Selecting the right optical design software depends on several factors, including the type of system being developed, the stage of the design process, and how closely optical and mechanical workflows must interact. TracePro, RayViz, and OSLO each address different parts of the optical engineering workflow. While there is some overlap in functionality, their intended use cases and strengths are clearly distinct.
Understanding where each tool fits helps engineering teams avoid misapplication, streamline development, and obtain results that accurately reflect real-world performance.
TracePro: Non-Sequential Simulation for System-Level Performance
TracePro is a comprehensive non-sequential ray tracing and optical simulation platform designed to analyze how light behaves in complex three-dimensional systems. It is commonly used for evaluating illumination, stray light, scattering, radiometry, and photometry in models that include realistic geometry, materials, coatings, and surface finishes.
TracePro integrates directly with mechanical CAD, allowing engineers to work with detailed assemblies rather than simplified optical layouts. This makes it well suited for applications such as LED lighting, display and backlight systems, sensors, biomedical devices, and aerospace or defense instruments, where light may reflect, scatter, or absorb in unintended ways.
The strength of TracePro lies in predicting real-world optical behavior. By using Monte Carlo ray tracing and detailed material models, it enables engineers to quantify illumination uniformity, identify stray light paths, and assess system-level optical performance before physical prototypes are built.
OSLO: Sequential Optical Design and Optimization
OSLO is focused on sequential optical system design and optimization. It is primarily used for developing lens-based and imaging systems where the optical path is well defined and performance is evaluated using classical imaging metrics.
OSLO provides fine-grained control over optical prescriptions and optimization routines, making it an effective tool for designing cameras, microscopes, telescopes, and other precision imaging systems. Engineers use OSLO to analyze aberrations, wavefront error, and modulation transfer function, and to iteratively refine lens parameters to meet imaging requirements.
While OSLO includes ray tracing capabilities, it is not intended for full illumination analysis or stray light evaluation in complex mechanical assemblies. Its strength is in defining how an optical system should perform under ideal, controlled conditions, rather than modeling how light behaves inside real-world enclosures.
RayViz: CAD-Integrated Optical Validation
RayViz occupies a different role in the optical design workflow. It is an optical Add-In for SOLIDWORKS that allows engineers to assign optical materials and surface properties directly to CAD geometry and visualize ray paths within a mechanical assembly.
RayViz is designed to support early and mid-stage design by embedding optical awareness directly into the mechanical design environment. It enables teams to perform quick optical checks, such as identifying blocked rays, unintended reflections, or potential vignetting, without exporting models to a standalone optical simulation tool.
RayViz uses the same optical property definitions as TracePro and is designed to export SOLIDWORKS models directly into TracePro when more detailed analysis is required. It is not a replacement for TracePro or OSLO, but rather a bridge between mechanical CAD and full optical simulation.
Comparing Roles and Use Cases
Although there is some functional overlap in basic ray tracing and optical property handling, the primary applications of these tools differ. OSLO is most effective when the design challenge centers on optical prescription development and imaging performance. TracePro is best suited for non-sequential systems where illumination behavior, stray light, and interactions with real geometry are critical. RayViz supports collaboration between optical and mechanical teams by providing immediate optical feedback inside CAD.
Each tool is optimized for a specific set of questions. Problems arise when a single tool is forced to address tasks outside its intended scope.
Using the Tools Together in Practice
In many real-world development workflows, these tools are used together rather than in isolation. A lens may be designed and optimized in OSLO, integrated into a mechanical assembly using SOLIDWORKS and RayViz, and then analyzed in TracePro to evaluate illumination uniformity, stray light, and overall system performance.
This staged approach allows teams to apply the right level of analysis at each phase of development, from idealized optical design to full system-level validation. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each tool helps engineering teams make informed software choices and avoid incomplete or misleading results.
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