Edging 1.66 lenses

[Rich R]

I saw a previous post about edging polycarb, I recently had a 1.66 index and edged it same as poly with Gerber edger, and it really stank up the whole place. Just asking if any one has solutions or should I get a gas mask next time.
Rich R

[Jeff Trail]

Get a gas mask ;) .. stinks when it's in the generator and when edging.. it's the material, you could try another brand, not all indexes are made from the same material exactly but might as well keep a can of "freshen up" handy and live with the odor..
Hey to us lab rats that the smell of $$$.. you should think of it that way:cheers:


Jeff" willing to put up with the smell if my bottom line increases" Trail

[Corey Nicholls]

It is not a good idea to edge 1.66 lenses dry! The dust they give off can be quite toxic. The newer generation of High index materials do not have the bad chemicals removed from them like the older ones use to. According to Hoya they leave these badies in the lens, so they can call it a "Green Lens" ie good for the environment. Cut them on a normal CR39 cycle

Corey.

[Aleyz2020]

courier courier I agree with Corry. Sometimes you don't know until you try it but edging high index wet should cut down a bit on your "odoriforous odor"

[Pete Hanlin]

As we always said in my lab when the floor opticians would wander back while we were edging one of their high commission jobs- "that's the smell of money!"

Never tried to edge a 1.66 dry before! Might have to try it just to see how bad it can really get! I did have a female lab tech who once tried sprinkling some baking powder (or whatever that stuff is that's made by Arm & Hammer...) in the edger while processing a 1.66 job- did seem to cut down on the smell (just a little).

Strangely enough, you can usually tell the index and brand of a lens by the smell it gives off... as I recall AO 1.6 lenses smell kinda like the fiberglass you use for auto body work when its drying, and I always thought Sola Transitions Spectralite smelled kinda fruity when it was edging...

Pete

[Jerry Thornhill]

We have been surfacing and finishing 1.66 since they were first released and yes they do stink, but like Jeff says they are very profitable.

We generate and edge dry. I do not see the dust problem, probably because the vacuum is on and the lid is closed.

We significantly reduced the problem by installing an exhaust fan and attaching a hose to the exhaust of the vacuum and running it to the exhaust fan.

We do the same thing with the backside hard coater.

Since we are in a small space (600 sq. ft.) using a dry generator, three dry cut edgers and a coater this was the only logical answer for comfort.

Jerry