Contact Lens-

Manufacturing

Greeshma . G
For Ease Of Manufacturing
The contact lens material should be,
Be homogeneous
Have consistent mechanical properties
Be stress-free and dimensionally stable
Be durable and resist local heating
Be easy to polish
Have predictable hydration characteristics
Lens Materials
Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses Soft Lenses

PHEMA (polyhydroxyethyl
methacrylate)
Cellulose Acetate Butyrate
PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone)
Siloxane Acrylates
MA (methacrylic acid)
t-Butyl Styrene
MMA (methyl methacrylate)
Fluro siloxane acrylates
GMA (glyceryl methacrylate)
perfluroethers
DAA (diacetone acrylamide)
PVA (polyvinyl alcohol)
Methods of manufacturing
Cast Molding
Lathing
Spin Casting
Reverse Process III (RP III)
 Lathing
Advantages Disadvantages
Complex designs difficult
Established technology
Labor intensive
Simple
High cost per lens
Wide range of parameters
Variable surface finish
Suits most materials
Relatively slow
Relatively economic to
Volume production
start production
difficult
Cast molding
Monomers are mixed and poured into a mold
Tightly controlled temperatures
Lens material is heated or cured to produce a mobile phase
Liquid monomer is injected into

front mold ( female mold)

Back mold is clamped (male

mold)
UV light- polymerization
Molding
Advantages Disadvantages
Low cost per lens Expensive to start
production
Rapid
Expense limits parameter
Volume production easy
range
Good surface quality
Not all materials suitable
Good reproducibility
Essentially for stock
Complex designs possible
lenses only
 Spin-casting
Developed by Otto Wichterle
Concave mold- monomer

solution, cross linking agent and initiator

An open backed mold is spun as a small centrifuge
Shaping of the lens during spinning
Mold defines the front surface of the lens
Rotational velocity, surface tension and gravity combine to
define the back surface.
Lens obtained in swollen state
Advantages
Accurate reproducibility
Precision molds
Controlled spin speed
Generates free formed fluid surface
Consistent, homogenous and thoroughly cross-linked polymer
Surface and interstitial imperfections are least
Reverse process III
Combination of Spin cast & Lathe cut
Spin-casting the front surface and body
Lathing the back surface
Eg : Otima 38 , Soft lens 38
Molding/Lathing combination
Molding the back surface and body of the lens
Lathing the front surface.
Quality Assurance
Preliminary lens assessment dry state and wet
state
BOZR
BVP
Optical quality
Centre thickness
Edge integrity
Overall quality
Bifocals
Lathing
Molding single or double-sided or
spin-casting
Spin-casting or lathing combination
Molding or lathing combination