Rochester, NY: The Accredited Standards Committee for fundamental optics standards, ASC OP, has voted to begin the process of adopting the Organization for International Standardization (ISO) drawing standards as the national drawing standards for optics in the United States. Reviewing and preparing the fourteen parts of the international drawing standards, ISO 10110-1 through ISO 10110-17, is expected to be complete by 2009. This review reflects the need to consider the documentary standards requirements of the U.S. optics industry. This action was motivated by the recent vote by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to withdraw the existing national drawing standard, ANSI/ASME Y14.18, which has not been updated since 1986.

Since their publication in 1996, the ISO drawing standards have been controversial, especially in the United States. The international standards were drafted based on the German Industry Standards (DIN 3140) with minimal consideration for the active U.S. Military drawing standards such as MIL-PRF-13830B, MIL-G-174B or MIL-STD-34. Thus the ISO standards are a significant departure from standard practice in the United States and many other countries. In spite of this, the ISO standards have been gaining momentum and support throughout the industry, and have been adopted as the national optics drawing standards in many countries including Japan, Germany, France, and Russia, among others. In the U.S., the drawing standard ANSI/ASME Y14.18:1986, which is based on MIL-STD-34, is so out of date that it would take an extensive effort to re-author it to serve the modern optics industry.

Gene Kohlenberg, OEOSC Executive Director, said, “In a change of policy, ASC OP has elected to scuttle plans for revision of the existing U.S. drawing standard, and adopt the international standards instead. The standards will be augmented with supplementary national standards as necessary.” As the result of a unanimous vote of attending experts, ASC OP has formed a task force which will coordinate the technical review of the standards over the next two years and prepare some or all of them for submittal to the general committee for adoption.

Allen Krisiloff, Chairperson-elect of the OEOSC Board of Directors said, “Dave Aikens of Savvy Optics Corp, the current head of the U.S. delegation to ISO/TC 172/SC 1, the ISO subcommittee on fundamental standards for optics and photonics, has been appointed Leader of the new Task Force.” The U.S. implementation of the standard is expected to allow continued use of existing U.S. optics standards for glass and surface quality.

• ASC OP/TF 3 is planning to continue development of a new optical wavefront measurement standard. The meeting will be held on October 21, 2008, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon.
• ASC OP/TF 4 will continue the process of adopting selected ISO 10110 parts as an American National Standard on October 20, 2008, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon.
• The ASC OP business meeting is scheduled on Monday, October 20, 2008, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm.

This course will be held during SPIE's Photonics West in San Jose, CA on Wednesday January 26, 2008, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. It provides attendees with an understanding of ISO-10110, the International Standard for Optics drawing notations. The course concentrates on the fundamentals of the drawing layout and notations required for typical optics, such as glass parameters, radius, wave-front, surface imperfections and roughness. Attendees are also introduced to all other sections of the drawing standard, including proper notation for aspheres, laser damage threshold, and transmitted wave front error. Practical and useful examples are included throughout.

The Accredited Standards Committee OP "Optics and Electro-Optical Instruments" is soliciting optical experts who represent companies who are industrial users of optics. An industrial user purchases optical components to be assembled into products that the company offers for sale. These experts will be working with representatives of companies who produce optical components and experts who have general interest in optics, such as academic representatives and personnel from professional societies and trade organizations. Those who are interested may apply for membership using the form on this web site.

If you need more information, view the information in the ASC OP section of this web site, or contact Gene Kohlenberg at gene.kohlenberg@optstd.org or 585-217-2491.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has referenced an OEOSC standard in an article on its web site titled “ Picture This: Spacecraft Camera Captures Images of Mars with Optical Glass Standards.” The article discusses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s latest mission, the Phoenix Mars Lander. ANSI generously gives credit to ANSI/OEOSC OP3.001, “Optical Glass” for the quality of the images. OEOSC recognizes that the skills of the lens designer, the optical engineers, and the manufacturing team are imperative for the successful capture of sharp images. Optical standards help smooth the way for an optical design to move through the design, engineering, and manufacturing process.