Calendar

Regional CODE V User Group Meetings
Selected dates, June 2008
CA, NY
Click here for details and to enroll

Introduction to CODE V
Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2008
Pasadena, California
Click here for details and to enroll

Advanced Topics in CODE V
October 6-10, 2008
Pasadena, California
Click here for details and to enroll

For international events and training, see our Events page

CODE V Tip - Three Macros of Interest

Over 300 macros are supplied with CODE V.  These macros greatly extend the functionality of CODE V.  Macros supplied with CODE V range from simple macros, often used as building blocks for more complex macros written by users, to macros that perform specialized computations, often based on the output of existing CODE V calculations.

Below is a brief summary of 3 of the more frequently recommended macros by ORA's Technical Support engineers when working with customers.  All of these macros can be accessed in CODE V via Tools > Macro Manager > Supplied Macros.  For more details on each, please refer to the CODE V Reference Manual or the comments included in the header of each of the macros (.seq file).

REFCHECK.SEQ – Found under Supplied Macros > Utilities, allows you to determine where and why reference rays are failing.  Most CODE V analysis options require tracing of the chief and 4 marginal rays for each field and zoom position defined in your lens.  If you try to run an analysis option but receive the message "Ray tracing error during clear aperture trace – OPTION TERMINATED", this is because one or more of the references rays aren't tracing through your system.  By running REFCHECK, you can determine which of the reference rays are failing at which surface in your system.

GHOST_VIEW.SEQ – Found under Supplied Macros > Geometrical Analysis, this macro will automatically convert surface groups in your lens to non-sequential surfaces and perform a 2 bounce ghost path analysis using real rays (the GHO, or Ghost Image Analysis, feature in CODE V performs a fast paraxial-based analysis).  The GHOST_VIEW macro's output includes a lens drawing for each possible ghost pair.  You can also optionally save the modified model to a separate lens file so that further analysis can be performed.  Below is an example of the graphical output produced by this macro.  This graph shows 1 of the 16 two-pair ghost reflections (surfaces 4 and 5) for a triplet.

GHOST_VIEW macro output for Cooke triplet

MAKEGLBS.SEQ – Found under Supplied Macros > Utilities, this macro is very useful when working with tilted and decentered systems.  It converts surfaces in a specified range to global decenters with respect to a prior surface.  By default, surfaces in CODE V are defined relative to the surface immediately proceeding them.  By converting to a global reference point, it makes it easier to determine the overall dimensions of your optical layout which can be useful when defining packaging constraints.  Using a global reference position can also make it much easier to assemble the fabricated system.

For more information on macros frequently used by both ORA Engineering and Tech Support, please refer to the 2004 CODE V User Group Presentation "Top 10 Supplied CODE V Macros", available for download from ORA's Customer Service Web site, www.oraservice.com.

2008 CODE V User Group Meetings

The 2008 CODE V User Group Meetings have been scheduled for the following dates and locations:

June 3 - ORA Headquarters in Pasadena, CA
June 5 - Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, CA
June 10 - Radisson Hotel, Rochester, NY

The planned agenda for these meeting includes:

• New Features in CODE V
• Advanced Optimization Techniques
• Open Forum: User Suggestions for CODE V Enhancements
• ORA Engineering: Design and Demo of a See-Through Personal Display
• Tips from Tech Support
• Image Simulation Case Study
• CODE V Future Plans

Limited space is still available for these free events.  Click here for more information, or to register for one of the 2008 CODE V User Group Meetings.