Special eyewear requires specialized tools

The perfect production of spectacles by IC! Berlin is a matter of microns.

The fact that ic! Berlin wants to make exceptional products becomes obvious at the very first glance: this innovative company designs, develops and produces eyewear that is impressive because of its ingeniously simple, screwless hinge system and extravagant appearance. Glasses by ic! Berlin are not mass-market goods, but premium products for the discerning customer. However, these ambitious criteria also present challenges in production: the perfect processing of lenses and frames is measured in microns with absolutely no margin of error. At the same time, the materials that have to be machined under these conditions are especially high-value plastics and acrylic. “The required specialized know-how about the production of eyewear is only availabe from a very few tool manufacturers worldwide,” explains Michael Rechtziegler, technical consultant at LMT Tool Systems. LMT Belin, the French company based in Lavancia, is one of these manufacturers. Just under 50 years ago, Yvon Belin first began concentrating on the special needs of the glasses manufacturers based in “Plastic Valley” around Oyonnax in the French Jura Mountains. Then as now, the goal was to enable customers to realize new quality standards with the aid of specialized high-precision solid carbide tools. “LMT Belin has maintained the necessary key expertise,” says Rechtziegler.

Special expertise for special industries

Machining only plays a minor role today in the high-volume production of spectacle frames. Modern injection moulding techniques allow near net shape manufacturing. Only manufacturers of prototypes and premium eyewear with high levels of design diversity still rely on the conventional mechanical machining of components. LMT Belin developed form and router milling cutters for ic! Berlin especially designed for eyewear production. This example also illustrates the LMT Group philosophy, as Martin Danielczick, manager of the Segment Composites and Plastics at LMT Tool Systems, makes clear: “When industry specialists focus on the machining of composites and plastics, it usually involves machining jobs in the automotive, aerospace or wind power industries. They also play a major role at LMT. As a multiple specialist, however, we are also active in other sectors – and then with special expertise. The glasses industry benefits from that.”

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