LATEST NEWS
At Photo Solutions, we keep tabs on the photonics industry so we can offer the highest quality products with best practices to our clients. In our blog, we explore everything from new techniques to industry news.
Photo Solutions’ Stealth Dicing vs. Diamond Dicing Services: A Look at the Benefits
Precision is essential for manufacturing high-quality components in the optoelectronics and photonics industry. Cut quality is the most important component in selecting which type of technology to use for dicing. Two popular methods used in the industry are stealth...
How Scripps Institution of Oceanography Uses Photo Solutions’ Encoder Scales for Remote Glacier Monitoring
Eavesdropping on an Arctic glacier? All in the name of science. Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego is spying on glaciers for a reason: to study the effects of climate change on sea-level rise. How do they do it? With the help...
Optical Encoder Fabrication for Medical Advancements
High-sensitivity, precision optical encoder components are used daily in the most advanced medical technologies, from robotic surgical tools to diagnostic imaging technology and lab analysis tools. These small components give vital services to the medical industry for...
How Our Microlithography Services and Materials Drive Your Innovations
Microlithography plays a crucial role in the manufacturing of processors, chips, and various computer applications. This technique involves the precise patterning and etching of microscopic features on silicon wafers, enabling the creation of intricate, integrated...
Take Your Motion Control Engineering Further with Photo Solutions
Photo Solutions empowers motion control engineering automation across a multitude of fields with our industry-leading encoder discs and scales. Technology continues to evolve with automated processes, and our custom solutions make that possible. Motion Control...
Learn How Our Reflective Encoder Disc Fabrication Is Customized to Your Specifications
Photo Solutions is one of the leading providers of specialized reflective encoder disc technology in the world. Our company is dedicated to revolutionizing precision measurement techniques with our encoder disc fabrication solutions. Encoder discs are critical in the...
Exploring Photo Solutions’ Rotary Encoder Wheel Material Options
Mylar, soda lime glass, and aluminum are the foundational materials we use for rotary encoder wheel fabrication at Photo Solutions. These materials are corrosion-resistant, have high-tensile properties, and are ideal for delivering the precision our customers need....
Discover Photo Solutions’ New Laser Ablation and Nano-Perforation Capabilities
Laser cutting is an incredible tool in any engineer’s tool chest. For optoelectronics, specialized laser cutting, like laser ablation, results in customized components that are budget-friendly and highly precise. Today we’re taking a detailed look at Photo Solutions’...
For Better Optical Encoder Performance and Accuracy, Choose Glass Scales
Regardless of the industry, precision matters. Glass scales are the optimal choice for optical encoders if you want unmatched precision and accuracy. With decades of experience fabricating these optoelectronics for our global clients, here’s why you should choose...
How Microfluidic Devices Are Revolutionizing Early Disease Detection Using Photonics
In recent years, microfluidics and optofluidics have rapidly grown in popularity in the medical field. Advancements like the BioPhotonic Scanner now make it possible to detect disease early enough for more successful intervention and eradication. And at the core of...
AURIS’s Monarch Platform Is Disrupting The Healthcare Industry One FDA Clearance at a Time
Ever since its FDA clearance for diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopic procedures in 2018, the AURIS Monarch Platform has been making waves by performing difficult lung biopsies that enable early detection of lung cancer. In 2022, the FDA cleared the Monarch...
How The Glass Wafer Market Is Changing Electronics As We Know Them
The glass wafer is having a moment. Electronic manufacturers increasingly opt for glass over other substrate materials due to its versatility.Glass wafers can be found in electronic products like high-resolution displays, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and...
Photonics In Space: An Exploration Of Small Components On Big Missions
In December 2022, NASA launched the Lunar Flashlight Satellite to find surface water ice in the moon's craters. The satellite uses photonic mechanisms to aid its search, specifically four lasers using near-infrared beams. The Lunar Flashlight is just one of many...
The Best Imaged Glass Components For Precision Medical Instruments
Optics and photonics use in the medical field is critically important. Depending on the procedure, countless configurations, etchings, and materials can improve performance. This week, we’re talking about the best imaged glass components and how they are taking...
Digging Deeper Into Photo Solutions’ Laser Filament Process
For over thirty years, Photo Solutions has stayed on the cutting edge (in this case, literally) of innovation. This month we’re getting more technical about our laser-cutting capabilities with our laser filament process—and the applications our clients can apply with...
The Top Photonics Trends We’re Watching In 2023
Towards the end of the 18th century, the IEEE’s precursor (IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society) wrote a journal titled “Photonics Technology Letters.” Since this first mention of photonics in publication, the industry has been at the forefront of countless...
