Clearly…A Whole New World

This OLA-sponsored virtual roundtable addresses how to make the most of today's AR technology

By Alex Yoho, ABOM

Anti-reflective technology has reached new heights. In this OLA-sponsored roundtable we'll explore just what's going on these days and how ECPs can make the most of this wonderful eyewear feature.

The following lab representatives provided contributions to the discussion: Don Hampton, Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Dale Parmenteri, Balester Optical Company, Inc., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Jon Jacobs, Superior Optical, Ocean Springs, Miss.; Larry Rudolph, Index 53 Optical, St. Cloud, Minn.; Jerry Haigh, J&J Optical. Paradise, Calif.; Bob Lommerse, Toledo Optical Laboratory, Inc., Toledo, Ohio; Kevin Bargman, Hawkins Optical, Topeka, Kan.; Kim Scheidler, Sutherlin Optical, Kansas City, Mo.; Jeff Hopkins, Carl Zeiss Vision, Inc., San Diego, Calif.

MAINTENANCE

Q What does it take to keep your AR equipment up and running?

RUDOLPH: Keeping the machines clean takes several hours. Depending on what item fails, the cost could run up to $30,000. These are considered wear items. Yearly maintenance is about $5,000.

BARGMAN: We have schedules for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual maintenance. Certified technicians fly in for the larger maintenance times since these require a higher degree of technical experience.

SCHEIDLER: AR has the longest hours in our lab, running from six in the morning until midnight or one A.M. many days. Our facility itself requires constant attention to temperature, humidity, and cleanliness.

It takes three hours for AR equipment cleanup, with staff wearing respirators and safety gear while using hydrochloric acid to remove residual coating from the jar over our AR unit, then removing all the metal parts and sand blasting them free of accumulated coating.

HOPKINS: All AR tooling and chambers must be cleaned using materials that are themselves free of contaminants such as water, oil, or particulates. The quality of the coating also depends on the integrity of the vacuum in the coating chamber. This requires regular leak checks and lubrication of vacuum seals.

In addition, AR equipment and parts must be routinely serviced and replaced as necessary, including e-gun cathode assemblies, ion guns, high-vacuum gauges, and Meissnertrap refrigerant units.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Q How do you troubleshoot jobs and what are the challenges?

Hampton: Wholesale labs not utilizing a thermal dip hard coating should be monitoring very closely the backside hard coat they're applying. Lenses should be sent with a high level of frequency for proper and thorough testing.

JACOBS: Inspecting lenses before they get into the AR room, and making sure internal processes are correct and followed.

RUDOLPH: One challenge: Trying to match the base curve prescription for a frame could flex out and craze AR.

HAIGH: Staying abreast of new lens materials and coatings is important. A close relationship with your AR equipment manufacturer allows you to be prepared for updated processing requirements before lenses enter the production stream.

LOMMERSE: One [challenge] is CR39 lenses with UV protection that's been added through UV dying. This can lead to crazing of the AR stack down the road. Instead, we would suggest materials such as polycarbonate or high index that inherently provide this protection.

Correctly applied AR leads to patient satisfaction. Image courtesy of Carl Zeiss Vision

Fixed tints or dyes can also be problematic. The clean line washes out some of the color, requiring the lab technician dying the lenses to make allowances. Matches for one lens replacement or "exact" sample matching are also difficult to guarantee.

BARGMAN: AR can only be applied to a scratch-coated lens.

Unfortunately, some types of lenses are not available with a factory hard coat. In those cases, we can only put AR on the backside of the lenses.

SCHEIDLER: Our customer service reps are our first line of defense, making sure incompatible coatings don't get into production. We call in cases like this, make appropriate recommendations, and try to keep all records up to date with changes made.

Good record keeping is everyone's friend in case of Rx changes at a later date.

HOPKINS: It's important to remember that any defect on an AR-coated lens—such as scratches, surfacing swirls or pits—will be far more obvious than they would be on a noncoated lens where reflections make flaws harder to see.

SUPPLIERS

Q What role do AR equipment/supply manufacturers play?

Hampton: It's been slow in coming, but there has been new competition lately in consumables to help drive down the costs of some chemicals used in processing non-glare lenses.

PARMENTERI: The AR manufacturers deal in larger environments and are able to test and develop better future technologies as a result.

LOMMERSE: Suppliers can help by continuing to work on processes and equipment that push the envelope. You begin to reach a point of diminishing return on R & D on an already very good product, but today's consumer is always looking for "bigger and better."

BARGMAN: They continue to develop new equipment and coatings that improve the overall performance of the product and smaller space requirements for the process to be done.

Understanding current challenges and costs help shed light on the value of today's AR coatings.

OLA labs are working hard to provide the very best in AR as well as other innovations. To find an OLA lab you can partner with, check out www.ola-labs.org. EB