EYE ON EQUIPMENT
Gearing up for the future
By Susan P. Tarrant

We sure have come a long way.

In Eyecare Business's "A Century of Vision" special issue (December 1999), author Joseph Bruneni reported how lenses used to be fabricated and processed. At the turn of the last century, the edging process was accomplished on ceramic wheels, turned at first by foot pedals, later by belt drive, and then finally by electric motor.

A couple decades into the 20th century, the process was simplified even more, with automatic edgers utilizing chucks that held and rotated lenses in front of an edger wheel, cutting the lenses to necessary size and shape. A pattern at the end of a rotating lens spindle controlled the shape.

Eventually, ceramic wheels were developed with "V" grooves that produced a bevel as the lenses were edged. It was a development that eliminated the need for most hand beveling. Undoubtedly, lab workers across the nation-and their callused hands-were cheering.

By the 1950s, diamond wheels began to replace ceramic wheels, making it possible to edge lenses within minutes, according to Bruneni. As polycarbonate developed into a viable lens material, edging equipment adapted even further, and labs employed router edgers that shaped and beveled lenses with a fluted carbide cutter instead of diamond wheels.

Modern lab equipment now has the ability to edge all material with the same machine. That advance, combined with the development of tracers and scanners that did away with the need for frame patterns, led to the ability to process eyewear in less than an hour.

As the equipment developed, it became smaller, more affordable, and easier to use. Modern equipment, which utilizes the latest in software and computer integration, is enabling independents to create in-house labs without having to hire specialists or highly trained technicians.

The Impact

EB asked some of the leading manufacturers of retail lab equipment for their thoughts on the recent technical innovations propelling the category. Not surprisingly, many focused on the user-friendly features and those that allow dispensers even greater flexibility in running their operations.

"Automated technology has made in-office edgers far simpler to operate than ever before, reducing the opportunity for human errors," says Joe DeLapp, president and CEO of Briot/Pro-Laser USA, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "Today's 'smart' technology is reducing both the skill and time required to process jobs in-house, a big advantage for independent practices whose employees can easily learn to operate the edger and handle other tasks like working with customers."

He adds that all-material edging capabilities have had a huge impact on in-house operations. "The ability to process all lenses in-house makes this equipment extremely cost effective," he says.

Shawn Harrington, president of Gerber Coburn in South Windsor, Conn., agrees that the ability of the edging equipment to adapt to changing environments has been a tremendous boost to its viability and popularity.

"A good deal of the advancements (in lens manufacturing) have been toward thinner, lighter, and clearer. That has represented manufacturing innovations," he says. "Equipment was challenged to step up and keep pace and continue to be able to provide finishing solutions." And because of the success in adapting to changing lens technology and changing market needs, he says the equipment category has been able to keep pace with optical's trend toward what he calls "mass customization," the ability for consumers to get a unique prescription to fit their needs.

"The most significant technological advances in my mind would be those in remote site tracing, paralleled, of course, by the acceptance of the concept by both the wholesale laboratories and their retail customers," says David Beach, president of Charlottesville, Va.-based National Optronics. "I have felt for years that all wholesale laboratories need to make this capability available in order to avoid encroachment by competitors, and I still feel that as strongly as ever."

The Future

Upon examining the leaps and bounds by which equipment evolved in just a matter of decades, it's hard to imagine how much further it can progress. But progress it does, as vendors are introducing edgers, tracers, blockers, and the like that are faster, easier, more efficient, and more productive. And what of the decades to come?

"I see companies with the highest commitment of producing the most technological advanced equipment prevailing over all others," says Franco Aluigi, product manager for Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Santinelli International. "I see changes taking place with the manufacturing of diamond wheels to accommodate for the ever-changing materials of lenses. New technologies will be emerging in frame tracing and lens measuring to possibly include the use of lasers. In order for such changes to take place, new and improved computer software must be developed. Automation of super-intelligent blockers with lensometry functions will simplify even further in-house retail lab operations, all in an effort to improve patient satisfaction and increase profitability for the 3 Os."

Beach predicts the future will be devoted largely to breakthrough machine development aimed at labor savings-achieving maximum quality output with less experienced and fewer personnel. "This could take the form of more sophisticated machine-operating software, or enhancements in the machines themselves, such as blocking/edging systems which will automatically compensate for both axis and decentration," he says. "The winners in the equipment race will be those manufacturers who can provide their customers with the best way to decrease their labor costs."

DeLapp is on the same page. "Future technology will focus on new ways to avoid operator errors and to reduce spoilage. Equipment developers are continuing to enhance the user-friendliness of machines with things like ergonomically designed control screens and intuitive touch keypads. Today's high-end equipment already integrates features that show the operator, before a job is done, the correct decentration, blocking, bevel positioning and groove placement, so adjustments can be made to avoid mistakes."

Matt Vulich, vice president of sales for AIT Industries in Bensenville, Ill., sees the future going faster. "Specif-ically, I see equipment technology that will allow operators to do tasks faster, but without losing accuracy. That's the key." Vulich refers to the newest models of AIT's and other companies' edgers as focusing on increasing the speed, but also staying accurate.

He also envisions an environment in which computer networking takes on a larger role. Customers' in-office labs could be networked not only with other offices in a multiple-location practice (something that's done now), but also with the equipment vendors to improve service. "It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when," he says.

Harrington builds on that theme, and say the future trend in equipment is the ability to grow the concept of mass customization. "Mass production is the way the industry was served in the past," he explains. "The future will be served by the ability to build consumers' personal needs into that model of mass production. We see the future as a challenge to meet that mass customization need on a personal level, every time."