The production of prescription lenses for eyeglasses has been a very interesting sector with a high level of automation for several years. The process is now well established: the order arrives directly from the points of sale to the factory, the semi-finished lenses are already available in stock based on the gradation and are placed on SKUs, in this specific case plastic trays identified with a bar code unique to the customer.
The tray will accompany the lenses for all subsequent processing steps: blocking, generation, polishing and engraving, unlocking and cleaning, tinting, coating and quality control. The terminal part, that is the assembly is usually performed directly by the optician, but there are some laboratories that also perform this step.
Cobot assembly
Linee pallet
All transfers from one machine to another are usually performed on table top conveyos. Each phase of the process has its own workcycle time and it is therefore necessary to prepare accumulation systems or parking areas. In larger industrial plants, processing machines are connected in line, but some plants are still located in city buildings, with production arranged on several floors. The lines must thus be completed with special elevators and descenders able to be installed in extremely confined spaces.