Role: Co-Founder & Lead Engineer (Full Stack + 3D Pipeline)
Collaborator: Charles Dagneaux (Master Craftsman - Meilleur Ouvrier de France)
Duration: 2015–2017
Stack: Ruby (SketchUp Extension), Node.js, Express.js, AngularJS, Three.js, WebGL
The Death of Artisanal Eyewear Craftsmanship
By the early 2010s, eyewear manufacturing had become fully industrialized and centralized. The craft of making custom frames nearly disappeared from independent opticians’ workshops. Most opticians became retailers: order generic frames from factories, adjust to fit, that’s it.
Optimaker: Vectorial Design Meeting 3D Fabrication
Optimaker brought artisanal eyewear creation back to independent opticians and educators. The platform let opticians or students:
- Import or sketch existing frame geometry (2D vectorial profiles)
- Parametrically modify key measurements: lens width, lens height, bridge width, tilt, temple length
- Preview in real-time with interactive 3D visualization
- Export manufacturing-ready 3D files (STL) for 3D printing prototyping and rapid iteration
Users got instant feedback on design changes. Modify the lens width by 2mm, watch the whole frame recalculate to maintain proportional harmony. No CAD expertise required.
Platform Expansion: From SketchUp to Web
Phase 1 (2015): SketchUp Plugin (Ruby)
A paid extension letting designers work within SketchUp’s familiar environment, generating 3D-printable STL files directly.
Phase 2 (2016): Web Platform (Node/Express/AngularJS/Three.js)
A browser-based version that opened access further, eliminating SketchUp dependency. Real-time WebGL rendering made iteration fast and fun.
Why Optimaker Succeeded: Pedagogical + Professional Hybrid
Optimaker wasn’t just a professional tool - it changed how eyewear design was taught.
Educational Impact
Schools and optometry programs used Optimaker because it:
- Made parametric design tangible - Students could see how measurements affect aesthetics in seconds
- Connected theory and practice - Taught optical geometry, ergonomics, fabrication constraints interactively
- Let students rapidly prototype - Design, print, test and iterate within a single class session
- Made manufacturing accessible - Traditional craft knowledge became digitally accessible
Opticians used it in training programs to teach apprentices the why behind measurements before teaching how to cut and fit.
Professional Adoption
About ~500 users across independent opticians, training centers, and craft schools. The community loved how simple and instant it was.
Technical Architecture: Interactive State Management
The Challenge: Harmonious Parametric Deformation
When users modified a parameter (lens width +5mm, bridge -1mm), every connected curve had to recalculate.
The key technical insight was to maintain tangent continuity and visual harmony during transformations.
Solution:
- SVG curve parsing - Extract Bézier control points from imported designs
- Parametric scaling with constraints - Proportionally adjust control points while preserving:
- Curvature smoothness (avoid abrupt inflection points)
- Optical symmetry (frame balance)
- State management - Full undo/redo with diff-based history tracking
- Real-time 3D regeneration - Three.js for instant visual feedback