This article describes the steps which can be taken in order to troubleshoot potential application issues when Zemax OpticsBuilder fails to load in Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later.

Authored By Flurin Herren 

Introduction

OpticsBuilder is currently available for Creo 5, 6, 7 and 8 and with OpticsBuilder 23.2 also for Creo Parametric 9.0.

When loading OpticsBuilder within Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later, some preconditions have to be set in order to run the OpticsBuilder Add-in smoothly. Some user might have these preconditions set per default and therefore do not have to apply these troubleshooting steps. Please only apply them when you encounter any of the mentioned warning messages. However, we do recommend to use OpticsBuilder within Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later, the reason for that is elaborated in Chapter: Additional information.

LensMechanixLoader failed to start

When loading OpticsBuilder in Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later, the following error message might occur:

In order to solve this please follow the listed steps below:

1. Open Creo installer
2. Select "Upgrade existing software". Click "Next".
3. Accept software licenses agreement. Click "Next".
4. License identification should remain as it is. Click "Next".
5. Application Selection should remain as it is. Click "Next".
6. Make sure that the "Legacy Toolkit Application Runtime" is checked in "Customize Application" window.

After that,  please click "Install" in order to be able to load OpticsBuilder successfully.

Legacy Toolkit Application

When loading OpticsBuilder in Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later, the following error message might occur:

Please follow the instruction on the warning message in order to solve this issue or refer to prior chapter (Step 6) 

Additional Information 

In general we recommend to use OpticsBuilder with Creo Parametric 7.0.5.0 and later, due to a bug found in PTC Creo Parametric versions earlier than 7.0.5.0, OpticsBuilder will not work properly when installed on versions between 7.0 and 7.0.4. This bug affects OpticsBuilder’s ability to run properly and may result in the add-in not being available, import issues, and/or other functionality problems. If you attempt to install OpticsBuilder on Creo Parametric versions between 7.0 and 7.0.4, you will see a pop-up message instructing you to upgrade to Creo Paremetric 7.0.5.0 or later. 

If you are still facing an issues with the usage of Zemax OpticsBuilder, you may contact support@zemax.com (Active license users only)