Press Releases

Aimed to Boost Production and Meet Rising Demand for Optical Filters

PALATINE, Ill. (October 20, 2023) – Midwest Optical Systems (MidOpt®), an industry leader in machine vision filters and optical solutions, announced the opening of its second location, a manufacturing facility in southeast Wisconsin.

With over three decades of experience and innovation in optical design, fabrication, and inspection, MidOpt® has been at the forefront of providing high-quality products designed specifically for machine vision applications. The new facility is part of the company’s strategic expansion plan to meet the growing demand for their products worldwide.

“We are thrilled about this significant milestone,” said MidOpt® President Mike Giznik. “The new manufacturing facility will not only allow us to increase our production capacity but also enhance our ability to deliver innovative and customized solutions faster.”

The new state-of-the-art facility features advanced machinery and technology that will enhance all facets of production from prototyping to large volume manufacturing runs. This includes the manufacturing of proprietary MidOpt® StablEDGE® Filters, which offer superior wavelength control at any angle – critical as machine vision imaging moves toward more compact inspection layouts.

“Expanding our operations signals our commitment to serving our customers better by ensuring we can meet their needs quickly and efficiently,” Mike added. “We look forward to continuing to produce cutting-edge optical filter technologies that elevate machine vision capabilities across the industry.”

About Midwest Optical Systems

Midwest Optical Systems (MidOpt®) has more than 30 years of experience and innovation in the fields of optical design, fabrication, and inspection. As a worldwide leader in machine vision filters and optical solutions, they are represented in over 30 countries and offer more than 3,000 cutting-edge products. From optical bandpass filters to custom optics, MidOpt® is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in optical technology. For more information, visit midopt.com.

Palatine, Ill. (May 11, 2021) – MidOpt® has received ISO 9001:2015 certification, the world’s most widely recognized quality management standard. In order to receive ISO Certification, MidOpt® underwent a strict evaluation process that reviewed our business practices and product quality guidelines.

Achieving ISO certification shows our commitment to effectively providing a quality management system that will continue to improve our products, services, and internal processes. We look forward to continuing to work with our global partners. Thank you for choosing MidOpt®.

New MidOpt® BP450 Indigo Bandpass Filter and BN450 Narrow Indigo Bandpass Filter

Palatine, Ill.

Enhance the viewing of subjects illuminated by a 450nm blue LED or laser light source. Both the BP450 and BN450 are each designed as a bandpass filter for 450nm blue light sources to better see results in applications such as UV fluorescing.

MidOpt® introduces the BP450 Indigo Bandpass and the BN450 Narrow Indigo Bandpass, two new filters designed for multi-application use.

The MidOpt BP450 Indigo Bandpass Filter is commonly used in fluorescence applications with an emission ranging from (430-460nm). It is suitable for use with LED or laser diodes with higher than normal ambient lighting conditions.

Blue LED Illumination and UV Excited Blue Fluorescence Applications:

The BP450 is an excellent choice for enhancing viewing of subjects illuminated by a 450nm blue LED. For UV Fluorescence applications, its broad bandwidth and high peak transmission results in significantly brighter, higher contrast images.

Blue Laser Applications:

The BN450 Narrow Indigo Bandpass is a great choice for use with 3D blue laser triangulation systems used for measuring position, distance, level, displacement, proximity and profiles of objects. This also includes industrial process automation and control, as well as for test and measurement in process monitoring and validation. It is also highly-effective when used in applications with higher than normal ambient lighting conditions.

StableEDGE® and A/R-Coated:

As with all MidOpt optical bandpass filters, the BP450 and BN450 are both manufactured with MidOpt StablEDGE® technology making them less sensitive to angle of incidence variations than traditional interference filters. They are also both coated with the MidOpt BBAR Anti-reflection coating. Both filters are available with standard lens mounts ranging from 13.25mm to 105mm. They are also available in unmounted sizes up to a 165mm square

The MidOpt LP8000 Germanium Window has a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating that is abrasion-resistant and can withstand harsh environments. It has a 7.5–12.5 micron useful range and is an ideal protective window for thermal camera enclosures. It also has an anti-reflection coating to maximize transmission when thermal imaging in the LWIR (long-wave infrared).  

The LP8000 has a very durable surface to withstand harsh environments and is designed to be resistant to corrosion, chemicals, alkalis and most acids.  It also serves to protect against abrasive airborne particles, salt water and high humidity.

Germanium is produced in single or poly crystalline form. It is a vital element used for semiconductors and IR optical components. Germanium is also widely used as a substrate in optical filters for manufacturing a versatile and very durable front optic.

LP8000 features:

Like most MidOpt filters, the LP8000 is manufactured using StablEDGE™ Technology, making it far less susceptible to effects from angular shifting seen when optical filters are placed in front of short focal length (<12mm) camera lenses.

The LP8000 also comes with an Anti-reflection (A/R) coating. When a ray of light passes through a glass surface, a portion of the light is reflected, resulting in a 4% transmission loss per surface. MidOpt uses anti-reflection coating on all filter designs, reducing surface reflection to less than 1%. This improves the efficiency of the vision system by increasing transmission, enhancing contrast and eliminating ghost images. The LP8000 can also transmit wavelengths in the LWIR.

