What's new in finishing equipment
Find out the recent trends in equipment technology, as well as new offerings
By Susan P. Tarrant

You're tired of wrapping up every frame you sell and sending it to your wholesale lab for processing. You're tired of having to say "no" when your patients ask if they can have their glasses ready in an hour like at the place down the street. And, you're tired of having to figure outside lab costs into your pricing structures, sharing your revenue with the lab. You're thinking of creating an in-house finishing lab so you can keep many--if not all--of your jobs under your own roof.

Perhaps you've already set up a lab in your back room, but the equipment needs to be upgraded to stay current. Or, you're thinking of expanding to keep up with growing volume.

Whether you fit into the first scenario or the second, will you be able to find an affordable system to meet your individual processing needs? With a large number of new offerings coming out of the retail lab equipment category as well as the systems already available, the answer sure seems to be "yes."

And, even though economic conditions may not have been ideal of late, equipment experts say in-house labs can be a great way for eyecare professionals to stay competitive and retain more of their revenue.

The Drill and Edge 450 from Weco

GETTING READY FOR BUSINESS

"The retail market is definitely still moving," states Franco Aluigi, product manager for Santinelli International, makers and distributors of finishing systems. "We definitely had a slow fall and December, but things started picking up in January." He added that the economic upturn that occurred in the first quarter of 2002 and is projected to continue into Q2, along with the cancellation of the September International Vision Expo West, is making him confident of a very busy International Vision Expo East this month.

"We still have a growing number of people interested in bringing finishing in-house," agrees Michael Urban of Gerber Coburn, makers of industrial and retail processing systems.

So how do practitioners know when they're ready to bring in some edging equipment and start processing for themselves? There's no cut-and-dry formula, although all major equipment vendors can provide guidelines for volume and return on investment.

"Everybody always asks,'How much do I have to do to warrant buying a system?'" says Matt Vulich, vice president of sales, AIT Industries. "And practitioners feel differently on the subject. One guy can have five to 10 jobs a day and believe he doesn't have the volume to make it, while another guy can be doing five to 10 jobs a day and buys a patternless edger and everything's fine."

Any dispensary that can pay for its edging system within two years (by realizing savings from sending the jobs out) is doing enough business to warrant the investment, says Susan Polson of National Optronics.

	Briot Axcell CL automatic lens finishing system from Briot-Weco USA

EQUIPMENT TRENDS

The predominant reasons for creating an in-house lab include being able to offer faster turnaround and compete with the one-hour optical facilities, and to realize savings by not having to pay an outside lab to process and edge every job.

But the goal of saving money by installing in-house would never be realized if dispensaries had to hire skilled technicians to run the equipment. That's why one of the strongest trends in equipment design is automation.

"Increased automation is something we've been working on with our industrial products, and we've been adapting that technology to our retail products," Urban explains.

"Eyecare professionals are looking to do more with less and less," Aluigi says. So equipment vendors are responding by introducing products with more automatic programs and settings to eliminate the need for any special skills on the part of the operator. That eliminates the need for extra labor and greatly reduces lens handling, which reduces the amount of error and increases consistency. The automation also allows for the processing of several materials, including high index and polycarbonate, literally at the push of a button.

With computer technology and modem capabilities advancing at the rate they are, it should come as no surprise that remote capability is a popular trend in retail lab equipment.

Remote tracing is already popular at multi-location practices, where satellite offices send frame traces to the central location, where the lenses are edged. But a remote tracer in even a single-location practice allows the doctor to trace a frame and transmit all the necessary information to his or her wholesale lab.

The ICE-2000, from Santinelli International

"It's a leap to go from mailing all your information to a wholesale lab to doing all your own edging," says Polson of National Optronics. "A tracer is a way to take a step in that direction." It's also a way for dispensers to save time on the turn around by eliminating the need to wrap up the frame and send it to the lab. They retain more control over the process, and can offer their patients a still-speedy alternative to the one-hour facilities. Many wholesale labs are supporting the move to remote tracing by financing (or helping to finance) tracers in their customers' offices.

THE NEW PRODUCTS

Here is a look at some of the recent introductions in the retail finishing category.

AIT Industries, makers of the Maxima and Optima patternless edging systems, has recently debuted its newest offering, Practica, comprised of the Practica Edger and the CNC 3D Tracer/Blocker. This edging system was designed specifically for low- to medium-volume retail lab operations on a budget. It has all the major features that allow practitioners to process all lens types and materials, but omits certain bells and whistles in order to fall in a lower price range.

AIT is also releasing a new tracer and edger combination that will work with the company's popular Speedy Blocker.

