The invention provides a method for 3D printing a 3D item (1), the method comprising depositing during a printing stage 3D printable material (201), to provide the 3D item (1) comprising 3D printed material (202), wherein the printing stage comprises: 3D printing a first 3D printable material (201a) to provide a first 3D printed material (202a), the first 3D printable material (201a) comprising a cross-linkable material; creating a relief structure (610) in the first 3D printed material (202a) with a tool (630); and 3D printing a second 3D printable material (201b) to provide a second 3D printed material (202b), to provide a stack (620) of (i) 3D printed material (202) comprising the first 3D printed material comprising the relief structure (610), and (ii) the second 3D printed material (202b), wherein the method further comprises: cross-linking at least part of the first 3D printed material (202a) comprising the relief structure (610) before depositing the second 3D printable material (202b).

A method and system for manufacturing an optical article is provided. The method may comprise providing at least one ophthalmic lens substrate having a surface; applying at least one conductive coating on at least a portion the ophthalmic lens substrate; and electroplating the ophthalmic lens substrate to form a plating layer that is in a contacting relationship with the conductive coating of the optical article. Other layers may also be applied.

A process for forming an article having at least one precision surface is disclosed. The process includes providing a thin sheet in contact with a surface of a mandrel. The process then includes establishing a pressure differential between opposite sides of the thin sheet using a collapsible enclosure so that the thin sheet is drawn onto the mandrel surface, thereby causing the thin sheet to substantially conform to the shape of the mandrel surface. The shaped thin sheet is then secured to a support member to define the article. The article is then removed from the mandrel. The front surface of the thin sheet defines the precision surface of the article. A process for forming a dual-sided precision article is also disclosed, along with an adaptive optical system and method that employs the precision article.

The invention provides a method for 3D printing a 3D item (1), the method comprising depositing during a printing stage 3D printable material (201), to provide the 3D item (1) comprising 3D printed material (202), wherein the printing stage comprises: 3D printing a first 3D printable material (201a) to provide a first 3D printed material (202a), the first 3D printable material (201a) comprising a cross-linkable material; creating a relief structure (610) in the first 3D printed material (202a) with a tool (630); and 3D printing a second 3D printable material (201b) to provide a second 3D printed material (202b), to provide a stack (620) of (i) 3D printed material (202) comprising the first 3D printed material comprising the relief structure (610), and (ii) the second 3D printed material (202b), wherein the method further comprises: cross-linking at least part of the first 3D printed material (202a) comprising the relief structure (610) before depositing the second 3D printable material (202b).

A method for manufacturing a stereoscopic image forming device includes a process of molding, from a first transparent resin, molding base materials 22 each including inclined surfaces 17 and vertical surfaces 18 on one side of a transparent plate member 16, a process of manufacturing a pair of intermediate base materials 28 by forming mirror surfaces on the vertical surfaces 18 of the respective molding base materials 22, and a process of manufacturing first and second optical control panels 13 and 14 integrated together by making the pair of intermediate base materials 28 face each other so that their vertical surfaces 18 are orthogonal to each other in a plan view, and joining together the intermediate base materials by filling the grooves 19 with a second transparent resin with a lower melting point than and a refractive index equal or approximate to the first transparent resin.

An imaging directional backlight apparatus including a waveguide, a light source array, for providing large area directed illumination from localized light sources. The waveguide may include a stepped structure, in which the steps may further include extraction features optically hidden to guided light, propagating in a first forward direction. Returning light propagating in a second backward direction may be refracted, diffracted, or reflected by the features to provide discrete illumination beams exiting from the top surface of the waveguide. Viewing windows are formed through imaging individual light sources and hence defines the relative positions of system elements and ray paths. Lateral non-uniformities of output image are improved by means of adjustment of input aperture shape and reflective aperture shape. Cross talk in autostereoscopic and privacy displays may further be improved by light blocking layers arranged on the input end of the waveguide.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a reflective layer having an excellent diffuse reflectivity and a wide reflection wavelength range. Another object of the present invention is to provide a reflective layer having an excellent diffuse reflectivity and a wide reflection wavelength range.

The method for producing a reflective layer of the present invention includes: a step 1 of applying a composition selected from the group consisting of the following composition X and the following composition Y onto a substrate to form a composition layer; a step 2 of heating the composition layer to align a liquid crystal compound in the composition layer into a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase state; a step 3 of cooling or heating the composition layer in a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase state to reduce a helical pitch; and a step 4 of irradiating at least a partial region of the composition layer with light, between the step 1 and the step 2, between the step 2 and the step 3, or after the step 3, to photosensitize a chiral agent A or a chiral agent C in the composition layer. Composition X: a composition including a liquid crystal compound, a chiral agent A whose helical twisting power is changed upon light irradiation, and a chiral agent B whose helical twisting power is increased upon cooling or heating. Composition Y: a composition including a liquid crystal compound and a chiral agent C whose helical twisting power is changed upon light irradiation and whose helical twisting power is increased upon cooling or heating.

A method of removing material from an opposite side of workpiece includes directing a laser beam at a first side of the workpiece to remove the material from an opposite second side of the workpiece.

An imaging directional backlight apparatus including a waveguide, a light source array, for providing large area directed illumination from localized light sources. The waveguide may include a stepped structure, in which the steps may further include extraction features optically hidden to guided light, propagating in a first forward direction. Returning light propagating in a second backward direction may be refracted, diffracted, or reflected by the features to provide discrete illumination beams exiting from the top surface of the waveguide. In operation, luminance streaks and bright illumination regions may be formed due to undesirable imaging characteristics from the structure of the Fresnel mirror. Fresnel mirror draft facets and reflective facet microstructures are provided that achieve reduction of visibility of light streaks and bright illumination regions.

To produce first and second light control panels 11, a molded preform 22 made from a transparent resin, which includes triangle-cross-section grooves 15 (each having an inclined surface 14 and a vertical surface 23) and triangle-cross-section protruded strips 16 (formed by the grooves 15 next to each other) respectively arranged in parallel on a front side of a transparent plate material 12, is produced by press-molding, injection-molding, or roll-molding, and mirror surfaces 13 are selectively formed only on the vertical surfaces 23 of the grooves 15. The first and second light control panels 11 each having a group of band-like light-reflective surfaces standing upright and spaced in parallel are overlapped such that the groups of band-like light-reflective surfaces are crossed in a plan view. Thereby providing a stereoscopic-image-forming device and its producing method enabling to easily produce the first and second light control panels 11 and obtain clearer stereoscopic images.