Considering getting a remote tracer for POF's. Has anyone had success with them. Do the lenses come in on size for the most part? What are your opionions and are they worth the expense?
Considering getting a remote tracer for POF's. Has anyone had success with them. Do the lenses come in on size for the most part? What are your opionions and are they worth the expense?
Jana Lewis
ABOC , NCLE
A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool.
Joseph Roux
I've used one with mixed results. It worked ok, and we found that taking a c-size helped quite a bit, but in general it wasn't consistant.
I have been having good luck w/mine for about three years. It was installed just before I started in this office and I believe the lab paid for it. As the should, there getting all of my lens only work. It's an Optronics 4T. Hope this helps.
LDO, ABOC, NCLEC
Slow down everyone your moving to fast, frames can't catch you when your moving like that!
ditto on the hand edger.
what percentage of them could be "fixed" with a hand edger, in your experience?
Without a c? 80%. Easily. Even with, there were still a lot of small touches that needed to be done.
I began using remote tracing in 1996 and have loved it! I've only had a handful of jobs, perhaps 10 in that time that were off size. The key to success is, I believe, to calibrate the tracer every day. It was always the first thing I did after booting up the computer. Make sure the frames you're tracing are clean, especially POF's. Face junk in the eyewire will skew the tracing. Make sure the eyewires aren't rolled or distorted. But, calibration is the real key.
I'll second Judy's excellent post. I have had a very positive experience.
I agree with Fezz & Judy, Keep it calabrated and clean. i also found that if it is in a tight space they over heat and the sizeing can be inconsistant.
I also agree with miss judy. I have used one in my office now for over a year and i love it! I calibrate mine every week though.
I've used both an Optronics 4T and (in this office) an Essilor Phi. I agree with Judy: calibration is the key. That said, I still prefer to send some jobs off to the lab because I find they do a better job with bevel placement when they have the frame itself.
Yes, a handstone is a necessity. I'd say about 10-15% of jobs come back slightly off-size, usually no more than .01 or .02.
Note: if you do get an Essilor Phi, get some of the computer folks on this board to help you reprogram it. The one we have (and, I understand, all of them as shipped) works only with Essilor labs and only through VisionWeb.
Andrew
"One must remember that at the end of the road, there is a path" --- Fortune Cookie
The Optronics 4T is by far the best available!
Years ago, labs used to promote lens tracing as the future. It's one less step for the lab to do. Found they could be helpful, but inconsistent.
Pros: able to trace POF.
Cons: imperative that it is calibrated every day, imperative that lab is calibrating equiptment every day; leave the tracing to one person in the office (for some reason, even though these tracers are very accurate and mechanical, different persons can yield slightly different tracings, and we all know the slightest difference can be the difference between a happy and unhappy patient); fabrication technology and frame trends change so fast, the $6,000 tracer today is worth nothing in a few years; even if you're not buying the tracer and your lab is giving it to you, you will be then locked into sending them all your work for ___ years...you should send your work to the lab that does the best job, and not have to send your work to the lab that gave you a tracer.
Best advice: use a lab that embraces archiving database shapes electronically and maintains it daily.
For POF: explain to them that, as their Eye Care Professional, it is your duty and obligation to see that they have a spare pair for any emergency ("out of town emergencies", or, how many times have we had patients get upset with US because we can't do their poly with A/R in their 3 piece mounting THE day they go on vacation). At least present them a spare pair before they walk out the door the first time, it doesn't have to have all the "bells and whistles", and hopefully would dramatically decrease the number of POF rush jobs you'll have to do.
All good stuff! Thanks Everyone.
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