RFQ Checklist: What to Send a Custom Lens Manufacturer

A custom lens RFQ that omits sensor format burns 48 hours of calendar and three weeks of program time. The plant cannot start the 48-hour first-pass on “5 MP camera, something like 25 mm.” It starts when format, working distance, FOV, resolution target, and environment are on one page — after NDA.

This is a how-to. Do the steps in order. Skipping step 1 leaks IP. Skipping step 2 starts a ghost RFQ. The plant’s job is a feasibility first-pass in 48 hours, not to guess your sensor.

Step 1. NDA Before Any File

Send the NDA, or ask Lensmind to send theirs, before a drawing, Zemax file, or IP-bearing sample photo. “NDA later” is how prescriptions leak into a second quote. The 48-hour clock starts on a complete pack, not on a teaser email with a competitor’s title block still visible.

If you only have a target image and no drawing, say that. Reverse engineering from a sample is in scope under NDA. Do not photograph a competitor’s unique barrel and call it “inspiration” without legal cover.

Step 2. Write the Five Inputs

Copy the same five inputs taught on the machine vision lens selection guide: sensor format, working distance, field of view, resolution target, environment. Convert format plus FOV into a first-pass focal length, then check image circle. “5 MP” is not a format. A 1/1.8″ 5 MP die and a 2/3″ 5 MP die need different glass.

Endoscope RFQs must name the die: OV9734, OV2740, or ES101, plus outer diameter. Those pairings already sit on the endoscope family. A “medical camera, small” line will bounce.

Step 3. Mount, Flange, and Envelope

Write the mount. C-mount is 1″-32 UN, flange 17.526 mm — Edmund Optics records 17.526 mm and Basler lists the same flange and thread. CS is 12.5 mm on Lensmind site copy. M12 is S-mount for board cameras; it has no single standardized flange. Attach a STEP of the envelope or three dimensions: OD, length, keep-out.

If the camera is already chosen, attach the mechanical drawing. A custom barrel that misses the hood by 2 mm is a respin, not a coating tweak.

Step 4. Wavelength and Environment

Name the illuminator: white, 850 nm, 940 nm, UV 365/385/405 nm, laser line. VIS-only coatings waste IR. IP67 / IP68 is duty when specified, not a default. Vibration means M12 FT/HT lock or a locked C-mount ring. Autoclave is a medical-environment note, not a license to invent ISO 13485 on the plant.

Harsh-environment cells in Hangzhou are zoned. If you need hermetic packaging, write it. If you do not, do not pay for it.

Step 5. Volume, MOQ, and Sample Intent

State year-1 and year-2 volume. Sampling is supported at project stage. Production MOQ is quoted per specification and annual volume — there is no honest single catalog MOQ for a custom barrel. “MOQ?” with no volume is not an RFQ.

Say whether you need a drawing, a sample, or both. First articles should carry measured MTF, distortion, BFL, and DOF. Approval of those articles starts the 60 working days to MP, not the first email.

Step 6. Metrology You Are Buying

Write the tests into the RFQ so purchasing cannot drop them later. Lensmind ships every production batch with documentation covering the agreed family parameters — typically MTF, distortion, BFL, DOF — plus batch number, test conditions, inspection coverage, and pass/fail. On FA catalog work, distortion below 0.05% with 10K+ batch consistency is the line control. Custom work uses the number you freeze.

Name the image height for distortion and the frequency for MTF. A center-only plot is how field-edge fiducials fail after MP.

Step 7. Commercial Clock and Payment

Put the written terms in the RFQ so the quote comes back against them: 48-hour first-pass, 60 working days prototype to MP, 30-day repeats, 50% advance and 50% before shipment, tooling stored free for 5 years. ISO 9001 certified 2024 is the quality system, not a price lever.

The money page for this pack is custom optics OEM and ODM. Send it to Sales@lensmindpro.com or +86 181 2524 5828. A quote that ignores your stated 50/50 or invents a 16-week tool lead time inside “60 days” is a different product. Ask when the 60 working days start.

Catalog Escape Hatch

If the five inputs fit FA C-mount 2/3″ to 1.1″ with distortion below 0.05%, stop. Named models include FA3505W, FA2520W, FA3520W. M12 board cameras belong on H05–H16 / M12–M35 with FT/HT lock. Custom is for envelope, wavelength, or distortion the matrix cannot hit — or for reverse engineering a dead supplier. An RFQ that always tools is a slow catalog.

RFQ Pack Template

1. NDA executed.
2. Sensor format, pixel size, model.
3. Working distance and hood limit, mm.
4. FOV width × height.
5. Smallest feature or lp/mm.
6. Mount (C 17.526 mm / CS 12.5 mm / M12) and envelope STEP.
7. Illuminator wavelength; IP or autoclave if any.
8. Year-1 / year-2 volume; sample vs drawing.
9. Required reports: MTF, distortion, BFL, DOF.
10. Commercial: 50/50, 60 working days after prototype approval.

Illustrative pack: 2/3″ 3.45 µm, 200 mm WD, 40 mm FOV, 0.1 mm feature, C-mount, white LED, 8,000/year. That is enough for a 48-hour first-pass and a catalog-versus-custom call.

↑ Back to top

Conclusion

A custom lens RFQ is NDA plus five numbers plus a mount plus a volume. Missing any one of those is how first-pass clocks never start. Hangzhou will answer a complete pack in 48 hours and then run 60 working days after you approve first articles.

Key takeaways

• NDA before drawings. 48-hour first-pass on a complete five-input pack.
• C-mount 17.526 mm versus CS 12.5 mm. Write it.
• MOQ follows spec and annual volume. Sampling exists at project stage.
• Reports (MTF, distortion, BFL, DOF) and 50/50 belong in the RFQ, not a later argument.

If you already have the five inputs and a locked envelope, send the pack. If you only have a megapixel count, stop and fill the table first. The plant cannot invent a sensor format you refused to name.

Frequently Asked Questions