Custom Illumination
& LED Optic Design
We design advanced illumination systems tailored to your application — from LED optics and freeform reflectors to complete lighting solutions. Hundreds of lighting designs delivered across automotive, medical, architectural, and industrial applications.
- Zemax non-sequential ray tracing
- Concept to production
- Regulatory compliance
LED & Traditional Sources
Nichia, CREE, Osram, Lumileds, halogen, and more
Zemax Ray Tracing
Non-sequential modeling with custom algorithms & DLLs
Regulatory Compliant
IES, EN 13201, StVZO, DOT, and other standards
Design to Production
From concept through prototyping and volume manufacturing
Custom Illumination Design Process
Each project receives personalized attention, resulting in innovative and efficient lighting solutions.
Optical Design & Simulation
Custom reflector, lens, and light pipe designs using Zemax non-sequential ray tracing with custom algorithms and Bezier freeform surfaces.
Mechanical & Thermal Design
Housing design, heat sink integration, and thermal management to ensure LED longevity and consistent performance in your application environment.
Prototyping & Validation
Rapid prototyping through 3D printing, diamond turning, and machining. Performance validation to ensure designs meet your photometric specifications.
Production Transfer
Seamless handoff to injection molding, vacuum deposition, and volume manufacturing partners. Full documentation for production-ready designs.
Lighting Designs We Deliver
Custom illumination systems across a wide range of industries and applications.
Real Illumination Projects, Real Results
Explore detailed case studies from our custom illumination design projects.
Custom Asymmetric LED Illumination Lens
Design of a LED illumination optic meeting StVZO regulatory light pattern requirements in a small form factor for a dynamo-powered bicycle light.
Indoor Grow Light Optic
Freeform reflector and Fresnel lens design for uniform high-PPFD vertical farming illumination. Zemax non-sequential design, prototyping, and transfer to volume production.
Production Methods, Light Sources & Materials
We work with all major LED manufacturers and production processes to deliver the right solution for your application.
Production Methods
Light Sources
Materials
Custom Illumination Design FAQs
What custom illumination design services does Optics for Hire offer?
Optics for Hire designs custom illumination systems tailored to your application — including LED optics, freeform reflectors, custom collimators, light pipes, and complete lighting solutions. We use Zemax non-sequential ray tracing with custom algorithms to create designs which optimize light distribution, efficiency, and uniformity for any illumination requirement.
What types of LED and illumination applications do you design for?
Our custom illumination design services cover a wide range of applications including office and commercial lighting, automotive lighting (decorative and DOT-standard), roadway lighting (IES Type II through Type V, EN 13201), medical lighting, aircraft lighting (runway, interior, signal, emergency), home lighting, light pipes for indicators and automotive pointers, grow lights for vertical farming, and human eye illumination for diagnostic instruments.
What LED manufacturers and materials do you work with?
We design with all major LED sources including Nichia, CREE, Osram, Lumileds, Luminus Devices, Everlight, Yuji LED, as well as halogen, carbon arc, and SLD laser sources. Our illumination optic designs use materials such as PMMA, polycarbonate, silicone, glass, sapphire, and aluminum (Alanod), with production methods including injection molding, diamond turning, machining, 3D printing, and vacuum deposition.
What size companies do you work with?
We partner with companies of all sizes on custom illumination design projects — from startups developing their first LED lighting product to established manufacturers expanding their illumination product lines. Our custom LED optic design services match your project, whether it is a single reflector design or a complete illumination system with regulatory compliance documentation.
Can you help me make a prototype?
Yes. We provide prototyping for custom illumination optics through 3D printing, diamond turning, and precision machining. Prototyping lets you validate light distribution, photometric performance, and thermal behavior of your custom LED optic design before investing in injection molding tooling or volume production.
Can you help with volume production?
Yes. We manage the full production transfer for custom illumination designs, including handoff to injection molding, vacuum deposition, and volume manufacturing partners. Every illumination design we deliver includes full production-ready documentation so your custom LED optics can move directly into manufacturing. For clients with internal manufacturing and existing suppliers that means we support their resources, for clients who need OFH to manage production it means we use our supply chain
Do your illumination designs meet regulatory standards?
Yes. Our custom illumination designs are engineered to meet relevant regulatory and industry standards including IES photometric standards, EN 13201 for roadway lighting, StVZO and DOT, USCG, FAA standards for automotive lighting, boating and aircraft illumination.
Customer Feedback
Let's Design Your Lighting Solution
Tell us about your project and we'll schedule a review. We strive to provide valuable engineering insight before a formal collaboration begins.
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Location
Boston, MA Area
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