Fraunhofer IPT, IKV and ILT once again organised the symposium jointly
More than 80 participants from across the entire process chain for optical plastic systems attended the Aachen Polymer Optics Days 2026 at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen on 10 and 11 June 2026. The event was organised by three host institutions: the Fraunhofer IPT, the Fraunhofer ILT and the IKV Institute, which cover the entire process chain for optical plastic systems.
The session structure of the practice-oriented lecture program reflected the most important user industries: automotive and extended reality (XR) on the first day, and consumer electronics and bio and medtech on the second day. Tours of the facilities and laboratories at the three institutes provided a glimpse into the current state of research. In addition, on the first day, the participants had the opportunity to visit innolite GmbH.
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKV
© IKVThe program clearly demonstrated that the performance of modern optical systems depends largely on mastery of plastic processing. The focus was therefore on plastics engineering issues related to the manufacture of high-precision optical components. Nineteen speakers covered the entire spectrum: from material-specific design of optical plastics to high-precision injection molding and replication processes, and on to mold technology and metrological quality assessment—always with the goal of achieving the surface qualities that make optical systems possible in the first place.
Among the speakers and participants alike were representatives from large, long-established companies as well as from deep-tech startups. During the breaks, lively discussions took place as participants exchanged ideas about processes, procedures, materials, technologies, and applications, and many new contacts were made or existing ones renewed. The first day ended with a group dinner at “Liebigs”—and the conversations that began there continued seamlessly the next morning.