FRED 2025: The Integrated Platform for Complex Opto-Mechanical System Design
FRED 2025 is a powerful, multidisciplinary optical engineering software that combines advanced ray tracing with CAD-like 3D modeling capabilities. It is uniquely designed for analyzing systems where optical performance is intimately tied to mechanical structure, thermal effects, and scatter—making it the preferred tool for tackling challenging problems in stray light analysis, illumination, laser systems, and precision optical assemblies.
Core Function: A Unified Environment for Light & Geometry
Its core strength is the seamless integration of optical ray tracing with detailed 3D mechanical geometry within a single model. This allows engineers to directly assess how mounts, baffles, housing structures, and surface imperfections affect optical performance and stray light.
Key Functions:
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High-Fidelity Stray Light Analysis: Industry-leading tools for modeling surface scatter (BRDF/BTDF), ghost reflections, and diffraction to identify and mitigate stray light paths in sensitive systems like space telescopes, cameras, and high-power lasers.
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Complex System Ray Tracing: Traces millions of rays through opto-mechanical assemblies, supports coherent and incoherent sources, and includes polarization and thin-film modeling.
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CAD Integration & Tolerancing: Directly imports and utilizes complex 3D CAD parts, and performs comprehensive sensitivity and tolerance analysis on both optical and mechanical parameters.
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Illumination & Non-Imaging Design: Specialized capabilities for designing and optimizing LED light pipes, backlights, projectors, and other illumination systems.