Deep Dive Into Nanophotonics and How It’s Shaping The Industry
If you’ve been following the IEEE’s conference schedule this year and last, you know that nanophotonics is a hot topic. As nanotechnologies explode in growth, we see the implications across industries—including the future of photonics. Read on for our deep dive. ...
Exploring LIDAR Applications In Everyday Technology Using Precision Photonics
If you remember from last month, we talked about how optoelectronics have driven Lidar technologies. This bird’s eye view looked specifically at the role optoelectronics played in Lidar’s advancement over the years. This time, we’re getting more specific and talking...
Trust Our USA-Made Encoder Components For Your New Year Engineering Solutions
When trusting an encoder component manufacturer for your engineering solutions, you need to tick a few boxes for reliability, quality, performance, and service. At Photo Solutions, we’d like to add USA-made encoder components to that list. And, since 1989, we’ve been...
The Small Components Changing The Future of Warehouse Automation
Warehouses play a critical role in supply chains across industries. Over the decades, they’ve become more efficient, driven by consumer demand and changing technologies. Today, warehouse automation is the most defining feature of modern warehouses, making systems more...
How Optoelectronics Have Driven Lidar Technologies
Technology directly impacts how we interact with and understand the world. For example, with advancements in Lidar technologies over the last six decades, we can now use measuring data to help uncover lost cities, map our forests, and measure the atmosphere. And...
Optical Components For Metrology: Precision Applications
There are countless industries for which optical components are necessary. When it comes to metrology, though, precision optoelectronics are critically important for more accurate and automated systems. In this blog, we discuss the most important optical components...
How Custom Calibration Targets Are Reaching New Heights for NASA
Aerospace engineering requires detailed thinking, advanced technology, highly precise components, and a multi-faceted approach to complex problems. Although small parts of whole systems, calibration targets play an integral role in helping NASA in its space...
Photo Solutions’ Laser-Cut Glass Services: Machine Tech, Process, and Precision
Laser-cut glass is one of those tools in the engineering arsenal that can be used for countless applications. Whether that’s precisely etched crosshairs on a rifle scope or fabricated glass components for medical devices, the laser-imaged patterns need to be...
How A Glass Reticle Provides Measurements For Optical Devices
As a critical component in optical devices, a glass reticle needs to be precisely manufactured for optimal performance. This week, we're discussing how these components provide measurements, industry applications, and benefits of glass reticles. The Role of A Glass...
What Sets Photo Solutions’ Optoelectronics Engineering Apart
Optoelectronics engineering requires industry experience, cutting-edge technology, and technical know-how. At Photo Solutions, we pride ourselves on providing all three, plus our unmatched customer service. Read on to discover how this makes a difference for our...
How Precision Encoder Components Empower Autonomous Mobile Robots to Shape Our World
Maybe you first noticed them while grocery shopping, checking for hazards or scanning items that need to be restocked. Or maybe you even have one in your home running on a fixed schedule and picking up your crumbs. We’re talking, of course, about autonomous mobile...
The Importance of Custom Optical Encoder Discs for OEMs
If you’re an OEM supplying essential integrations that propel bigger manufacturing systems, you know precision matters. At Photo Solutions, our custom optical encoder discs serve OEM applications from medical to metrology. Custom Optical Encoder Discs and OEMs ...
Magnetic vs. Optical Encoders: Comparing Encoder Disc Technologies
There’s no doubt that encoder disc technologies and advancements have resounding impacts on worldwide engineering solutions. These optical components play critical roles in the operation of tools across industries—from medical to aerospace. We’re comparing two of the...
Photochemical vs. Laser Etching: Which Method Creates the Best Encoder Disks?
Precise etching is to encoder disks what measurement is to engineering. Without it, these tiny disks’ inaccuracy could topple entire mechanical systems. The best encoder disks utilize some sort of advanced etching technique for optimal results. But what’s better:...
Essential Encoder Disc Functions For Bespoke Applications
Not much can be left up to chance if you’re in the business of automation, medical, robotics, aerospace, or metrology. And “one size fits all” is probably not in your vocabulary, either. When it comes to encoder disc functions for bespoke applications, you likely have...
Understanding the Top Benefits of Precision Laser-Cut Encoder Wheels
Encoder wheels are one of the necessary components used in mechanical and optical applications ranging from robotics to industrial control systems. On such a small scale, precision is paramount to the entire operation's success. That’s where laser-cut encoder wheels...
Medical Device Manufacturers Look to Innovative Encoder Components to Improve Patient Outcomes
Today’s medical device manufacturers are focused on providing continuous technological advances for doctors and their patients. These advances are often propelled by innovative encoder components that help devices track changes in position and motion. With smoother...
