Introduction
Putting optics simulation technology at the service of product design is one of Eclat Digital’s key areas of expertise. This article explores the power of virtual prototyping through Ocean™, a ground-breaking solution that puts science at the heart of product development processes to redefine engineering approaches. This article outlines Eclat Digital’s multifaceted competencies and presents a comprehensive summary of its capabilities in optical feasibility and appearance assessment.
Ocean™ is at the centre of Eclat Digital’s scientific excellence, providing engineers with a game-changing toolkit for predictive simulation, feasibility assessment and in-depth optical phenomena analysis. Its virtual prototyping capabilities are revolutionising the design industry, accelerating processes and reducing reliance on physical prototypes. Through meticulous material optimisation techniques such as optical measurements and advanced simulations, Ocean™ empowers project managers and clients to make informed decisions that lead to optimal aesthetic and functional results.
Eclat Digital showcases expertise that goes beyond traditional product design processes, from mitigating complex optical phenomena like reducing the ‘zebra effect’ on watch glass to introducing more sustainable development practices through virtual prototyping and digital experimentation.
High accuracy in feasibility assessment:
- Challenge: Every product design project begins with assessing feasibility, a task traditionally marred by the need for physical samples and time-consuming iterations.
- Virtual prototyping solution: With Ocean™, Eclat Digital delivers an unprecedented approach to feasibility assessments. By characterizing the optical proprieties of a material and its surface conditions, the software generates predictive images that provide a comprehensive understanding of how different design elements interact with light. This not only accelerates the assessment process but also drastically reduces reliance on physical prototypes.
Use case: Anti glare/reflective treatment
Context:
AGC Glass was looking to develop new surface treatments aiming at reducing both surface glare and reflections. Their approach consists in coupling both ionic implantation and etching. The product is called Istar. Anti glare treatment on mobile phone is also explored in a previous article.
Objective:
Assessing the advantages and disadvantages of iSTAR compared to PVD while dealing with display applications. The comparisons are made from both appearance and optical performances perspectives.
Eclat Digital solution:
Based on both topographical and optical characterization, predictive images were generated. In addition, detailed colorimetric analysis was realized for assessing the color stability from an objective perspective.
Figure 1: Digital iterations of surface treatments to reduce surface glare and reflections
Outcome:
- Fast digital evaluations
- Reduction of unnecessary physical samples
- optimized development process.
Engineers can now confidently explore new design possibilities with efficiency and agility. Read more about simulating glare with Ocean™:
Advanced Configurator for realistic visualization:
- Challenge: Visualizing the final product in specific environments can be challenging, leading to delays in decision-making and potential design flaws.
- Virtual prototyping solution: With Ocean™, Eclat Digital can generate visuals for a configurator that enables engineers to create realistic visualizations of non-existent scenarios. By characterizing physical samples and creating accurate material models, this technology provides a dynamic platform for end clients to test coatings in the paints or in the glass industry, ensuring that they meet aesthetic or technical requirement wishes.
Use case: Online configurator designed for clients in the coil coatings & industrial paints industry.
Context:
Beckers developed a new configurator providing realistic visualizations of non-existent scenarios, enabling to envision the appearance and behavior of Beckers products in specific environments.
Objective:
Test the coatings to see if it matches the aestetical requirements needed and help the end-client toward fast decision-making.
Eclat Digital solution:
Eclat Digital undertook a comprehensive process to simulate predictive images in diverse lighting conditions. This involved characterizing physical samples, creating precise material models, and calculating physically accurate images, ensuring a nuanced understanding of the environment.
Figure 2: Predictive images generated by Ocean™ for the use of a configurator tool.
- First paint supplier offering digital rendering abilities.
- Significant differentiation asset.
- Speed up of the customer decision making process.
In-depth phenomena analysis for complex optical challenges:
- Challenge: Optical artifacts and phenomena, like the “zebra effect” on watch glass, or pixel diffraction on mobile phone screens often pose intricate challenges that demand a nuanced understanding.
- Virtual prototyping solution:
Leveraging Ocean™, Eclat Digital conducts in-depth phenomena analysis, simulating complex optical scenarios. Through materials optical measurements and detailed study of the optical phenomena, engineers gain a profound understanding of phenomena origins and potential mitigation strategies.
Use case: Reduce the zebra effect on watch glass.
Context:
The client had optical artifact issues on the watch glass, like a “zebra effect”. They wanted to understand where this phenomenon was coming from and how to reduce it.
Objective:
The objectives were to simulate the “zebra effect” with Ocean™ and study the parameters that would reduce this optical phenomenon.
Eclat Digital solution:
Eclat Digital meticulously captured optical measurements of the sapphire. This was followed by an extensive study to analyse, parameterise and optimise the optical phenomena.
By creating a virtual prototype of the watch, our team was able to study the complex interaction between the sapphire and the light in order to make appropriate design modifications.
