How to Make a 1.5 Diopter Lens

Spectacle lenses are made from thick chunks of plastic or glass. Opticians and lab technicians are trained to use special optical tools and machines to make lenses for glasses. The process is called surfacing or grinding. Eye doctors specify glasses prescriptions in powers, called diopters. Opticians make the lenses according to the doctor's prescription. A 1.50 diopter lens is made in several steps in a surfacing machine.

Instructions

Surfacing a 1.50 Diopter Lens

• 1

  Prep the lens blank with a thin film of plastic to protect the lens from heat, scratching and to increase adhesion between the lens and the block. The block holds the lens in place during surfacing.

• 2

  Attach the block to the lens blank. This is done using a metal alloy or melted lead to stick the block to the lens and hold the lens in place during surfacing.

• 3

  Enter the required specifications for the 1.50 diopter lens into the computer. Each manufacturer's surfacing machine has its own unique software and format. If you are unfamiliar with the data entering procedure, refer to the surfacing machine manual.

• 4

  Place the blocked lens blank in the chuck, the part of the surfacing machine that holds the blank during the cutting process. Close the glass door and press start.

• 5

  Observe the cutting process through the glass door. You can watch the cutting tool shaping the lens blank into the 1.50 diopter lens and verify the water nozzle is spraying water continuously on the blank during the process, which lasts less than a minute.

• 6

  Remove the lens from the surfacing machine. Detach the block by separating the paper from the lens. Use a lensometer, a machine that reads lens prescriptions in diopters, to verify the 1.50 power is correct.