Sample Lens Chucks
Maker and role
HirstLens NZ Ltd
Production date
1950s
1960s
See full details
Object detail
Accession number
2018.1.7
Maker
Description
A small rectangular blue box with a gold border and with an eye logo in the right corner. On the base of the box printed in gold text is “new Transkit / Smith & Nephew Pharmaceuticals Ltd / Welwyn Garden City Herts. England. / 0403007 TN2”. Inside the lid is a white sticker with a gold border with “Name” and “Address” printed on it. Handwritten on the label is “HIRSTLENS / BOX 6142 AK. / SAMPLE CHUCK / AND CRIMPER”.
Inside the box are two metal chucks with crimpers. The lens chuck is composed of two parts – the steel chuck and the brass crimper. The crimper acts like a screw which tightens and loosens, allowing a contact lens to be held in place on the chuck. These sample lens chucks were for the manufacture of a unique soft contact lens design, the TOC (Toric Optic Cap) - a proprietary lens design of Hirstlens. A soft contact lens in hard state would be crimped at a specific radius. Once held in position the chuck would then be spun on the lathe, and the lens radius was cut and polished. It would then be removed from the lathe and the crimp released, forming a toroidal surface - the shape required for toric contact lenses. This type of lens was prescribed to patients who needed correction for astigmatism.
Inside the box are two metal chucks with crimpers. The lens chuck is composed of two parts – the steel chuck and the brass crimper. The crimper acts like a screw which tightens and loosens, allowing a contact lens to be held in place on the chuck. These sample lens chucks were for the manufacture of a unique soft contact lens design, the TOC (Toric Optic Cap) - a proprietary lens design of Hirstlens. A soft contact lens in hard state would be crimped at a specific radius. Once held in position the chuck would then be spun on the lathe, and the lens radius was cut and polished. It would then be removed from the lathe and the crimp released, forming a toroidal surface - the shape required for toric contact lenses. This type of lens was prescribed to patients who needed correction for astigmatism.
Marks
new Transkit / Smith & Nephew Pharmaceuticals Ltd / Welwyn Garden City Herts, England / 0403007 TN2 Stamped
Name Hirstlens / Address Box 6142 AK / SAMPLE CHUCK AND CRIMPER Ink stamp and hand-written
Name Hirstlens / Address Box 6142 AK / SAMPLE CHUCK AND CRIMPER Ink stamp and hand-written
Media/Materials
Collection
Credit Line
HirstLens NZ Ltd. 1950s
1960s. Sample Lens Chucks, 2018.1.7. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
1960s. Sample Lens Chucks, 2018.1.7. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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