# Formlight Optics

> Fixed-fee imaging lens and illumination design based in Austin, Texas. Analysis, tolerancing, and a CAD-ready handoff for medical, sensing, and space.

Formlight Optics is a DBA of Five Talent Consulting, Inc. Based in Austin, Texas. Serving clients worldwide. 20+ years in optical design. Service area: Worldwide. Canonical site: https://www.formlightoptics.com. Contact: hello@formlightoptics.com. Client names are withheld.

## Services

- [Imaging lens design](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/imaging-lens-design): First-order layout through aberration analysis and tolerancing. Sequential models cover visible, NIR, and custom spectral bands. Zemax OpticStudio, Quadoa, LensHH, and OpTaLiX.
- [Illumination design](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/illumination-design): Source-to-target mapping, light pipes, reflectors, and luminaire optics. Models report collected flux and uniformity, including freeform surfaces when a symmetric optic cannot meet the target. Photopia, FRED, TracePro, and Zemax OpticStudio.

## Service pages

- [Illumination design](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/illumination-design): Non-imaging systems: source-to-target mapping, light pipes, reflectors, and luminaire optics, including freeform surfaces when a symmetric optic cannot meet the target. Models include source files, collected flux, and uniformity against stated targets.
- [Imaging lens design](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/imaging-lens-design): First-order layout through aberration and tolerance analysis. Sequential models for visible, NIR, and custom spectral bands.
- [Zemax OpticStudio consulting](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/zemax-opticstudio-consulting): Zemax OpticStudio sequential and non-sequential models, merit functions, and tolerance budgets. Geometry export (STEP or IGES) for mechanical teams.
- [Optomechanical design](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/optomechanical-design): Mounts, tolerances, and package constraints. CAD-ready interfaces so mechanical teams can proceed without reverse-engineering the optic.
- [Stray light and non-sequential simulation](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/stray-light-and-non-sequential-simulation): Non-sequential analysis of ghosts, flare, and light a model fails to account for.
- [Independent design review](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services/design-review): A fixed-fee independent review of an existing lens, imaging design, OpticStudio model, or stray light model. The fixed fee is quoted after a paid pre-review call.

## Portfolio

- [Imaging lens for a 4K otoscope](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/4k-otoscope-imaging-lens): Designed an otoscope imaging lens for a 4K sensor and fit a prototype version to catalog lenses.
- [Placement-tolerant optics for a smartphone dermatoscope](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/smartphone-dermatoscope-placement-robustness): Redesigned a three-lens smartphone clip-on imager so it stays sharp when the phone is not seated perfectly.
- [Image quality and detection toolkit for space optics](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/space-sensor-image-quality-toolkit): Built an OpticStudio extension that scores a lens design for space imaging and point-source detection in one report.
- [Beam-angle lens family for a clustered LED downlight](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/clustered-led-downlight-beam-angle-lenses): Designed a molded lens for each beam angle on a chip scale package (CSP) LED in a four-LED cluster.
- [Laser light delivery for a diagnostic test cartridge](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/diagnostic-cartridge-laser-delivery): Co-designed a cartridge lens and lightguide that put far more laser light onto a small detection zone.
- [LED-to-fiber coupling feasibility study](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/led-to-fiber-coupling-study): Tested whether added optics could push more LED light into a small optical fiber, and found the lower-cost answer.
- [Independent check of ghost-path enumeration on 10 lens designs](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/ghost-path-enumeration-cross-check): Checked a sequential ghost-path method against OpticStudio on 10 imaging lens designs, from a singlet through a 100° wide-angle and a zoom.
- [Engineering benchmark tasks for evaluating AI models](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/ai-benchmark-optomechanics): Built optical multiphysics test problems, with verified reference solutions and scoring rubrics, to measure how well AI models handle real engineering.
- [Energy audit of a side-glowing fiber model](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio/side-glowing-fiber-energy-audit): Traced a thin scattering fiber about 100 mm long and found that default ray limits were dropping launched light.

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.formlightoptics.com): Fixed-fee imaging lens and illumination design based in Austin, Texas. Analysis, tolerancing, and a CAD-ready handoff for medical, sensing, and space.
- [Services](https://www.formlightoptics.com/services): Imaging lens design and illumination design, plus optomechanics, stray light, Zemax OpticStudio consulting, and an independent design review.
- [Medical devices and diagnostics](https://www.formlightoptics.com/industries/medical-devices-and-diagnostics): Optical design and analysis for medical devices and diagnostics. Client names are withheld.
- [Space and sensing](https://www.formlightoptics.com/industries/space-and-sensing): Optical design and analysis for space imaging and optical sensing. Client names are withheld.
- [Portfolio](https://www.formlightoptics.com/portfolio): Anonymized optical and optomechanical case studies. Client names are withheld.
- [Free tools](https://www.formlightoptics.com/tools): Free browser calculators for LED beam angle and etendue. Check spot size, throw, and geometric coupling, with each formula shown. No account and no upload.
- [LED beam angle calculator](https://www.formlightoptics.com/tools/led-beam-angle): Full beam angle from a spot diameter and throw, or the reverse, plus optional on-axis illuminance.
- [Etendue calculator](https://www.formlightoptics.com/tools/etendue): Source etendue against a fiber or an aperture, and the geometric coupling ceiling.
- [About](https://www.formlightoptics.com/about): An independent optical engineering practice with 20+ years in optical design. Based in Austin, Texas. Serving clients worldwide. Fixed-fee projects. Scope, deliverables, and price are agreed in writing before work starts. Client files are kept sandboxed and never used for AI training. Fit and not a fit are on this page.
- [Contact](https://www.formlightoptics.com/contact): Project inquiry form. Email hello@formlightoptics.com.
- [Full text](https://www.formlightoptics.com/llms-full.txt): Services, process, FAQ, case studies, and notes in full.
- [Notes](https://www.formlightoptics.com/notes): Short technical notes from Formlight Optics in Austin, Texas. A PMMA TIR collimator ray trace and an example tolerance budget for a small imaging lens.
- [TIR collimator basics for LED downlights](https://www.formlightoptics.com/notes/tir-collimator-basics-for-led-downlights): How a PMMA collimator splits an LED into a refracted core and a reflected outer band, from a 2D ray trace.
- [Building a tolerance budget for a small imaging lens](https://www.formlightoptics.com/notes/tolerance-budget-for-a-small-imaging-lens): An example root-sum-square tolerance budget for a three-element imaging lens, with focus treated as a compensator.
- [Service catalog](https://www.formlightoptics.com/.well-known/services.json): Machine-readable services and scope. Pricing basis: fixed-fee, quoted per project. No prices are listed.
- Markdown mirrors use the page path plus .md. The home mirror is https://www.formlightoptics.com/index.md. An HTML URL also returns Markdown when the request sends Accept: text/markdown.

## Tools

Zemax OpticStudio, Quadoa, LensHH, OpTaLiX, Photopia, FRED, TracePro, and Custom programs and scripts.

## Contact

Fixed-fee projects. Scope, deliverables, and price are agreed in writing before work starts. Email hello@formlightoptics.com. Formlight Optics replies within two business days.