Hands On - Eye On Equipment
Edger Upgrades
by Susan P. Tarrant

You'd like your edger to be faster. And you've found yourself selling many more Trivex lenses than you used to--too bad that edger doesn't have a Trivex button.

Maybe you'd like to try remote tracing to quicken your lab turnaround. But you just bought your edging system a few years ago, and you can't seem to justify the cost of a whole new one. Upgrading your existing equipment is an exciting and easy way to turn the edging system you have into the edging system you want it to be.

Often, all it takes is an honest conversation with your equipment rep and the desire to be more productive but spend less money.

Upgrades can expand the scope of a system's capabilities. Shown: Briot-Weco's Axcell 300

UPGRADES, DEFINED

Some eyecare practitioners may think of upgrades as costly mechanical retrofits that still don't do all of what they're supposed to do. But today's rapidly changing technology can change the scope of a system's capabilities as easily as downloading some software and making some minor adjustments, our experts in the field say.

Software enhancements, the most common and economically feasible of the upgrades, can increase the workload of an existing system. These extras can add the ability to process additional materials, thus increasing the speed of operations and the efficiency of mapping both the lens and frame. They can also handle the introduction of water into the edging process and increase the machine's intelligence (its database and memory).

"Upgrading or enhancing a system is a way to spend less money, which is important at a time when the market is slow," says Jay Cohen, director of professional sales for Gerber Coburn. "Software enhancements are a way to increase the capabilities and add features without having to invest in a new system.

"Almost every day, somebody's coming out with a new lens style, a new lens material. And (equipment vendors') customers demand that their machines be able to handle those changes," Cohen says.

For example, the wheels on an existing edger might not be set up to handle a new design or material efficiently. An upgrade could include some new software and a service call to install a new wheel.

One of the most common software enhancements and the biggest advantage to buying an upgrade, says Thomas Fefer, ABOC, FNAO, western U.S. sales manager for Santinelli International, is to increase the speed of operation. A faster machine means higher productivity for the day, or the ability to meet those requests for one-hour turn around.

Another reason to upgrade is to increase the machine's ability to process specific lens materials. In an older machine, for example, the "plastic" setting will edge a high-index lens as if it were CR 39, often resulting in the need for additional touch-ups at the end.

"Time is money," Fefer says. "The more you have to handle a lens, the more money you're wasting. With an upgrade that allows for the distinction between CR 39 and high index, ECPs have a way of producing a higher quality lens without a lot of additional handling."

Other software enhancements can help an older patternless edger handle the popular small "B" measurements, says Lisa Smith, national sales manager for National Optronics. Software now exists that can make an edger previously limited to a 25mm "B" measurement capable of getting to a 19mm or smaller, she explains.

Some ECPs may opt to buy equipment without a lot of bells and whistles, with plans to add some of those features at a later date, notes Tim Aiken, vice president of sales and marketing for Briot-Weco USA. In that case, it's important to make sure the edger is capable of expanding down the line. Does it have a port to add a second edger or to add a remote tracer?

Consider separate components instead of an all-in-one system, says Matt Vulich, vice president of sales for AIT Industries. "If you go with an all-in-one concept, you have to buy a new system if it gets too expensive to fix a component. If you have your tracer and blocker separate from the edger, you might only need to upgrade one of them."

THE RIGHT TIME

But how do you know when to upgrade and what's available? It all comes down to the importance of keeping a relationship with your equipment vendor.

"I can't stress enough the importance of an honest relationship between the rep and the customer," says Smith. "The more I know about you, your business, and your needs, the better I can work with you."

A rep can also work with the ECP to determine if adding a smaller machine, such as a remote tracer, might serve the business' needs as an upgrade.

Gerber Coburn's Cohen adds, "Sales reps should always be looking for ways to enhance your business and save you money."

Aiken of Briot-Weco USA says that knowing when it's time to upgrade is easy: "It's when your needs change, when you're doing more high-index or rimless, for example. Ask your rep what's available to help you."