Background image created by: https://unsplash.com/photos/7cMqk_Y31PU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink

Optical manufacturing cost & manufacturability — directly from your design

Predict fabrication cost, risk and required technologies before production — based on real manufacturing data.

No installation required · Results in seconds

Optical manufacturing decisions are often made with limited visibility.

Typical challenges:

  • Uncertain manufacturing cost during design
  • Multiple supplier iterations to find feasible solutions
  • Late discovery of manufacturability issues
  • Difficulty comparing design alternatives

PanDao makes these effects visible instantly.

 

How it works

From optical design to the optimal fabrication strategy in a few steps

1. Enter your lens data

Use ISO 10110 drawings or import design data from tools like Zemax, OpticStudio or Quadoa.

2. Run the analysis

PanDao evaluates manufacturability, cost and risk based on your design parameters.

3. Get the optimal fabrication strategy

Identify the most efficient fabrication chain for design, sourcing and production decisions.

PanDao output data showing fabrication chain, cost, times and references

Make better decisions faster

Based on real industry data and fabrication technologies

  • Reduce development time by up to 50%
  • Reduce fabrication cost by up to 20%
  • Reduce vendor quotes by up to 30% and minimize supplier risk
  • Evaluate manufacturability and cost impact before production

Built for optics professionals across the entire workflow

One tool connecting design and fabrication decisions

        1. Design

        Evaluate manufacturability and cost impact directly during optical design

        2. Purchasing

        Compare suppliers, reduce vendor quotes and minimize sourcing risk

        3. Production

        Optimize fabrication chains and reduce cost across production

        4. Management

        Support strategic decisions — from machine investments to workshop performance

        PanDao Key Visual

        How to get access

        Create a free account and explore PanDao.

        1. Sign up for free

        No software installation required—just register to unlock our demo environment

        2. Explore the demo

        Run analyses on sample lenses to see how PanDao identifies the best fabrication chain.

        3. Understand the trade‑offs

        Get a feel for costs, manufacturability and process choices before you commit.

        4. Upgrade anytime

        Convert to a full licence or book a live demo whenever you’re ready

        Trusted by leading optics companies

        That's what our customers and supporters say

        "Outstanding! See what their software does: Quantitative optimization to find the most cost-effective process for any given project using the resources you have. This should be a real game-changer!" Ray Williamson: consultant, SPIE fellow, https://www.ray-optics.com, July 2022 "I’m working now for over 18 years in the field of precision optics manufacturing and for me PanDao is a game changer. Disruptive innovation as its best I’d say. Enthusiastic software from enthusiastic people. Congrats Oli and team for creating this awesome product!" Oliver Kienzle: Leica Camera, Oct. 2020 "Great tool: the first time the human to human contact between designers and fabrication specialist gets replaced by deterministic trustful software tool, as it happened about 50 years ago by inventing the first optical design software tools at Zeiss." Prof. Dr. Jens Bliedtner: University of Applied Sciences Jena, Feb. 2021 "We all know that you can make only what you can test. We now learned from Dr. Fähnle that you can produce only when you can control the process. Now PanDao, which is a powerful and readily available tool in the field, is demonstrating that you can "modulate" fabrication chains only if you really understand manufacturing on a processing level." Daewook Kim: Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences and Astronomy, University of Arizona, Apr. 2021 "..Eine coole Software, die mir während der Verhandlung und Auswahl eines Lieferanten sehr nützlich war" Lars Nakotte: CeO All-In-Optics, www.all-in-optics.de, June. 2021 "As optical systems designers and engineers we're always trying to understand optical elements manufacturability issues. This is a big challenge and always very time consuming while trying to turn our challenging design to be manufacturable. PanDao software tool, one and only of its kind, which is essentially crystallized >20 years of optical manufacturing process experience, makes it possible to learn the best manufacturing process for your design. Dr. Fähnle gives the access to his extensive knowledge and you can use it for your particular design in a very simple and intuitive interface. You can get a clear picture about the optimal manufacturing chain, the cost drives for your elements, manufacturing time and cost. And you get a list of companies that can actually manufacture your elements. Last but not least, Dr. Fähnle is always open to learn, upgrade and extend the PanDao options, to be valuable for more use-cases and cover more options. PanDao is a must-have if you want to cut down the design to manufacturing time and cost!" Olga Resnik: Co-Founder @Joya Team, Jul. 2021 "PanDao GmbH really is an example of how to set up a supply chain of optics while calculating production cost and times! I was amazed from the first time I met you. I am a fan!!" Jose Pozo: CTO of www.optica.org, USA, Feb. 2022 "Great tool – PanDao helped us to identify the optimum fabrication chain and to show the potential for a funded Swiss research project!" Hansruedi Moser: Head of Technology & Intellectual Property, FISBA AG, Feb. 2022 "Working with PanDao is like a professional discussion with a disembodied conversation partner who stimulates with intelligent thought-provoking impulses." Michael Heinicke: Senior Expert Optics Technology, Zeiss Group Jena, Germany Nov. 2022 "PanDao makes it easy for the optical engineer to get manufacturing information early in the design process, such as potential cost, time, and processing methods. It's also a great tool for letting optical designers and manufacturers communicate clearly about all the details of a part. PanDao will save a lot of time on both sides!" Erin Elliott: Principal R&D Engineer at Ansys Jan. 2024

        Start optimizing your optical fabrication today

        Run your first analysis in seconds and evaluate cost, risk and manufacturability directly from your design.

        No installation required · Results in seconds