Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Optical imaging technologies are central to discovery in the life and physical sciences, yet their impact depends on how readily they can be built, adapted, and sustained across laboratories. Digital fabrication, including desktop 3D printing, offers new ways to engineer imaging instruments by simplifying assembly, lowering replication barriers, and enabling modular integration and local refinement. Here we examine, using open microscopy as a transparent case, how digitally fabricated components support adaptable, research-grade optical systems while enabling faster innovation cycles and distributed improvement. We outline practical design guidelines and discuss emerging developments that may further advance accessible, high-performance imaging.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Wageningen University & Research
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G1504043982
OpenAlex ID: W7160297354