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Tutorial Information & Registration Information
Be sure to sign up for a
FRED Tutorial. Spaces are filling quickly.
Find information on our European Tutorials.
Find out more about the new Stray Light Short Course.
Find out more about the Illumination Engineering Short Course.
Find out more about the Coherence in Optical Engineering Advanced Tutorial.

Tutorial / Short Course Dates for 2010:
FRED Tutorial
    February 16 - 19                 Tucson, Az
    April 26 - 29                       Tucson, Az
    May 4 - 7                          
Wessling, Germany
    June 22 - 25                      Tucson, Az
    August 23 - 26                   Tucson, Az
    October 5 - 8                     Wessling, Germany
    November 15 - 18              Tucson, Az

Principles of Stray Light Short Course
    March 22 - 24                    Tucson, Az
    May 10 - 12                       Wessling, Germany
    July 19 - 21                       Tucson, Az
    October 11 - 13                 Wessling, Germany
    November 10 - 12              Tucson, Az

Coherence in Engineering: An Advanced FRED Tutorial
    April 21 - 23                       Tucson, Az
    June 28 - 30                       Tucson, Az
    October 13 - 15                  Tucson, Az

Illumination Engineering Short Course
    February 22 - 24                 Tucson, Az
    May 24 - 26                        Tucson, Az
    September 27 - 29              Tucson, Az
    November 8 - 10                 Eindhoven, Netherlands

FRED U.S. Tutorial Course Description
This course is a hands-on tutorial that is intended to provide new users with an understanding of how to construct FRED® models, execute the raytrace, and analyze the results. In so doing, many of FREDs extensive features and capabilities as an analysis tool will be demonstrated.  Examples will be constructed in real time and will include discussions of both imaging and non-imaging (illumination) applications. This tutorial is the first three days of the intensive 4 day tutorial course. The fourth day is optional and costs an additional $495 and can be attended separately. Please contact your Photon salesperson for more information.

Topics covered during the 3-day tutorial include: (Cost: $1400 for three full days.)

  • The FRED Philosophy – Visualization is key to understanding optical engineering problems
  • Navigating the user interface including interface customization
  •  Using visualization features to create technically meaningful, visually stunning graphics
  •  Building and modifying geometry using FREDs interface
  •  Importing geometry from lens design and CAD programs
  • Exporting geometry and traced rays to CAD programs
  • Working with surface attributes including coatings, scatter models, and raytrace controls
  • Creating coherent and incoherent sources
  • Using raytrace tools including single, targeted raytrace; sequential/non-sequential raytracing
  • Constructing analysis surfaces and ray filtering
  • Computing irradiance, intensity distributions; image formation; illumination analyses; power (throughput) calculations; color images; polarization analyses; ghost image formation; stray light analyses; thermal radiometry
  • Digitizing coating transmission/reflection plots, geometry, spectral weighting, and refractive index data
  • Extending FREDs capabilities using its compiled BASIC scripting language
  • FRED as automation client/server

Topics covered during the optional 4th day tutorial include: (Cost: $1895 for four full days.)

  • Relationship between FRED and BASIC compiler
  •  Accessing data with nodes and structures
  • Reading and manipulating data
  •  Basic and advanced raytracing
  •  Using ray buffers
  • Performing energy calculations
  • Using pre-update and post-update scripts
  • Mastering automation w/COM: FRED as client or server
  • Rastering calculations
  • Using scripted entities

Click Here to Download the Tutorial Registration Form

Instructor:
Richard Pfisterer, president of Photon Engineering and co-developer of
FRED optical engineering software.  Richard has nearly 30 years of experience using and teaching optical design and engineering software. With this much experience to draw on, Richard can customize the tutorial content to the specific interests of the attendees.

  • These tutorials have been crafted to help you get the most out of the FRED software. If at all possible, schedule your travel plans so that you can attend all days!
  • The optional scripting tutorial offered on the 4th day is limited to attendees who are proficient in the BASIC programming language.
  • Attendance at each tutorial is limited to 6 to 12 participants.
  • Participants are strongly urged to bring their own laptop computers. (Please let us know if you need to rent a laptop from us so we can plan our resources accordingly.)
  • Hotel accommodations and meal expenses are not included in cost of the tutorial.  You are responsible for those arrangements, but upon request we can help with suggestions.
  • Depending on projected attendance, we reserve the right to reschedule or cancel a tutorial up to two weeks prior to the tutorial.

To make room reservations:
Call the CourtYard by Marriott, Tucson Williams Center at 520-745-6000 and ask for Sales (ext 602).  Please tell them that you will be attending the Photon Engineering tutorial, and they will give you the Williams Center rate.

Contact our Sales Department for details at 520-733-9557, and ask for Donata.

What our customers say about us:
"Fantastic Course! Having a small group of students and an expert instructor was great. Rich Pfisterer also brings a lot of general optics (modeling) industry info which was interesting to me."
Andy Huibers - Texas Instruments

"This (the FRED tutorial) was an outstanding introduction to FRED's capabilities. After only 3 days, I'm able to build and import optical systems, perform significant analysis, and output the results. FRED has the shortest learning curve of any optical software I've ever encountered!"

Beth Sornsin, Ph. D. - Raytheon SBRS

"Most Straight Forward optical software ever. Think, draw, then simulate results in FRED."
Yong Xie - NASA

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