How fast is the liquid lens, and is 20 ms the full travel?

The electrowetting cell refocuses by reshaping a fluid interface under voltage, with focus shifts completed in as fast as 20 ms. Because there is no mechanical travel, the response is repeatable across the whole focal range rather than dependent on stroke length. We confirm timing against your scan cycle in the selection review.

How does an electrowetting liquid lens compare with a VCM?

An electrowetting lens focuses by voltage alone, with no moving parts in the optical path, so it has no mechanical fatigue wear and generates no wear particles. A VCM moves a lens holder against a spring with a coil, a design built for occasional consumer refocusing rather than continuous industrial duty. See the five-dimension comparison table for speed, lifespan, power, thermal drift and packaging.

What is the difference between single-liquid and dual-liquid designs?

Lensmind builds both single-liquid and dual-liquid (electrowetting) architectures, selected per performance and cost target. Both are driven by voltage with no moving parts. Per-model details are in the datasheets.

Can liquid lenses be combined with telecentric optics?

Yes. The YT telecentric liquid series spans 12 models from 0.23X to 1.75X magnification, with software or hardware triggering over micro USB or aviation connectors. Measurement stations keep telecentric imaging while gaining variable working distance.

How do I drive and trigger the lens?

Software trigger over micro USB or hardware trigger via aviation connector, matched to your PLC timing during the selection review. Trigger mode and interface are specified per model family in the catalog.

Which sensor formats and mounts do the ZWA models support?

The ZWA autofocus series covers 2/3-inch sensors (M0834AFC, M1238AFC, M1643AFC) and 1/1.8-inch sensors (H1670AFC-A on M12 mount, H1670AFC-B on a 10 mm mount). Full working distance and drive data are in the ZWA datasheets.

What is Z-axis stacking and when do I need it?

Z-axis stacking combines liquid elements along the optical axis to extend depth of field across mixed working distances. It suits stations where many parts sit inside a known height band, so the system refocuses less often; for widely spread heights, the 20 ms refocus handles the transitions instead. The two strategies combine on one line.

Is the liquid lens here the same thing as in smartphone camera marketing?

No. Consumer discussions usually refer to focus modules inside phone cameras. This page covers industrial liquid lenses: electrowetting autofocus optics for machine vision, logistics DWS scanning and inspection stations, specified with trigger interfaces, batch MTF data and factory support.

How does optical quality hold up over the lens life?

The sealed fluid cell has no sliding surfaces, so coaxiality does not degrade through mechanical cycling the way motorized assemblies can. Batch MTF reports ship with orders, and every lot passes MTF, distortion, BFL and DOF characterization.

Which applications benefit most from liquid autofocus?

Logistics DWS scanning, multi-depth inspection stations and robotic picking are the classic fits — anywhere working distance changes faster than a mechanical focus can follow. The application table maps typical Z-height patterns to model families.

What are the lead time and supply terms?

Catalog models sample per standard terms; custom variants run 60 working days from prototype to mass production and 30 days on repeat orders. Tooling is stored free for 5 years and projects run under NDA.

Why choose Lensmind over established liquid lens brands?

Corning Varioptic and Optotune make capable liquid optic elements; Lensmind's difference is system integration — autofocus across telecentric (12 models), FA (14 models) and ZWA (5 models) families from one ISO 9001 factory, with batch-consistency data and one custom path. We invite spec-level comparison for your station.

Machine Vision Autofocus — Electrowetting Liquid Lenses

Liquid Lenses That Focus in 20 ms — No Motors, No Wear, No Dust

Voltage-driven industrial liquid lenses for machine vision autofocus: fastest 20 ms focus shift, zero mechanical friction, and Z-axis stacking for extended depth of field — built for logistics DWS scanning, multi-depth inspection and robotic picking where VCM autofocus is too slow and too fragile for continuous duty.

20 ms focus Zero moving parts 31 models (ZWA 5 + YT 12 + FA 14) ISO 9001 factory

Lensmind M1643AFC-B-ZWA auto-focus liquid lens, precision optics manufactured by Lensmind

Official specification sheet

5 ZWA models. Every number on one page.

Pick a model from the list — the page jumps straight to its row. FOV, F-number, sensor format, TTL and matched sensor per the official ZWA sheet.

Lensmind ZWA liquid autofocus lens family line-up

Lensmind liquid autofocus lens modules with FPC control cables

Lensmind LM-M1643AFC liquid autofocus lens, standing product view

Lensmind LM-M0834AFC ZWA liquid autofocus lens with FPC cable

Part NO.	EFL	FNO.	Sensor	Distortion	Mount	FOV D/H/V
LM-M0834AFC	8.1 mm	F3.4	2/3″	3.5% MAX	Φ14	69.8° / 56.1° / 47.8°
LM-M1238AFC	12 mm	F3.8	2/3″	1.0% MAX	Φ14	48.5° / 38.1° / 32.2°
LM-M1643AFC	16 mm	F4.3	2/3″	0.5% MAX	Φ14	35.8° / 27.8° / 23.4°
LM-H1670AFC-A	16 mm	F6.4	1/1.8″	0.2% MAX	M12×0.5	31.5° / 25.4° / 19.2°
LM-H1670AFC-B	16 mm	F6.4	1/1.8″	0.2% MAX	Φ10	31.5° / 25.4° / 19.2°

Lensmind Lab & Factory

Measured, Not Claimed — Data from Our Lab

Every claim on this page is backed by measurement. Below: the metrology instruments in our quality lab, optical bench and Zemax simulation records, and the production floor that builds and signs off every batch.

Metrology instruments