Opdo, described as the first AI-based optics platform, has entered a partnership with Luximprint, 3D printed optics company. The aim is to establish a smooth transition from intelligent optical design to fully digital manufacturing. The collaboration is shifting the standard process for optical system development, making it possible to accelerate cycles and support greater customization throughout the industry.
“Opdo lets engineers describe what they want to achieve with light — and AI handles the rest,” says Stephan Kuehr, Founder and CEO of Opdo. “By adding Luximprint’s proven manufacturing technology, we connect AI design with digital fabrication in a way that fundamentally changes how optical products are developed.”
A Unified Fabrication Ecosystem
Opdo’s AI Optics Platform allows engineers to describe optical intent in natural language, with AI agents generating, simulating, and optimizing fully manufacturable designs within minutes. With Luximprint’s Printoptical technology integrated, those designs can move straight into production, creating a seamless digital workflow from concept through finished optical components.
Rather than operating in isolation, the Printoptical process becomes one more fabrication pathway within Opdo’s broader ecosystem, which also includes volumetric and microfabrication technologies such as Xolography and Nanoscribe. The result is a flexible production framework capable of scaling from freeform illumination optics to finely detailed microstructures — allowing designers to select the most suitable manufacturing route without leaving the platform.
“We’re excited to bring our Printoptical process to the Opdo platform,” says Marco de Visser, CEO of Luximprint. “This collaboration connects two complementary innovations — AI design and digital manufacturing — enabling custom optics to move from vision to physical reality faster than ever before.”
Custom Optics on Demand
The Opdo–Luximprint collaboration illustrates a wider transition in optical fabrication toward data-driven, additive, and hybrid manufacturing workflows.
In July, UK-based engineering firm Renishaw announced a collaboration with Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) at their facility near Dublin to develop advanced process parameters for metal 3D printing of freeform optical components used in laser-based satellite communications. This project, part of a Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF) initiative led by freeform optics manufacturer mBryonics, aims to facilitate the transition from traditional machining to near-net-shape 3D printing, accelerating production efficiency. The partnership is targeting completion by autumn 2026.
In a separate development, researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart demonstrated how 3D printed micro-optics can be used in high-power laser setups. Using two-photon polymerization (2PP), the team printed microscale lenses directly onto optical fibers, allowing the laser crystal and fiber to be combined in a single compact oscillator.
The hybrid fiber–crystal laser delivered stable output above 20 mW at 1063.4 nm, reaching up to 37 mW, with the printed optics showing no signs of damage during prolonged use. The work was carried out using a Nanoscribe system, and the group reported ongoing efforts to adapt the approach to larger fibers and more advanced lens geometries.
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Featured image shows 3D digitally fabricated optics and optical textures. Image via Luximprint.
