the rugged: The wild west of modified opto-mechanical design

摘要

The ability of a lens assembly to withstand extreme environmental conditions is a common problem for engineers. Oncethe optical engineer has a design that matches the required optical specifications, the opto-mechanical engineer is taskedwith developing mechanics that can withstand the environmental specification. Using FEA and theoretical analysis, aStingRay GhostSight VisSwir lens was put through varying levels of common environmental stresses experienced withinthe field, including high shock and vibration as well as extreme temperature and pressure variations. The GhostSightwas then mechanically modified in subtle ways to improve performance against these stresses. These samemodifications can be implemented in other lens assembly designs to provide similar high performance capabilities inextreme settings.