PSI’s new pads eliminate damage and slipping while edging today’s advanced lenses. Randall L. Smith, MEd, ABOM
SecurEdge Plus pads incorporate a dual, high-performance adhesive system to securely hold lenses during edging.
Anti-reflective (AR) treatments for ophthalmic lenses have seen a number of significant advances since 1936 when Carl Zeiss patented the first single-layer AR lenses. For example, today’s advanced multi-layer treatments enable wearers to see clearer with minimal cleaning. For all their innovations, there is still a downside—these lenses are challenging to fabricate. To solve this, Practical Systems Inc. (PSI) introduced its new SecurEdge® Plus blocking pads.
OOPS The latest AR lenses incorporate a hydrophobic or super-hydrophobic outer treatment. This treatment repels water, dirt, and fingerprints, which means it also has a tendency to repel standard blocking pads. This can cause slippage, resulting in lenses being edged off-axis or even breaking during edging. It can be a costly error when working with today’s premium lenses and treatments that often carry a hefty price tag.
Responding to industry demand for an advanced edging pad, PSI worked with St. Gobain Performance Plastic to develop the SecurEdge Plus. Based on the proven design of the successful SecurEdge technology, this new product is designed specifically to bond to AR, hydrophobic, and oleophobic lens surfaces.
SPOT ON LENSES While all lenses do not have hydrophobic or superhydrophobic treatments, most are hardcoated or have some other surface treatment like a gradient or opaque mirror. Even if a lens doesn’t have a coating on it, its design may have cost a ton of dough, which means you’d like to protect your investment from scratching and marring during the fabrication process. That’s what Practical Systems Inc.’s (PSI) LenSaver Dots are all about. They protect premium uncut lenses during fabrication. LenSaver Dots are designed to be used on both the front and backside of a lens in order to prevent possible damage from the edger chuck and inhibit slipping and scratching during finishing and deblocking. The dots are made of a transparent film so layout markings are easily visible underneath. Like the SecurEdge® Plus pads, they are double tabbed for quick and easy removal.
MAKE IT STICK To help securely hold lenses during edging, SecurEdge Plus pads incorporate a dual, high-performance adhesive system. On one side of the pad is an adhesive engineered to adhere to the slick lens treatments without slipping. On the other side, a different adhesive is designed to hold securely to the block. The pads are created with a soft foam surface that conforms to any lens front curve while protecting the lens. They are also double-tabbed for easy removal.
PSI offers SecurEdge Plus in 10 configurations to fit most edger blocks including those from AIT Industries, SemiTech, WECO, Gamma/Kappa, and NIDEK Inc.
A WORD OF CAUTION The SecurEdge Plus should not be used on lenses that don’t have a hardcoating or those without an AR treatment because it may be difficult to remove the pad from the lens surface after edging.
In a lab world fraught with processes and activities that can damage expensive lenses, it’s nice to know that PSI has got you covered…literally.
Randall L. Smith is the Opticianry Program Director at Baker College in Jackson, MI.
WHERE TO FIND IT Practical Systems Inc. (PSI) 800-237-8154 • looktopsi.com
