Case Studies

Plasma cleaning for Quality Assurance

Hoya creates the very latest lens designs and applies them to the thinnest and most durable lens materials. They are then able to enhance visual comfort even further with the addition of anti-reflection coatings, scratch-resistant coatings and easy to clean treatments. Hoya’s production plant in Wrexham, North Wales approached Henniker when they recognised a need to improve existing stringent quality testing procedures.

Aims and Objectives

Almost all of the lens coatings manufactured at Hoya are hydrophobic. These coatings need to be removed during quality testing. One method involves using a polishing compound to manually remove the coating, which is both labour intensive and can suffer from inconsistencies. Hoya’s technical team identified a need for an alternative process to reduce these inconsistencies and approached Henniker regarding plasma cleaning techniques as a possible alternative.

Neil Jowitt from Hoya explains:

‘The unit we wanted was small, quick and easy to use and the solution identified by Henniker fit the brief perfectly.’

Challenges

The main challenge was to identify suitable plasma cleaner parameters for the delicate lens materials which could deliver repeatable and reliable results. Henniker worked with Hoya to achieve this goal before delivering a cost-effective bench-top solution having a simple operator interface.

Outcome

Before treatment

After treatment

“We find ourselves now having better results with regards to consistency. There is less time spent cleaning the lenses manually with less residue left to contaminate other processes.” 

Neil Jowitt/Hoya

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