K
Optical was
recently featured in OLP
magazine and TotallyOptical.com
regarding their
recent equipment upgrades to their Surfacing
department. They are recognized for working with
Coburn to become the first US
install of
their new technology.
K
Optical also
has upgraded their Finishing department with
several new technologies including milling of
Super Hydrophobic AR lenses.
Gerber Coburn (now Coburn Technologies) began developing the E2G Blocker when free-form lens processing was just getting started, according to Brey. Stronger, faster generating systems were becoming more popular, and they required a stronger, less elastic blocking adhesive material. The alternative at the time would have been alloy. Given the growing trend of regulatory agency concern over the use of alloy in the U.S. and EU, the company instead looked to develop something new, OnyxBond™.
“OnyxBond is a surface blocking material proprietary to Coburn Technologies,” said Brey. “It’s completely environmentally friendly and far stronger than any other thermal plastic products we’ve worked with. Some components of OnyxBond are actually FDA approved coming from the dental industry. OnyxBond provides an extremely rigid surface, and the E2G offers the most accurate possible lens alignment. Better lens alignment in surface blocking directly correlates to reduced lens breakage. If you line up the lens wrong, you have a problem from the start of the process.”
Plus, like alloy, OnyxBond is completely compatible with anti-reflective coating processes—unlike some thermal plastic and wax products.
E2G and OnyxBond offer a fast and inexpensive reclaim and cleanup process, according to the company. “A lot of time, money, and waste go into reclaim,” said Brey. “We’ve designed a process that eliminates labor, cost, and waste.”
After use, the OnyxBond material is placed back into the blocker where it is re-melted and reused.