ASIDE FROM THE cost involved, there are many benefits to having your own lab in-house with surfacing and/or finishing equipment. You can source the lenses you want, control the end product, and even provide patients with same day service. According to The Vision Council’s COVID-19 ECP Study (conducted last August and September) 45% of ECPs own finishing equipment and 8% have surfacing equipment in-house. If you decide to surface or finish lenses in-house, there are a host of products to choose from and manufacturers are upgrading constantly. Coburn’s HPE-910 EXXPERT Express Lens Edger is new to the market and is 50% faster than previous models. It can edge a lens in 80 seconds. At VEE, MEI debuted the 4RacerTBA Swift, enriched with new features, which can edge eight prescription lenses simultaneously.
Luneau Technology USA
Briot Attitude II patternless edger is equipped with step bevel finishing.
(800) 729-1959, luneautech.com
MEI System
4RacerTBA Swift can edge up to 200 lenses an hour, processing eight lenses at the same time.
(630) 521 8588, meisystem.com
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Schneider Optical Machines
Nano Line for digital surfacing operations for retailers and small labs that want to produce their own lenses.
(972) 247-4000, schneider-om.com
Coburn Technologies
EXXPERT Finishing System includes the HPE-910 EXXPERT Express Lens Edger, HAB-8000X Automatic Tracer/Blocker and HDM-8000 Drill.
(800) 262-8761, coburntechnologies.com
Optek International
Oasis MAX Surfacing System is a complete, fully computerized surfacing lab system.
(727) 522-2301, optekinternational.com
DAC Technologies
National Optronics’ 7Ex edger to drill, groove and process all bevel types.
(800) 800-1550, dactechnologies.com
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Santinelli International
ME-1500 Lens Edger and ICE-1 Intelligent Blocker
(800) 644-3343, santinelli.com
Essilor Instruments USA
Pro-E 700 edging system
(855) 393-4647, essilorinstrumentsusa.com
Satisloh
VFT-macro generator is a manual, Rx free-form lens generator for low to mid volume production.
(800) 866-5640, satisloh.com
Smart Ways to Use Lab Equipment
Dipen PatelPearle Vision, Highland Village, TX
When we first got a Briot Emotion edger in 2013 my son was 8. I was busy helping patients, so tech support trained him on how to use it. Afterwards they shot a video of him using it to demonstrate to potential customers how intuitive it was! Now we’re on our third Briot edger, the Attitude II. We order uncut lenses and in-house we edge single vision, progressive and bifocal lenses in poly, high index and Trivex, for faster turnaround. On stock lenses, we can fill the Rx same day, otherwise two to five days. We do 40-70 jobs a week at about a minute per lens. Briot’s Attitude II allows us to do step bevel for wrap frames, mixed bevel, Chemistrie clip-ons, drill mounts and custom shapes. Comparing edgers it was the best value. Luneau’s technical support team are very efficient.
Pierce VoorthuisGeorgetown Optician, Washington, DC
We’ve been doing onsite lab work since 1978. We do all our own edging, tinting and frame modifications. We source our own lenses and stock single vision lenses, so we can fill orders same day. For patients who select a new frame, we make up the order and call them when it’s ready; or we update the lens in their own frame, cutting it as they wait. In-house lab work means quality, speed and knowledge of specialty frames. We’re familiar with every collection we sell and can make it perfectly. We’ve upgraded to Santinelli’s line of edgers with their newest blocker, ICE-1 and the ME-1500 edger, and they’re working perfectly. We do about 70 jobs a day across two locations. The new machines allow onsite drilling, grooving and facets in rimless orders so we can mix and match.