As someone who has worn glasses all her life, I’m for any method that makes obtaining frames faster, and potentially less expensive.

From initial design concept to display on the store shelf, a new eyeglass-frame design can take up to 18 months with traditional development techniques. Large eyewear manufacturers may create up to 150 new frame designs weekly (or thousands of new frames per year). Shrinking that development time to eight weeks or less is a game-changer.

Customers of the Stratasys VeroFlex Rapid Prototyping Eyewear Solution say this is what is possible with the new system.

The new solution combines Stratasys’ J750 Multi-color, Multi-material 3D Printer with, VeroFlex, a new specially formulated 3D printing material for eyewear rapid prototyping needs.

VeroFlex offers a unique combination of stiffness and flexibility, essential for a range of prototyping requirements. From initial concept iterations to complex multi-color and advanced texture models, to precise functional models for performance testing, VeroFlex offers a more durable and flexible material for demanding internal tests prior to tooling and production. This provides eyewear manufacturers the ability to deliver products over a year faster and lead with the latest market trends, while improving salability of its products.

“The eyewear market continues to expand, driven by new technologies, demand for customization and growing addressable markets,” says Mike Vasquez, founder and CEO at the digital manufacturing consultancy, 3Degrees. “As the industry seeks to maximize its opportunity, Stratasys’ prototyping solutions for frames and eyewear accessories — which can cut time-to-market by upwards of 80% — will be an attractive solution that is able to deliver immediate value for users looking to make parts with a high degree of mechanical function and appearance.”

For functional performance testing, the Stratasys VeroFlex material stands up to key eyewear-maker evaluation, including drop tests, lens-mounting, stress tests and wearability tests.

When used for design verification, the Stratasys VeroFlex material offers ultimate realism enabled by combining six new VeroFlex materials (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, White, Black, and Clear), and the ability to create and mix solid, opaque, transparent and color shades in addition to simulating true-to-life textures such as wood grains, leather, stitching, bone, carbon-fiber, and photo-realistic images.

Stratasys Ltd
www.stratasys.com