Spanish ophthalmic technology company IOT says it has become the first to 3D print personalized progressive lenses, using a process it calls Light-Form. The company says the method creates a complete lens with a single flash of light in a few seconds, and that lenses produced this way are already on sale to consumers.
Unlike the layer-by-layer approach common in additive manufacturing, Light-Form is based on stabilized frontal photopolymerization: light cures the full volume of the lens in one pass rather than building it gradually from a blank. IOT says the forming step takes seconds. The lens then goes through finishing steps: unused resin is recovered, the surface is hardened and the lens is mapped. The process also skips the generating and polishing stages used in conventional lens surfacing, according to the company.
Optical precision and resource claims
IOT says a new production method for personalized progressive lenses must reproduce the intended optical design precisely, not simply create a lens-shaped object. The company argues that Light-Form combines the design freedom of digital manufacturing with those optical requirements, allowing additive manufacturing to produce prescription lenses at commercial optical quality. It adds that the approach could open more options for future lens architectures and individualized designs.
José Alonso, co-founder and CINO of IOT, said the technology shows how scientific research can change the way ophthalmic lenses are made. He added that combining optical precision with a new production method could help optical partners create personalized products, test new lens architectures and run more flexible manufacturing.
The company also makes environmental claims for the manufacturing stage. Compared with conventional methods, IOT says Light-Form uses no water, requires 90% less energy and produces 76% less waste. The company notes that these figures cover manufacturing only, not the full life cycle of the lens.
Production closer to the customer
IOT presents Light-Form as a way to reorganize lens production, not just speed up forming. Larger installations could use multiple printing heads to raise output without taking up much floor space, according to the company. Looking further ahead, IOT envisions compact machines making custom lenses inside optical stores, placing production near the customer and reducing the need to hold stock.
Carolina Gago, COO of IOT, said the value lies in rethinking the production workflow. She noted that resin recovery and lower water and energy requirements affect how resources are used, while compact equipment could support production closer to consumers. IOT says it is working to turn these capabilities into practical manufacturing options.
For optical laboratories, the company says this could mean organizing capacity around local demand instead of relying only on centralized surfacing equipment. For wearers, IOT says the long-term benefit would be faster access to lenses made for them. Optical partners would still play a central role in vision correction and customer service, according to the company.
Smart glasses and the wider additive optics field
IOT is also exploring applications beyond conventional spectacles. One option under development is printing prescription optics directly onto waveguides and flat substrates used in smart glasses and augmented reality headsets, which the company says could make those devices thinner and lighter. IOT also suggests that custom optical shapes could eventually be useful in virtual reality.
The company is not alone in applying additive manufacturing to vision correction. Luxexcel was an early example in prescription eyewear. Conventional prescription lenses tend to involve around 30 production steps, requiring large inventories and generating high wastage. Luxexcel instead built lenses layer by layer using material jetting, and its platform could print single-vision, freeform and multifocal progressive designs. It also embedded waveguides into prescription lenses for smart glasses, a direction IOT is now exploring. Meta later acquired Luxexcel as part of its AR technology efforts.
More recently, the approach has moved toward point-of-care contact lenses. A University of Waterloo team developed a system that 3D prints custom contact lenses in roughly 20 minutes, raising the prospect that a patient could be measured, have a lens designed and leave a clinic wearing it after one visit. The work earned a Gold Medal at the Shanghai International Exhibition of Inventions in June 2026.
These projects show additive manufacturing moving into optical production. IOT says its Light-Form personalized progressive lenses are already reaching consumers.