LP8000 applications:

• Thermal Imaging
• Medical
• Automotive
• Pyroelectric/Thermopile
• Flame Detection
• Defense & Space

For more information about the LP8000 click here.

Click here to locate a distributor.

Palatine, IL. (May 28, 2020) – MidOpt introduces Protective Windows, designed to shield lenses and enclosures from dirt, dust, liquids, impact and harsh environments without sacrificing image quality. Protective Windows are useful for imaging in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectrums. MidOpt offers a variety of glass and acrylic Protective Windows, depending on the application and environment.

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Palatine, IL. (May 28, 2020) – The Backlight fluoreSHEET™ by MidOpt is used to provide affordable, indirect illumination for machine vision applications. Unlike other backlighting technologies, the Backlight fluoreSHEET™ does not require power input. A backlighting effect is created when an orange Backlight fluoreSHEET™ is coupled with a blue LED light and a MidOpt Orange Bandpass Filter. The fluoreSHEET™ emits an orange fluorescence when a blue LED shines on it from the front. The Bandpass Filter captures the orange emission and blocks the blue LED excitation, resulting in a bright white diffuse background within a monochrome image.

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Palatine, IL. (October 24, 2018) – Midwest Optical Systems (MidOpt), a worldwide leader in manufacturing machine vision filters specially designed to enhance contrast and image quality, will showcase their new Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Filters and Wire-Grid Polarizers November 6 through 8 at VISION Messe Stuttgart booth #1G53. SWIR Filters enhance the image quality of InGaAs camera technology for a variety of machine vision applications and are useful for applications imaging from 900-2300nm. Wire-Grid Polarizers are effective in both the visible and infrared, ranging from 400-2000nm.

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Palatine, Ill. (August 8, 2017) – Testing is now easier than ever with the MidOpt NS100 Neutral Density (ND) Filter Swatch Kit. ND Filter Swatch Kits include all of the most popular ND Filters and allow you to stack multiple ND Filters to achieve a custom optical density. The NS100 is a great tool to have in the field or in a laboratory to test the effects of ND Filters, solve applications quickly and improve image quality.

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Palatine, Ill. (May 25, 2017) – Triple Bandpass Filters are tools that allow users to go above and beyond traditional Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) indicators to reinvent the way crop health is monitored and to collect more information than ever before. Traditionally, true NDVI was used to determine plant health, which incorporates a camera with a red and (near-infrared) NIR filter and the equation NDVI = (NIR – Red) / (NIR + Red).

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Palatine, Ill. (January 19, 2017) – MidOpt announces the availability of three new imaging filters primarily intended for blocking unwanted near-infrared light. Filters include: SP635 Absorptive Visible Shortpass/Near-IR Block Filter, SP644 Near-IR/Mid-Red Dichroic Block Shortpass Filter, and AB555 Acrylic Absorptive Near-IR/UV-Block Visible Bandpass Filter.

“Mounting solutions are also available to help customize any imaging application,” says MidOpt Founder Barry Warzak. MidOpt’s unique filter mounting options include: Standard Threaded Mounts, Slip Mounts that easily adapt to lenses without filter threads, the exclusive 25.4™ C-Mount for easy installation into cameras, and custom fabrication of unmounted shapes and sizes.

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MidOpt offers new optical filters mainly intended for plant health surveillance. Filters include Bi725 Red Edge Bandpass Filter and three multi-band visible + infrared filters: DB550/850 Dual Bandpass Filter, TB475/550/850 Blue+Green+NIR Triple Bandpass Filter and TB550/660/850 Green+Red+NIR Triple Bandpass Filter. “All of these filters were specifically designed to help distinguish thriving from stressed vegetation,” says MidOpt Founder Barry Warzak.

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Palatine, Ill. (August 9, 2016) – Festo, a worldwide leader in automation (pneumatic and electrical control), technical training and development, has successfully implemented the first ever eMotionButterflies which show how several autonomous flying objects can move independently in an enclosed space without colliding.

“With the use of MidOpt BN850 Near-IR Bandpass Filters, active markers (850nm IR LEDs) and a 10 infrared camera set-up, Festo has demonstrated how the use of an indoor GPS and infrared cameras could be used as a guidance and monitoring system in factories of the future,” says MidOpt President Barry Warzak.

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Palatine, Ill. (April 27, 2016) – Midwest Optical Systems (MidOpt) announces the release of a broad range of StablEDGE™ filters. StablEDGE™ is an innovative hybrid filter design that maintains critical spectral performance in imaging applications with short focal length lenses (<12mm) or angular-dependent lighting. In traditional filter designs, as the angle of light reaching the filter changes, the passband exhibits “short shifting,” and image contrast can be significantly degraded. Because the use of shorter vs. longer focal length camera lenses now predominates the market, MidOpt’s StablEDGE™ filter designs surpass those of all major filter suppliers in maintaining a desired width of passband in all applications, transmitting desired LED/laser diode illumination while blocking interfering light.

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