When Thomas Bidwell first joined Circle Optics in 2019, the company was still in its formative phase, building early Hydra systems and learning in real time what it meant to engineer precision panoramic hardware. Bidwell was among the first ten employees. His title was mechanical design engineer, though in practice the work quickly became optical mechanical design — the disciplined intersection of lenses, structure, tolerances, and manufacturability.
Two years later, after stepping into retirement, Bidwell is back.Chief Research Officer Andy Kurtz explains why:
“I first collaborated with Tom at IMAX Rochester, where he helped design complex optical subsystems with laser digital cinema projectors. Tom then brought his decades of mechanical experience to Circle Optics, to support the development of the complex integrated optical and opto-mechanical sub-systems within the 2nd generation Hydra camera system. He thus helped establish a foundation for the subsequent efforts to develop Hydra-3 and Pegasus camera systems. In so doing, Tom applied his deep mechanical engineering experience and conscientiousness to Circle Optics’ benefit. It is great having him back on the case.”
The system under development demands optical mechanical refinement at small scale and tight weight constraints. “My role here is to fill a void,” Bidwell says plainly. “They need short term design experience for a new project. The biggest challenge is coming up to speed and making sure we meet a scheduled date that is only weeks away.”
The constraints are exacting. The lenses are as small as six millimeters in diameter. The assembly must maintain alignment across a full 360 degree architecture. Every gram matters if the platform is airborne. Mechanical tolerances must support optical performance, thermal stability, and structural integrity simultaneously. For Bidwell, this work is a continuation of a long career defined by precision.
Before Circle Optics, he spent decades in mechanical engineering roles across Kodak, NexPress, Xactiv, IMAX, and aerospace programs. He led complex assemblies from concept through production, managing cost, schedules, and the realities of scaling high precision systems. At NexPress, he helped reduce subsystem costs from nearly two thousand dollars per unit to a fraction of that through disciplined redesign and injection molding strategy. He holds multiple U.S. patents in electrophotographic subsystems and high voltage charging assemblies.
Earlier in his career, he designed an oxygen generator manifold for Airbus aircraft. The component had to fit within a ten millimeter envelope and function after sitting on a shelf for years. Failure was not theoretical. “If it doesn’t work, somebody dies,” he says. That level of consequence reshapes how you think about tolerances. At NexPress, he helped design subsystems that operators could remove and replace themselves rather than waiting for a service technician. Downtime dropped. Ownership increased. “The premise was that your grandmother should be able to take the subsystem out and repair it.”
That same mindset informed early Hydra development. When asked whether the original systems were too precise, Bidwell offers perspective rather than defensiveness. “When you start with a clean sheet design, you don’t know what questions to ask. You are better off being ultra precise. You can always make it less precise later. If you start imprecise, it is much harder to make it better.” Hydra evolved. Hydra II informed Hydra III. Weight came down. Manufacturability improved. Cost structures became more realistic. The system matured because the team learned.
Bidwell’s career has unfolded alongside massive technological shifts. He entered design when drafting rooms were filled with designers and technicians. CAD replaced drawing boards. Finite element analysis moved from theoretical calculation to accessible desktop tool. Prototypes that once required weeks now arrive overnight from additive manufacturing facilities.
The tools changed. The fundamentals did not.
“Finite element analysis can give you a pretty picture that means nothing if you don’t understand the basics,” he says. Boundaries. Restraints. Thermal behavior. Materials. Physics still governs outcomes.
He is equally direct about collaboration. At Kodak, he insisted that service, assembly, electrical, mechanical, software, and QA were present early in subsystem reviews. The meetings were not always comfortable. “You might not like what you hear. But when you walk out, you have something that is going to work.”
There is also a quieter story behind the engineering resume. Bidwell did not begin with a mechanical engineering degree. He started in repair work and assembly before enrolling in night school while working full time. He completed coursework in engineering science and mechanical engineering while raising a young family. He studied calculus at the kitchen table while his children watched. “Innovation is a sacrifice,” he reflects. “Your family makes that choice with you.” His son would later earn a full academic scholarship. Discipline became cultural.
Today, back inside Circle Optics, Bidwell sees a new generation of engineers fluent in modeling environments and coding frameworks that did not exist when he began. The speed is different. The software challenges are larger. But the responsibility remains unchanged.
The platforms may shrink. The timelines may compress.The standards do not.
