Any Way YOU Want It
By Susan P. Tarrant
Customization and flexibility are the names of the game now, as in-house finishing equipment takes on a ‘can do’ attitude
You could say it started with Burger King’s “special orders don’t upset us.” Successful business models always emphasize the customer, and that’s nothing new in optical. New lens designs are focusing on the individual’s visual needs, and the lens processing equipment has kept pace with ever-advancing lens and frame technologies. And as the manufacturers of in-house edging equipment continue to serve their customers (the ECPs), new engineering and technologies have been joined by a sense of flexibility and customization. The end result, for the ECP who wants to create an edging lab, is that there is a machine for his or her specific needs.
Today’s retail finishing equipment is fast. It is accurate. It is affordable. And it is compact enough to fit in a back room easily. And it is adaptable to specific needs.
The following are some trends emerging from the category.
■ UP OR DOWN. Some customers may want all the bells and whistles an edger has to offer. Others may seek fewer, but still want the manufacturer’s key features with a smaller price point. Many units are being redesigned as either a downscaled version of a predecessor or as a newer version with added features.
■ MIX AND MATCH. Some companies offer several options of blockers, tracers, edgers, and drilling units in the same line—some with lots of features, some with less, and all with varying price tags— that are all modular in design. This allows ECPs to pick and choose which units serve their needs the best, and match them accordingly.
■ CUSTOM-POWERED. Many edgers are being produced with the ability to create custom lens shapes and embellishments like etching, edge-cuts, and embedded gems.
The following are some recent product releases for inhouse finishing labs, each of which plays a role in serving an ECP’s individual edging needs.
1 WECO EDGE 680 AIT Industries
Called “your lab’s best friend” by the company, the Edge 680 is capable of handling challenging frames and slick lenses. Designed to handle cutting-edge eyewear designs, it will work in combination with any AIT Tracer/Blocker system, including the Combimax or CNC 3D from an Indo system.
Features include a grinding wheel for beveling all materials; automatic polishing of CR-39, high-index, Trivex, and polycarbonate materials; and continuous 3D mapping. It also features integrated drilling, wrap frame processing, and is capable of adjustable grooving angles of zero through 30 degrees through automatic, guided, manual, and flat bevel programs. The Edge 680 is also capable of processing the Chemistrie magnetic lens clips.
INFO: aitindustries.com
The WECO Edge 680 from AIT Industries
2 EMOTION EDGER Briot USA
The Emotion edger has a sleek, all-in-one design and state-of-the-art technical features that, combined with its user-friendly touch screen, make it suitable for all operator levels, including beginner.
The unit features easy, ergonomic blocking and an updated, multi-axis tracer. The edger handles all materials and has a specific edging cycle for superhydrophobic coatings.
Its customization zone features Digiform lens shape modification software that allows for customized shapes and grooves, while its drilling zone features angled drilling and the ability to produce holes (up to 20 per lens) and notches in diameters from 1mm to 6mm.
INFO: briotusa.com
The Emotion Edger from Briot USA
| USE IT OR LOSE IT |
|---|
|
If you’ve been considering investing in or upgrading retail finishing equipment—or considering purchasing any kind of equipment for your practice—here is some financial food for thought. Beginning January 1, 2013, the maximum tax write-off allowed businesses for equipment purchases will decrease from the current $139,000 to just $25,000. According to Lisa Hartley, vice president of Univest Capital, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Univest Bank and Trust Co., this change could have a significant impact on the effective after-tax cost of equipment purchased (or leased) this year versus equipment purchased after January 1. Section 179 of the U.S. Tax Code allows businesses to deduct the full price of certain capital equipment purchases, rather than spreading the deduction out over the useful life of the equipment. In order to aid the lagging economy, several legislative acts raised that maximum deduction significantly. As the timeframe for the actions have elapsed, the allowed deduction is being decreased to $25,000. WHAT IT MEANS FOR ECPs Consider the following example, provided by Univest Capital, for an equipment purchase of $50,000 (and an assumed tax bracket of 35 percent). 2012 Section 179 Deduction allowed $50,000 2013 Section 179 Deduction allowed $25,000 It should be standard procedure to consult your financial advisor or accountant before undertaking any capital investment or upgrade in equipment. Your individual situation and the type of equipment will determine the specific tax implications. But the bottom line is you might want to pull the trigger on that planned purchase sooner rather than later! |
3 EXXPERT FINISHING SYSTEM Coburn Technologies
Working off the success of its previous finishing system, Excelon, Coburn Technologies has added new features and functionality for its latest release, Exxpert. The system offers the largest selection of specialized and common bevel options in its class, and includes highspeed milling, drilling, real-time lens analysis, precise bevel adjustment, high-quality polish, and all the best features of the Excelon system.
