For many years, debate has been waged over the benefits of manufacturing optical lenses off-shore versus producing them locally in Australia.
There are pros and cons to each side of the debate. In industrialised countries, production costs have traditionally made on-shore lens manufacturing prohibitive. This has been compounded by deteriorating retail prices for spectacles, which have placed enormous pressure on the entire optical wholesale market to reduce manufacturing costs. Additionally, the production process involved in manufacturing prescription optical lenses is complex and one that demands significant skills and knowledge. However, it is argued, that local manufacturing offers faster turnaround, can provide opportunities for greater quality control, and creates local employment.
New technologies now available make on-shore lens manufacturing to the highest quality, and at competitive pricing a viable reality.
Here’s how it works
Once your customer has decided on the type of lens and frame required, you simply send an online order to the customer service center of the lab. After verification of the job in the lab management system (LMS) the lenses (and optional frame) are pulled from the stock and put together in a job tray (this step is known as ‘tray up’).
On Block Manufacturing (OBM) pre-blocked lens jobs – a new streamlined lens manufacturing process described in mivision’s April 2013 issue – are sent directly to the digital generator VFT Micro. Here the prescription is cut before being soft-tool polished in the Micro-FLEX. Both machines together weigh just 800kg and can be fitted together with the AR-Coating equipment in an area of just 25m².
Lenses for Every Stage of Life
Digital surface technology delivered by Satisloh’s VFT Micro, in combination with digital design technology from Satisloh’s partner Crossbows, now enables prescriptions to be achieved to cover all stages of a wearer’s life – from lenses for standard single vision, office use, driving, kids’ wear, and even bi-focals with round segments. That’s because the back vertex distance, as well as the pantoscopic tilt and the face bow, can be used to adjust the sphere, cylinder and axis of the prescription.
This ability to tailor lenses to meet the individual vision correction needs of customers presents a significant opportunity for optometrists to deliver added value – and all in a very short space of time. The entire surfacing process from ‘tray up’ to polishing can be completed in less than 10 minutes when OBM pre-blocked lenses are used. Conventional tape and alloy jobs require an additional 40-60 minutes for cooling.
Once the lenses have been cut and polished, they are ready to be coated in the EXPRESS AR coating area of the Satisloh Micro-Lab (see mivision’s May 2013 issue). All in all, a prescription job can be processed, included finishing and mounting, in less than two hours, which allows for same day delivery. The ability to do so provides another opportunity to differentiate your customer service and build long-term customer loyalty.
Contact Details
Room 21, 3/F., Sino Industrial Plaza,
9 Kai Cheung Road
Kowloon Bay Hong Kong
Contact: Sales Department
T +852 2756 7711
F +852 2796 6175
W www.satisloh.com
E info.asia@satisloh.com
