When developing new products, time is money and production and design mistakes can be costly. Lambda Research Corporation's award-winning TracePro^® opto-mechanical software – used for design, analysis and optimization of optical and illumination systems – allows designers to reduce costly and time-consuming trial-and-error prototyping steps. Lambda Research's latest software installment, TracePro 7.6, includes new diffuser catalogs, new features and a simplified menu structure that broaden the program's capabilities. One of the enhanced features in version 7.6 is the availability of the Makrolon^® diffuser sheet catalog from Bayer MaterialScience LLC.

TracePro 7.6 users can specify Makrolon^® Lumen XT polycarbonate sheet for a variety of optical applications, including luminaires, LED lighting, flat panel displays, consumer electronics and aerospace applications. Ted Trautman, technology director – polycarbonate sheet products, North America, Bayer MaterialScience LLC stated, "We offer a wide range of diffusion levels within the Makrolon^®Lumen XT product line to allow designers the flexibility to optimize LED light fixture efficacy and aesthetics. Optical modeling software such as TracePro allows lighting fixture designers to quickly and economically screen a range of LED and Lumen XT diffuser combinations and geometries."

The TracePro program uses scatter measurements to mathematically describe how light is absorbed, refracted and scattered for each optical element, including Makrolon^® Lumen XT polycarbonate sheet.

To specify a grade of Makrolon^® polycarbonate sheet, the TracePro user selects the correct Makrolon^® polycarbonate sheet surface property from the TracePro Bayer diffuser catalog, then applies the property to the diffuser CAD model in the TracePro model. The user's design will now reflect the properties and behavior of the chosen Makrolon^® Lumen XT polycarbonate sheet grade.

Michael Gauvin, vice president – sales and marketing, Lambda Research Corporation, explained, "By having Bayer's material available through TracePro, users don't have to guess how the wide range of Makrolon^® diffusers absorb, reflect, refract and scatter light. They now have at their disposal the measured catalog data available in the TracePro optical properties catalog and can use TracePro's virtual prototyping capability to simulate the diffuser in the TracePro model before manufacturing."

This capability reduces trial-and-error prototyping and gives the user the benefit of computer simulation – saving time, money and the effort required to produce prototypes.