In the early 1970s, Eastman Kodak developed precision glass-molding technology to make 3- to 10-mm-diameter aspheric glass elements for lens systems being designed for cameras that contained film on a disc instead of on a roll. The lens systems had to be small enough to fit the package constraints supported by the cameras’ distinct film format, and the molding process gave the company a clear advantage in this camera market in the 1980s.

In the early 1990s, the molding technology was adapted to mass-produce laser collimators and aspheric lenses for larger lens systems, from 2 to 60 mm in diameter. This adaptation benefited the optical designers, enabling them to obtain high-volume molded aspheric lenses for lens designs that featured multiple aspheric elements. This innovation also allowed Kodak to further develop the molding process and to offer glass-molded aspheres to external customers...