By creating a virtual prototype of the watch, our team was able to study the complex interaction between the sapphire and the light in order to make appropriate design modifications.
Figure 3: Validation of phenomenology with Ocean™
- Zebra effect digital simulation.
- Technical conclusion on parameters of the zebra effect.
- Sapphire shape proposition to reduce the zebra effect.
Digital Design of Experiment (DOE) for efficient development process:
- Challenge: In jewelry industry, traditional development processes often result in high carbon footprints, prolonged timelines, and production of numerous physical samples.
- Virtual prototyping solution:
Ocean™’s approach revolutionizes development processes to reach physical and optical accuracy in the renderings. By allowing multiple virtual iterations, making available advanced materials libraries and the opportunity to add your own, as well as proposing various lighting angles and conditions, engineers can significantly reduce physical samples production and accelerate development timelines.
Use case: PVD on curved geometry.
Context:
In view of obtaining new colored stoned, a jewellery manufacturer wanted to run PVD operations on curved geometries.
Objective:
The objectives were to use Ocean™ to set a digital PVD coater and assess various deposition angles. TiO2 deposition was simulated.
Eclat Digital solution:
Eclat Digital conducted multiple virtual iterations, creating an extensive materials library in Ocean™.
Figure 4: Materials library in Ocean™
With the proposal of our disruptive technology, we enabled the client to assess diverse materials and make informed choices, ensuring the optimal appearance of the final jewelry piece under varying lighting conditions.
Figure 5: Multiple digital iterations for materials and appearance assessment.
- Reduction of the project CO2 footprint.
- Avoidance of unnecessary physical samples.
- Faster and cheaper development process.
Materials optimization for aesthetic excellence:
- Challenge: Selecting the right materials for aesthetic and cost considerations requires meticulous research and testing.
- Virtual prototyping solution:
Ocean™ enables engineers to simulate and evaluate different combinations of materials with unmatched precision. Through materials optical measurements and aesthetic study simulations, engineers can make informed decisions on materials selection, achieving the perfect balance between aesthetics and cost.
Use case: Gem selection and materials characterization.
Context:
The client needed to find the best gems that would match his aesthetic and price expectation.
Objective:
The objective of this project was to simulate various combinations of materials, including sapphires and emeralds, using advanced techniques. The subsequent focus was on evaluating and identifying the most suitable candidates, ensuring an informed selection process for optimal material combinations in the final product.
Eclat Digital solution:
Eclat Digital embarked on a precise methodology using Ocean™ to generate predictive images and data, illuminating the interaction between a specific ring and light.
The initial step involved meticulous materials optical measurements on gemstones. Data on absorption spectrum and refractive index were gathered from scientific publications (A quantitative Description of the Cause of Color in Corundum, Emily V. Dubinsky, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, and John L. Emmett), with the reference absorption spectrum scaled at different levels to achieve varying intensities.
Figure 6: Absorption measurements on gemstones
Simultaneously, materials optical measurements on gold intensity were conducted, employing a theoretical model based on the concentration of gold, silver, and copper. Alternatively, and when available, ellipsometry measurements on physical samples can be employed for further precision.
Figure 7: Optical characterization of various gold models
These scientific measurements paved the way for a comprehensive aesthetics study simulation. By synthesizing results from both gemstones and gold, Eclat Digital provided the client with an intricate understanding of how different combinations would manifest under various lighting conditions. This meticulous approach empowered the client to make informed decisions, ensuring the optimal selection of gems and gold intensities for the final jewellery piece.
Figure 7: Simulations of rings generated with Ocean™
- Multiple digital iterations.
- Optimal materials characterization and combination.
- Fast design assessment process.
- Reduced physical samples production.
Conclusion:
Revolutionizing Optics and Product Design with Ocean™
Eclat Digital’s Ocean™ software is a trusted tool that is disrupting the product design industry by combining optics simulation technology with scientific expertise based on the laws of physics and geometry. From groundbreaking virtual prototyping capabilities that accelerate appearance or composition assessments to the creation of a truly realistic visualisation configurator, Ocean™ is a comprehensive toolkit for engineers. The software’s aptitude extends to complex challenges, as illustrated by its successful attenuation of the ‘zebra effect’ on watch glass or pixel diffraction on mobile phone screen, demonstrating its excellence in dealing with complex optical phenomena.
With Digital Design of Experiments (DOE) and the ability to perform multiple digital iterations and optimal material characterisation, Ocean™ streamlines the process of materials optimization techniques, minimising the production of physical samples and accelerating design evaluations. In the nuanced process of gemstone selection or sapphire shape determination, Eclat Digital enables engineers to obtain accurate data for decision making and reduce project timelines.
In a landscape where precision, efficiency and profitability are critical, Eclat Digital is the key to accessing new possibilities. With Ocean™, engineers enhance their designs – where innovation meets scientific excellence in the evolving field of optics and product design.
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