Anyone have any views on 3d printed lens? Will they eliminate inventory and be the future of the industry?
The resins are terribly expensive though
Anyone have any views on 3d printed lens? Will they eliminate inventory and be the future of the industry?
The resins are terribly expensive though
In the future sure, and 3D printing will eliminate frame inventory as well. I predict that some day the reps will be selling the design apps and not the product, the product, both frames ad lenses will be printed in office some sort of a franchise fee, or pay to click idea. How long? My guess is 10 years.
I predict sooner. Heard a few years ago about a Dutch company using 3D to print lenses good enough to supply the Royal family.
from what i have read and understand, the process is different than 3-D printing frames. The 3-D printed lenses use droplets of monomer to create the lens and i believe there is a lab in one of the Carolina's using the process but it is a slow process and the last time i read anything on it, it is only available in one index. I apologize but i don't remember the available index but some where in the mid index range.
Luxexcel. They have been at the last few expos, I think they are from Belgium. They have one printer installed at IFB Solutions in Winston-Salem, NC. Last I spoke to them at Expo West they said they were going to be installing another somewhere else on the east coast. Michael Wallach from Quest Vision Care Special Lab in FL was there co-presenting so I assume that is where they would be installing the next one. But that is just a guess. Their website lists the index as 1.5225, abbe: 45 and density 1.15 g/cm³. They said they decided to entire the market with specialty, outside of the norm jobs. Multi-prism, multi-segment, things like that.
I imagine economy of scale would make this impossible to realistically produce. Let alone the need for resin purity and scratch resistance.
Besides- Who knows how soon it will be before implants or in utero DNA manipulation will make refractive errors of the eye a thing of the past.
edit- posted before reading Jacqui's response and as I respect her knowledge above mine on this matter I'll defer to what may, if not already, is being successfully done!
(Welcome back Jacqui- where ya been?)
Last edited by Uncle Fester; 02-21-2019 at 01:31 PM.
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