Sensitivity analysis in Opto-Mechanical System Design course
As a mechatronics engineer at VDL ETG Technology & Development in Almelo (NL), Leon Nijenhuis got involved with opto-mechanics when working on aerospace projects. One of his duties was the design of an alignment tool for laser satellite communication.
“This tool had to be manufactured with high precision, and it had to be adjustable in a well-defined manner. I devised the concept and conducted a tolerance analysis to ensure the tool met its tight specifications. During my Mechanical Engineering studies at the University of Twente, I had learned about the design principles for precision movement and positioning, including the use of flexure mechanisms, which I applied in this tool. But I hadn’t had any lectures in optics. For this, I learned the tricks of the trade on the job, from my senior colleagues.”
To learn more about the topic, Nijenhuis was advised to take the Opto-Mechanical System Design course. This DSPE initiative targets mechanical, mechatronic and optical engineers, offering a broad overview of this omnipresent and ever-more relevant multidiscipline. It contains numerous design examples that are embedded within a structured approach to illustrate the tricks of the trade in opto-mechanical system design, which increasingly impacts the overall performance of high-tech systems. One of the objectives of the course is to help engineers from the various disciplines develop a common opto-mechanical language.
Nijenhuis: “The content of the course was perfectly matched with what we were working on here, so I decided to take it. A large part was already more or less familiar, due to my practical experience. But there were also new elements for me, so it was very useful to take the course. An example is the sensitivity analysis. We didn’t do that in our projects, because we completely relied on the specifications provided by the optical engineer. Based on these specs, we did a tolerance analysis, but we had no feeling for which part of the tool those tolerances were really critical and for which part they weren’t – which part we had to design with high precision and for which part precision was less strict. We figured it out as we went along, but it would be better if we knew in advance what to look out for in terms of tolerances. That’s why it was very useful to learn about sensitivity analysis. We also received useful tips in the course about which adhesives you can use and which coatings you should apply to capture stray light; some coatings turn reflective at low angles of incidence.”
All in all, Nijenhuis learned many things that he can use when discussing the specs for an optomechanical system with optical engineers. “It’s a good basic course with many useful tips. On some topics I thought it was a shame that we couldn’t go into more depth, but for the purpose of a basic course, three days was perfect. The atmosphere during the course was pleasant and it was fun that we went out for dinner the first evening so that we could get to know each other a bit. I’ve already recommended my colleagues to take this course as well.”
The next edition of the course will be given on 16-18 March 2026 in Eindhoven (NL). Registration is open.
www.vdletg.com
annemarie.schrauwen@dspe.nl (information and registration)
www.dspe.nl/education
Leon Nijenhuis
