Horizon II pattern cutting question

**snowmonster** · 04-02-2006, 07:44 AM

We fired our finishing lab up again recently and did so with a Horizon II. It has been a great entry-level machine and we'll likely upgrade to a patternless III or 6E at some point in the next 12 to 24 months. I'm actively saving up for a more current machine, so please don't respond with the following post: "just get into the early 90's and go patternless."

What I want help with is this. When we put a demo or even a nice and thick CR39 lens (since it shouldn't flex as the tracking wheel runs over it) on the tracer part of the edger to cut a pattern for it, we often get a pattern that looks nothing like the lens it's tracing. The pattern will frequently come out with a larger "B" dimension and the lens corners will look weird as well.

We've tried it with a high and low tracking pressure. We've also messed around with the master air pressure regulator at the back-right side of the machine with seemingly no luck or improvement.

The really queer thing about it is that the machine cuts lenses off a pattern beautifully in a 1:1 shape and size. Yet there's no essential difference in what we're doing.

I know quite a few of you have used HII's over time and I'm hoping somebody knows that cause/cure for this problem.

Thanks in advance.

-Steve

**Leo Hadley Jr** · 04-02-2006, 09:19 AM

Hi Steve,

There must be some kind of flexing happening. Have you watched it closely to see whats going on? It has been many years since I ran one of those edgers in the field. I do remember loving that edger at the time. Not a lot can go wrong with the products from National Optronics.

As far as your future upgrades please visit my ebay store

www.stores.ebay.com/OptiForum

:cheers:

**OptiJim** · 04-02-2006, 09:27 AM

Steve,

Are you using the patternless upgrade for your Horizon II? Are you watching the demo lens as it is being "traced" and seeing it flex?

**snowmonster** · 04-02-2006, 09:39 AM

See - that's what I keep thinking, that it must be flexing. I guess I haven't turned the tracking pressure down below 20 yet, so maybe I'll just try that. It's usually at a point on the lens like the area near the bridge.

OpticLabRat: Don't worry, I'll certainly consider your eBay store for either a 6E or III upgrade. I've been watching your store for a while now. Not sure really what the difference is yet, other than one says "3 axis edging" and the other usually says "3D eding."

-Steve

**Uncle Fester** · 04-02-2006, 11:54 PM

You're screwed

Worked this edger for 20 years now experiencing on occasion the same probem!
Call the boys at Optronics to see if one of if not all of the solenoid parts of your board needs to be replaced. Especially a demo lens I found would produce a crappy pattern because of flexing. Ultimately however, the industry has moved on to more sophisticated edgers.
I assume you have blown out and emptied the compressor (if applicable) of moisture as recommened in the owners manual.

**snowmonster** · 04-03-2006, 05:12 AM

Yeah, we blow the water out of the compressor tank/regulator daily.

I've devised a separate system to make patterns with a router table and a flush trim bit, makes an exact pattern fairly quickly. Would just be easier if the Optronics pattern-cutting system would work flawlessly.

We do have a few spare solenoids though, maybe I'll play around with them and see if anything works better once I swap them out.

-Steve

**Uncle Fester** · 04-04-2006, 11:14 PM

Stay with plan B!

I'd love to hear how you set up a router table jig to make patterns!

Horizon 2 cannot fix your problem in my humble estimation :D

**SpecialT** · 04-04-2006, 11:39 PM

I used the same edger not to far back and I had a seperate pattern cutter, you may want to consider the same. The pattern cutter looked to be something that would be inexpensive, but I have no clue who it was made by or how much one would run you.

Otherwise, other than keeping it clean it was a good edger.

**snowmonster** · 04-05-2006, 05:21 AM

Yeah, we "borrowed" a pattern cutter from somewhere else - a Novamatic. It does okay, but of course doesn't work for rimless stuff so that's where the router thing came into play.

I just stick the demo/current lens onto the elevated part of a pattern blank with a leap pad, trim most of the excess off with scissors and then make two passes around the lens with a flush trim bit. The router part takes all of about 20 seconds to do. The part that takes the longest is just lining the pattern up with the lens so that it's centered.

I've also got a separate Align-a-lens II that I've modified so that I can just put the existing demo lens on it to line it up, and then once things are lined up, I can drop the demo onto a pattern which is held in place by a pinblock. This should really speed things up once I get the a second Semi-Tec adapter in for it from OWC.

-Steve

**snowmonster** · 06-22-2006, 09:16 PM

For what it's worth, I messed around with the 'using the demo to make a pattern' thing directly on the Horizon II today and ran the tracking pressure all the way down to 14 and it worked very well for almost all lens shapes.

-Steve

**markssunwear** · 06-23-2006, 04:41 PM

sounds good,
I just got my horizon 11 last week and started to hook it up last night, I cut two lenes and they came out great,just today purchaced new
shop vac I also ordered new AIT chuck and new blades,
Mine has the bodine motor that holds one blade cuts like a champ.

So. with the presure down your patterns came out good?

**snowmonster** · 06-23-2006, 06:34 PM

Yeah, the only weirdness with cutting a pattern off a demo lens is if you are working with a nearly rectangular frame or something with very sharp points. That's where it's much better to do my router table technique that I mentioned earlier. Makes a perfect pattern every time, just a bit more tedious.

-Steve