We supply polishing pads for the Ultra Lab system, if interested please feel free to contact me.
We supply polishing pads for the Ultra Lab system, if interested please feel free to contact me.
I still want one or two (or maybe 5 or 6).
Hi MHindustries,
Could send me an email with some guide on prices?
And Jacqui, One is nearly enough for any lab!, They require constant support by a competent maintenance technician/engineer to keep things running smoothly, If I had to look after 5 or 6 I'd be in a padded room by now! But when it's running well there's nothing to touch it.
Last edited by newtechie; 09-06-2004 at 08:25 AM. Reason: Add some more text
I work for ECCA and they already have an Ultra 6 (they got it about a year and a half ago) at their Specials Lab... I can't imagine why they'd go out any buy another new unit so soon after doling out the million or so dollars they cost.
they are indeed very amazing machines, I was blown away when I watched the demo film for it when I heard the S.L. got it.
I was a Service Tech for MODC. This was a good machine, on the verge of being a reliable one. You are right about the full time service needed. I worked in the Wal-Mart lab, in Ohio, where we had 4 of them. I workft and kept 4 of them going. I also have been to ECCA in San Antonio and Kaiser in San Fran. I really hated it when they went under. They were a good company to work for. I am currently working as a maint Tech, but would like to get back into Field Service.
In order to the question of who has these machines.
Wal-Mart Dallas Has 2 UL 60's and are about to receive the other 3 from Ohio.
ECCA has 2
Kaiser has 2
Okley in California has 1
There is 1 in Japan but they have designed their own polishing hats.
1 in Europe
and VSP in Columbus Ohio has 1.
Some of the companies have UL30's also. They preceeded the 60's.
The company that was formed from bankruptcy, that continues to support these machines, is called Motion Fab.
I really wish some company out there would continue started. They were very close, but just ran out of money.:cheers:
The email distribution list of Vision Monday's excellent news service seem to have been sent a .pdf file of Sola's auction notice for "substantially all" the assets of Micro Optics. The auction is Sept. 29.
FYI http://apps.tahoe.com/classifieds/in...s&color=330066Originally Posted by impact500
Has anyone any idea who purchased the IP rights of MODC? In addition I have heard that one or two of the MODC R&D team are now working for Loh.
Don't know who purchased the IP, I'll do some checking later. Also don't know about the R&D people working for Loh. I have a freind who is maintaining close contact with the company, or what's left of it. I hope someone brings it back, I WANT ONE !!!!!
MODC IP Rights
I have just received word that LOH has bought most of MODC IP Rights. Was also told they do not plan on building any UL machines.
Might have to look at the DAC RxD or something similar
Just a quick note to correct the spelling on Jacqui's post. "Checked with Ultra-Optics a few months ago and it seems they went bankrupt. website is also down."
The correct spelling would be Micro-Optics. Ultra Optics is alive, well and prospering.
Sorry :hammer:
This is the second multi million Dollars flop in the optical business in Canada and a large part financed by the Canadian Government, which means us Canadians citizens paid for the development of the Super Lab.
I was partly involved in a government investigation in the late sixties, early seventies when OPTYL made the big flop.
Wilhem Anger one of the largest frame manufacturers in Austria and Europe at the time was a very innovative person and the company very successful.
He came up with a new plastic frame material called "OPTYL". This was the first optical frame material that produced plastic frames by injection but for high quality frames.
Somehow Anger convinced the Candian Government to finance a production site in New Brunswick. He got about 8
million Dollars loan guarantees by the Federal Government (lotsd of dough at the time), the land for free plus a deal of being tax free (Municipal, Provincial and Federal) for 5-10 years.
The only frame company making frames in Canada was one belonging to American Optical situated in Quebec. The Fedearl Government welcomed a new industry with open arms.
Optyl got into production but did not do what they had promised. They produced millions of frames, but only in unfinished parts for quite a few years.
The fronts and temples were shipped to the 3 Optyl plants in Germany, Ireland (if I rememver right) and Austria where the parts were finished and assembled.
They became the first designer frames on the optical market under the name Christian Dior, Made in Germany. and sold like hot cakes the world over.
Christian Dior frames at the time when imported to Canada where subject to customs tarriffs applicable to Germany which was 15% on the value and another 12% manufacturers tax on top of it, for a total of about 30% of the value.
It took the Candian Government quite a few years until somebody in the optical trade put the finger on OPTYL in New Brunswick for NOT making the frames in Canada and which frames were subject to import duties when the came back. Action was taken very fast and OPTYL closed and disapeared from the scene in North America.
