Proper preparation, cleaning and hardcoat are essential to successful AR coating.

Materials and Equipment

• Latex disposable gloves (powder/lint-free)
• Lens rings
• Ring spreader

Instructions

NOTE: Always wear latex gloves when handling lenses.

CAUTION: Be careful when placing the lens in the rings. Racking requires practice and patience. Be sure lenses are well centered to avoid holder scratches which could result in breakage.

Racking

1. Using the lens spreader, place lenses in the spring rings.
   1. Rings should be inspected for fitness prior to using.
      1. Uncut lenses 71mm or smaller – use 81mm ring, 3-prong
      2. Uncut lenses larger than 71mm – use 90mm ring.
   2. Place lenses into the baskets:
      1. Work from back to front.
      2. Pair: place side to side.
      3. Half pair: locate in front of basket.
   3. Forward loaded basket to ultrasonic washer or dip hardcoater.

Processing Workloads

1. Place basket with lenses in from of START SENSOR.
2. Select appropriate process, start.
3. Once basket is placed into vessel 1, visually check to make sure no lenses have fallen.
4. Remove workloads that are placed on the unload position by the robot. An alarm will sound if work has not been removed from unload position before the robot is ready to place the new workload there.
5. Visually check to make sure all lenses are still in the basket prior to removing from the washer.
6. Verify that lenses have been cleaned/coated thoroughly.
7. Visually inspect lenses per acceptance standards as required.

Upon Completion of the Wash/Coat Process

1. Inspect lenses for cleanliness.
2. Forward baskets to degas or cure oven.
   1. Degas ultrasonic-cleaned lenses for 1 hour at 55ºC.
   2. Cure dip hardcoated lenses for 3 hours at 110ºC.
3. Forward to flow booth for pre-AR inspection.

Troubleshooting

When process i not performed properly:

1. Lenses may show pits upon final inspection. Verify:
   1. Cleanliness of surfaces
   2. Proper inspection and cleaning
   3. Age of ultrasonic chemicals (change if needed)
   4. Age of hardcoat (change if needed)
2. Lenses may have smudges or fingerprints: Verify:
   1. Fresh latex gloves are being used
   2. Adequate inspection lighting
   3. Proper pre-inspection (retraining required)
3. Lenses may have ring scratches. Verify:
   1. Proper ring load and loading
4. Coating may exhibit signs of adhesion loss. Verify:
   1. Proper soap concentrations (pH levels)
   2. Lenses are spending full time curing/degassing
5. Coating may have voids (tiny spots of missing AR coating). Verify:
   1. Proper inspection and cleaning/hardcoating
   2. Chamber cleanliness (AR coater)
6. Jobs may be returned to incorrect tray. Verify:
   1. Proper job tracking (retrain)
   2. Proper loading and unloading
   3. Lenses not lost in ultrasonic/coating systems