	The new Kappa SP from Gerber Coburn makes lens-to-frame fit precise

Briot now has two edger lines: The new Briot Axcell CL edging system (two machines) and the Accura all-in-one edger.

The new Briot Axcell CL offers totally automatic centering and blocking with a touch screen and new 5-D tracing. The Axcell CL automatically identifies the optical center and axis alignment for most single vision, bifocal, and progressive lenses. It reads lens power, detects the bifocal segment, and reads progressive lens markings automatically, eliminating the need to use a lensometer or mark the optical center manually.

The tracing aspect of the Axcell CL measures five frame dimensions including frame size, shape, curvature, thickness and the angle of the frame bevel. Frame and lens information from the tracer-blocker is transferred via built-in software to the system's edger, which completes finishing steps automatically.

The Briot Accura performs all finishing steps in one machine, eliminating the need for tracers, blockers, hand edgers, and groovers. This space-efficient system is available in three models, each designed for specific job volumes and varying levels of automation.

Weco has a complete line of edgers, tracers, blockers, and finishing components. It is offering the Weco 450 Drill and Edge, an edger with a built-in drill to handle those popular three-piece mounts. The drill positions up to four holes or slots with computer precision, and works for all plastic lens materials. The Weco 450 also edges materials and grooves and polishes in the same machine to speed up the finishing process.

The Practica Edger and CNC 3D Tracer Blocker from AIT Industries are the firm's latest offerings

Gerber Coburn has just released the Kappa SP, the latest edging system in its broad line of finishing products. The Kappa SP has all the features of its predecessor, the Kappa XL--all-material edging, edge polishing, three groove widths, six automatic and controlled bevel options--plus several new features.

Among those new features is a patented, soft pin beveling feature utilizing a flexible, soft cutting tool that enables pin beveling on very thin, high minus or plus curved lenses, and increases the processing range on small diameter lenses. The malleable features were designed to replicate the movement of hand beveling. It helps reduce lens handling, spoilage, or breakage while improving consistency and quality.

Existing customers of the Kappa system can purchase an SP upgrade kit.

National Optronics's 6E Patternless Edger is a three-axis, dry cutting edger that grooves, has multi-positional bevel placement, and has the ability to edge and polish all plastic, polycarbonate, and acrylic lens material, including Trivex material from PPG.

	The upgraded 6E Edger from National Optronics has a modem for remote servicing

National Optronics has updated the 6E to include a remote modem service capability. The 6E can now be equipped with a modem card that will allow the company's service technicians to access the edger remotely for diagnostic and service assistance. The modem is also used to update customer software fast and efficiently. Each 6E Edger is outfitted with the firm's special lens clamp for AR-coated lenses, and can interface fully to all major optical software programs or can be set up in stand-alone mode with its companion 4T Tracer.

Topcon is introducing its new Ultima 500 Lens Finishing System, featuring all-material edging, a large color LCD screen, 3D frame tracing, safety beveling, safety beveling polishing, grooving, and Diamond Luster™ polishing. The Windows-formatted operating system allows for easy processing of all materials, including high index lenses. The optional DS-5000 Integrated Blocker automatically displays the correct blocking position for all types of lenses. The system is fast, versatile, compact, and easy to use, company reps say.

Santinelli International is combining two of its products to make one complete finishing system. Its LE-9000 features automatic beveling and grooving, all-material edging, and a variety of edging speeds. Remote communication is possible through the use of the LT-900SX Tracer and IntelliTrace™ software. The LE-9000 can be combined with the new ICE-2000, a combination lensometer/blocker. It automatically recognizes the position of the optical center and 180-degree axis of the lens, and communicates that information to the edger to determine the blocking point. Santinelli is currently offering a trade-in program for owners of the LE-7070 3D Fit patternless edger who wish to upgrade to the LE-9000.

	The new Ultima System 5000 finishing system from Topcon

Not interested in installing a traditional retail finishing lab? You have options here, too.

SuperSystems Optical Technologies has a line of edging equipment, but it also offers SuperFast Grind 2200, which allows practitioners to economically surface lenses to prescription. The lenses are ready for edging in less than 12 minutes.

Optical Dynamics Corporation offers a unique lens fabrication system called the Q-2100. It is computer-controlled and can create single and multi-focal lenses, including aspheric and photochromic designs. Optical Dynamics has a larger system for chains and high-output labs, as well as a smaller version designed for in-office use.

With so many advances coming down the pike regularly, in-office finishing is providing a way for practitioners to compete with the one-hour facilities, provide their patients with quality lens products, and recognize revenue savings thanks to a reduced (or eliminated) wholesale lab bill.

If these offerings sound like a recipe for your dispensary's success, start investigating what system is right for you now!