-----------------
Micro Optics had been in New Brunswick for at least 10 years and probably started out with a similar deal letting us Canadians pay the bill.
The machinery created by Micro Optics Design Corp. of Moncton, N.B., was touted by the federal government as an example of a successful investment made under the $700-million Atlantic Innovation Fund, announced before the 2000 election.
What kind of problems did folks run into, and can the system be adapted to numerous coatings, or is it just for AR ?
(Obviously, I have no clue about most of this;) )
UlatraLab was a completely automatic surfacing system. One operator could produce a pair of sufaced lenses every 3 or 4 minutes.
Mainly the biggest problem was software related. I believe this was mainly due to 4 groups of engineers working on the 4 basic components of the UL60's. With the help of us Field Reps, they were starting to get better with the software. There also is some equipment that requires daily PM's to get maximum life. ECCA did the best at this by shutting each machine down for an hour each shift and doing the PM's. ECCA at last I had heard was averaging between 55 to 60 lenses per hour and breakage was around 2.5 to 4 percent. At the Wal-Mart lab I was mainly at, we ran between 35 to 45 lenses per hour with about an average of 3 percent breakage. Low output per hour was mainly operators not running at full speed and machine not running when they went to break and lunch.
It is a very promising machine and with the modifications here and there, it could be a very reliable machine and the cost could be lowered.
As for the post by Crhis Reyser, I don't believe MODC set out to dupe the Canadian Government. They were very dedicated to building and perfecting this machine. They were a good company to work for. Even though I worked in the US, I still got to know most of the Canadian coworkers. They were just trying so hard to get this out in the market place that they just over extended themselves. If MODC had succeded, you would be praising them and the Canadian funding that helped them.
Straight Record
I was a designer at MODC for 7 1/2 years, leaving only when it went under.
My recollection is that the government had about 8 million CDN in it and private investors had about 60 million.
We went through 5 rounds of investment, after each round we spent like drunken sailors (sorry about the military slur). We were always pushing the envelope in everything we did. We pushed ourselves (55 hour weeks for the first two years), we were hard on suppliers, we pushed the technology both software and hardware.
We fell down on the basics like not charging enough for the system, giving tech support (and materials?) free for two plus years, not delivering the equipment performance we promised (85% of capacity is not 100%). Simple things things like workholding, dust on encoders and water drips on motors and slides were the final straw.
We didn't realize the potential of the Ultralab because we were too technology centric. The company is gone but the field service survives because optical labs have an ongoing need for support. We were giving this away for free!
There, now I feel better.:)
PS: Ever read the Book "Soul of a New Machine" it pretty well sums it up.
Engineer John,
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that MODC was to 'technology centric". It was my impression that the machine, and ultimately the company, failed not because it was a bad idea, far from it, but that it was an idea not well executed.
Wish it would have worked, I wanted one.
Yea John you were all so close. What I hear from the field reps still working on these, the machines are running pretty good. MODC was a good company and great people to work with.
Hi Jaqui long time no hear. Hope business is good and things are well.
MHindustries,
Can you supply polishing "tape" in a long "roll"?? I prefer to stamp out my own leaf shape. Possible??
Thanks
2 1/1 cents of input..................
New Brunswick was the place of development. This is a Canadian province that is favoured by the government for industrial advancement.
Therefore any developer of new technology with a couple millions of financial backing and a good idea can get from the Canadian government up to 10x the value of the investment as grants for creating jobs for research and development. The provincial as well federal government will excempt the company from taxes for at least 5 years. The local authorities will donate land to put up the buildings and also give them tax free status for 5 years. All is done without fanfares and no big press releases. These companies are just suddenly there.
I was involved with them for about 1-2 years concerning the hard coating part. Invoices were paid from some California parent company. I believe when the project was done they moved everything back to the USA and left the canadians holding the stick.
The canadians had paid for the development and the company had moved out leaving them high and dry.
This was the second time it happened in canadian optical history. In the 60's Wilhem Anger out of Austria received millions of dollars to develop and manufacture injected OPTYL frames, mostly the CHRISTIAN DIOR brand.
These frames were made in parts only, then shipped to Europe, Germany and Austria for finishing. These frames then came back, finished and assembled, to Canada as made in Germany and Austria and were subject to a 17.5% customs duty.
As far as I know the Canadian government pressured them, after a Royal Commission into the matter, to refund the investment. They then just declared bancrupty and the Royal Bank offered the leftovers for sale at $ 250,000.
:bbg: :D
Had my computer crash and lost your email address.
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