Spanish ophthalmic technology company IOT says it is the first to 3D print personalized progressive lenses. Its Light-Form Technology forms a complete lens from a single flash of light in a few seconds, without a layer-by-layer build. According to IOT, lenses produced this way are already on sale to consumers.
The process also eliminates the generating and polishing steps used in conventional lens surfacing, IOT says. The company presents the method as a different way to make prescription optics rather than a faster version of an existing step.
How the lens is formed
Light-Form is based on stabilized frontal photopolymerization. Instead of shaping a lens gradually from a blank, the process cures the entire volume in one pass, with the forming stage taking seconds. Finishing steps follow: unused resin is recovered to limit waste, the lens surface is hardened, and the lens is mapped.
IOT says a production method for personalized progressive lenses must reproduce the intended optical design precisely, not merely create a recognizable shape. The company says Light-Form combines the design freedom of digital manufacturing with these optical requirements, allowing additive manufacturing to produce prescription lenses at commercial optical quality. It also says the approach could support new lens architectures and more individualized designs.
José Alonso, co-founder and CINO of IOT, said Light-Form 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 operate more flexible manufacturing.
Resource use and production layout
Compared with conventional methods, IOT says Light-Form uses no water in manufacturing, requires 90% less energy and produces 76% less waste. The company notes that these figures cover the manufacturing stage only.
The company also frames the technology as a way to redesign the production chain. Larger installations could use several printing heads to raise output without taking up much floor space. Further ahead, IOT envisions compact machines making custom lenses inside optical stores, placing production closer to 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 address how resources are used, while compact equipment could support production closer to consumers. IOT is working to translate these capabilities into practical manufacturing options.
For optical laboratories, this could mean organizing capacity around local demand rather than relying only on centralized surfacing equipment. For wearers, IOT says the long-term benefit would be faster access to lenses made for them. The company says optical partners would still play the central role in vision correction and customer service.
Beyond conventional spectacles
IOT is also developing options beyond conventional spectacles. One under consideration is printing prescription optics directly onto waveguides and flat substrates used in smart glasses and augmented reality headsets, which could make those devices thinner and lighter. The company also suggests custom optical shapes could eventually be useful in virtual reality.
The project joins other additive manufacturing efforts in vision correction. Luxexcel, an early example in prescription eyewear, built lenses layer by layer in a material jetting process and could print single-vision, freeform and multifocal progressive designs; Meta later acquired the company. More recently, a University of Waterloo team developed a system that 3D prints custom contact lenses in roughly 20 minutes, work that earned a Gold Medal at the Shanghai International Exhibition of Inventions in June 2026.
IOT’s announcement indicates that additive manufacturing is moving further into optical production. IOT says its personalized progressive lenses are already reaching consumers.