Flexible optics are a very specialized type of optic and they aren't easy to make well.  Flexible optics are exactly what they sound like, optics that are made from a bendable material as opposed to rigid materials like glass.  They are usually made using a bendable plastic such as a urethane or a silicone polymer and are required in very unusual situations. 

There are a couple of ways of making flexible optics.  One method is the casting method.  This method is slow and not well suited to mass production but it has the benefit of not being very expensive to produce a few parts so it is well suited for prototyping.  In order to make flexible optics using the casting method, a master pattern must first be created.  A clear bendable polymer is then poured onto this master pattern in order to create a "reverse" (a negative of the original pattern).  This reverse then serves as a mold for the flexible optics you want to create.  You then pour more of the clear polymer onto the reverse in order to make as many copies as you want.   

A second method for making flexible optics is by plastic injection molding.  There are many different types of polymers that can be clear and flexible but there is often a trade off between flexibility and clarity.  If you want them to be very flexible, they will often be less clear.  If you want  them to be very clear, they will often be less flexible.  In order to mold your flexible optics, you need to build a mold just like any other product you would make.  The mold can have up to 32 cavities with cycle times as fast as 30 seconds but cycle time and overall cost all depends on the size and shape and function.

Flexible optics are very often produced as a thin film or layer that is then applied to another product.  For example, you can put flexible polarizing optics over display screens in order to minimize the viewing angle to keep prying eyes from seeing confidential information on a  computer screen.  Flexible Fresnel lenses can be applied to a glass window in order to magnify what is on the other side of the window.  They can be used in a wide variety of ways and their uses are only limited by our imagination.  Feel free to give Nalux a call when your next project calls for flexible optics and see how our team of designers and our manufacturing capabilities can provide the solutions you need.