New software addresses the overlooked needs of optomechanical engineers by helping them package, analyze and validate new designs, simplifying the transition between optics design and packaging.CORT STINNETT and TERESA TAYLOR, ZEMAX LLCFrom cellphone cameras to space telescopes, driverless cars to the laser interferometer at LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), optics are transforming our lives. Optical system design and the optical engineer’s toolbox have evolved over the last two decades accordingly. What used to take optical engineers months to create can now be designed in a matter of hours or days. Using optical simulation software, optical engineers can design optical systems that weren’t possible two decades ago. Figure 1. A 25-mm lens design in free space. 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