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Thread: Freeform Lens Production...?

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    Freeform Lens Production...?

    I have discussed with my doctor that freeform lenses are coming upon us soon and we need to try and be one step ahead with lens technology. He agreed and asked me to figure out if it is economical enough for us to buy a new generator and cylinder machines ( we are about to buy new ones anyway ) that can do freeform lenses. On one hand I can see that it would be great to market as the only one in town to be able to produce these lenses, and the quality and efficiency would increase for us. On the other hand I wouldn't want to buy these machines and we lose a lot of money. My question would be does anyone think this is a good idea, and what would be some generation/ cyl machine options out there, that you have seen or worked with.

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    Underemployed Genius Jacqui's Avatar
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    Probably the best for a small office lab would be the DAC RxD system. It is an idea that might work if you know how to promote it. About $300K should set you up (cheaper and better than the others :D )

    http://www.dac-intl.com/

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    I don't know what would be considered a small office lab, but we do about 75-100 finished jobs a day. Would this machine still suffice or would I need something larger scale?

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    Underemployed Genius Jacqui's Avatar
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    It would handle your needs. Call the factory and talk to them. I don't have one of these, but it is the unit I would buy if I could.

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    OptiBoard Professional RT's Avatar
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    Are you planning on buying an AR coater too? You'll probably find that of the freeform lenses that you'll sell, 70% will have AR coating. People that see the value in the extra benefits of personalized digitally produced lenses will opt for AR coating most of the time. But without an on-site AR coater, you'll have to send the jobs out. Sending lenses out for coating will produce an inferior product slower than if you just sent the job to your lab.

    You say you do 75-100 finished jobs per day. So you probably surface 50-75 jobs per day, and probably about 40 PAL jobs per day. That's pretty small for a large capital investment. Are you doing any surfacing now, or would surfacing be an entirely new venture for you? If you've never surfaced before, that's a pretty big change in your business model. If you're doing a little surfacing, well, it's still a pretty big venture for you.

    It's interesting that you assert that by doing your own surfacing, that quality and efficiency will increase. It's hard to imagine either happening where the process is something brand new to your operation, as opposed to labs that have been doing this for a long time with a lot of resources.
    RT

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    RT, You have many valid points, and the estimation about the surfacing is correct. I would say we surface as much as we can and is definatly is not new to us. I just had a hard time seeing us getting a brand new or close to new finer/polisher machines and a new generator, without exploring this option first since it is on the horizon. Currently we send off for AR and get a pretty decent price since we send 80% of our jobs we finish to them. I mentioned the quality and efficiency because our equip is pretty old (20 or more years on our cyl machine) and we find the we often have to refine to get the desired power and/or minimal thickness. Like most labs we have to send off for the high wraps and crazy cyl powers which also factors into the efficiency problem. Thanks for the replies. DM

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    OptiBoard Professional RT's Avatar
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    DMdrummer13: Thanks for filling in the blanks. With old lab equip, you are right that any upgrade will help quality and efficiency of your current surfacing. You'll find that freeform surfacing will be huge change from the conventional process that you've used in the past. Good luck with whatever route you choose.
    RT

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    Master OptiBoarder LENNY's Avatar
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    If you decided to upgrade you HAVE to get equipment that is at least will be able to do freeform in the near future!

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    Underemployed Genius Jacqui's Avatar
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    I agree Lenny :D The day is coming when everyone in the business will need this ability. The good thing about the current freeform systems is that they will also cut toric curves like the 2 and 3 axis machines so you can do wierder Rx's. If I were Optek, Optronics, or Coburn I would be converting all surface machines to freeform or risk looseing most of the North American market.

  10. #10
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    How can you NOT go freeform? It frees you from molded progressives, gives you the option to do corrected wrap RX's, and has much better optics than traditional surfacing!. If you told me you did 20-30 pairs a day, I'd worry..but 75-100? 10 progressives will pay your nut!

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