Why Proper Motion Control Systems are Essential For Your “First Time Right” Metrics
The name of the game in manufacturing is efficiency and accuracy. Without an efficient and accurate system, productivity drops, and manufacturing operators lose valuable resources, like time and money. But with the right metrics to guide the way, you can keep the maze...
Material Review: When Should You Opt for a Glass Encoder Disc
Over the past few months, we've discussed nearly every type of encoder disc material available at Photo Solutions. We covered Mylars' cost-effectiveness and aluminums' durability, but the one material that's the gold standard for accuracy is glass. When it comes to...
Essential Optical Encoder Components and How They Work Together
There's so much innovation in today's machinery. From handheld medical imaging equipment to automated mechanical robots that move boxes and supplies around a warehouse, today's tools are complex and dynamic. So how do these sophisticated autonomous machines stay on...
How Photo Solutions Can Help With Your Precision Robotics
With its introduction in the 1950s by Joseph Engleberger, the field of robotics changed the course of human history forever. Over the next 70 years, dangerous and time-consuming tasks were offloaded to sophisticated machines, giving humans more time to focus on...
Why Source Your Custom Encoder Discs and Scales from Photo Solutions? Quality and Speed.
If you’re in the market for custom encoder discs and scales, you know there are many considerations to weigh when choosing a supplier. Mistakes at scale are costly, so you need a company that can produce reliable products with precision and accuracy every time. But...
An Overview of Standard Encoder Disc Materials
One of the most important decisions you can make when designing an encoder is to choose the proper encoder disc material for your project. Material choice has a significant impact on encoder performance. Choose the wrong disc material, and you can end up with...
All About Photo Solutions’ Services: Custom Microlithography, Diamond Dicing, and More
At Photo Solutions, we're known for working with clients across a wide range of industries to design and manufacture custom encoder discs and scales. But our precision equipment and skilled craftsmanship conveniently lend themselves to various similar production...
How Reflective Scales Help Scientists Push the Boundaries of Discovery
Innovation is the driving force in the scientific community. But behind every life-changing scientific discovery is the piece of equipment that helped uncover the secret. Take the driverless car: this revolutionary advancement would not have been possible if it wasn’t...
Material Review: When Should You Opt for A Mylar Encoder Disc or Scale?
Encoder discs and scales are essential components used in practically every piece of robotics or motion machinery. Complex and expensive encoder discs are usually needed for machines that execute intricate tasks. But for simple use-cases at scale, balancing complexity...
Here’s What You Need to Know to Design the Perfect Encoder Disc
So you've decided to opt for a custom encoder disc for your design. This is a wise choice, as greater control over your encoder components' specifications means your design allows for the most accuracy and precision—giving you a more effective encoder for your project...
Photo Solutions Specializes in Custom Encoder Components
For over 30 years, our team has been crafting custom optoelectronic components for industry-leading companies in metrology, aerospace, medical robotics, and more. We pride ourselves on being the top choice for custom encoder components such as discs, scales, and hub...
Material Review: When Should You Opt for an Aluminum Encoder Disc?
When deciding on the encoder components for your mission-critical project, there are a lot of considerations to balance. Of course, your encoder needs to be reliable and produce consistent results. But it may also need to withstand harsh environmental factors. So,...
What’s the Secret to High-Quality Encoders? It’s All About the Encoder Components
When it comes to your mission-critical designs, you need encoders that work. Without well-calibrated and optimized encoders, projects fail to deliver, and the competition leaves you behind. So how do you ensure you're getting the best encoders? You need to invest in...
The Difference Between Absolute and Incremental Rotary Disc Types
Whether they’re keeping precision robotics running smoothly or helping ensure automation equipment stays on target, rotary encoders play a pivotal role in the measurement of angular position and motion. Without this information, motion control technologies and...
Component Highlight: What You Need to Know About the Optical Encoder Disc
Optical encoders are a crucial piece of equipment for engineers creating robotics or motion-control technology. This small but mighty piece of equipment ensures proper motion, alignment, and speed are achieved while using the equipment. Precision measurements are not...
Opt for a Reflective Encoder Scale for Your Next Precision Project
Ever since the industrial revolution, automation has played an essential role in our everyday lives. But new challenges like the miniaturization of motion-control technology (portable printers, handheld medical devices, and more) have pushed engineers to invest in...
Here’s Why You Should Choose Our Optical Components for Your Next Project
You have a lot of options when it comes to choosing a provider for your optical component needs. Whether you opt for a large-scale producer or a local retailer, the products tend to be a “one size fits all’ solution. But, your modern designs require custom solutions....