The series consists of the Exxpert 8000 edger, automatic tracer/blocker or separate Exxpert tracer and Smart blocker, and optional drilling unit. Both the Exxpert and Excelon series of products are compatible with each other (with a few exceptions), allowing ECPs to mix and match to create more than 15 possible system configurations to find their perfect balance of performance and price to meet their lab needs.
INFO: coburntechnologies.com
Coburn Technologies’ Exxpert Finishing System
4 TRIPLETS Essilor Instruments of America
It’s called Triplets, but it’s really more like septuplets—and the family is growing. Essilor Instruments’ popular Triplets line of finishing equipment offers edgers named Jess, Jessie, and Jess D; blockers named Bess and Iness; and tracers named Tess and eTess.
The attractive, modular range of finishing products offers ECPs the possibility of putting together their ideal equipment grouping for their individual needs and to modify it according to business changes or new trends. Each of the units is compatible with the others, providing a true mix-and-match dynamic with flexibility on features, capabilities, and pricepoints.
The latest additions to the Triplets line include Iness, which features a parallaxfree optical system for maximum accuracy, a large touchscreen, and a 500-job database that is expandable to 1,000 jobs; and Jess D, a digital edger that has all of the features of the existing Jessie and Jess edgers, plus tilted integrated drilling.
INFO: essilorinstrumentsusa.com
The Triplets Finishing System from Essilor Instruments of America
X SERIES
5 National Optronics
Earlier this year, the company launched its new X finishing series, which was based on its popular 7E HLP, 3B, and 4Ti finishing units but boasts a more compact, sleek, and modern design. The new edging, blocking, and tracing units, called 7Ex, 3Bx, and 4Tx, improve on the features and capabilities of its predecessors. The X Series now provides several new features, including advanced tracing algorithms on the 4Tx that further improve shape accuracy. The 3Bx has refined blocking optics for high power lenses as well as batch job processing for increased productivity. The 7Ex is now equipped with a new drilling and grooving technique that prevents unnecessary tool changes between processes. A new finishing tool in the unit produces a superior edge quality finish for both polished and non-polished lenses.
INFO: nationaloptronics.com
X Finishing Series from National Optronics
6 THE SHAPE Optek
Scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2013, the Shape lens finishing center combines the latest in multi-axis machining and software technology to deliver advanced edge processing capability at an affordable price point. This all-in-one, freestanding finishing center puts customization at the forefront.
The Shape’s freeEDGE software allows operators to easily create high-end design features such as free-form edges, engravings, and a digitized trace system for importing existing artwork. Designs can be mirrored, scaled, rotated, and repeated to best fit the frame shape, and can be stored for use again later.
Straight and angled edge functions can produce a multitude of grooves and bevels, and its drilling function can produce a plethora of holes, slots, notches, and countersunk jewel holes.
INFO: optek-online.com
Optek’s The Shape edger
Me 900 EDGER
7 Santinelli International
In 2010, Santinelli’s Me 1200 Multifunction Edger won the SILMO d’Or Award, recognizing innovation and technology. To bring much of its capabilities to as many ECPs as possible, the company launched its “younger brother,” the Me 900 this year. The Me 900 is a streamlined, simplified, and more economical version of the Me 1200. The Me 900 features the same 3-D drilling, 3-D grooving, high-precision safety beveling as its predecessor, and adds a radius measurement unit (RMU) to ensure proper cut-out and orientation of the lens for faster processing speed. All of the Me 1200’s popular Advanced Shape Editor functions are also featured in the Me 900, allowing for customized lens shapes and designs.
Like all Santinelli drilling models, the Me 900 is available with the optional Click Mode software for processing the Chemistrie magnetic layered lens system, providing an additional profit-generating function. The edger provides much of the same technology and all of the quality of the Me 1200, but at a more economical cost-of-ownership level.
Santinelli International’s Me 900 EDGER
INFO: 800-644-3343, santinelli.com EB
![]({"src":"/media/pwefdbcx/122012.jpg","focalPoint":null,"crops":[{"alias":"thumbnail","width":1110,"height":700,"coordinates":null}]})