OptiCentric^® MAN

OptiCentric^® MAN stands for the manual operation of the stage with fine coaxial height adjustments. This is a simple and cost effective solution, although the time needed to move the measuring head up and down reduces the efficiency of the process. Moreover, the travel is limited, since the height of the stand must be selected so that the operator works in a seated position. Consequently, to cover a certain range of radii/focal length an increased number of additional optics is necessary.

This product line is the right choice when the number of surfaces to be measured is limited or the instrument is used for repetitive measurements of the same lens type. Examples of typical applications for OptiCentric^® MAN are the centering error measurement of single lenses or alignment and cementing of doublets.

An important accessory of the OptiCentric^® MAN instruments is the motorized vacuumlens
rotation unit which can also be used for measurement or cementing of doublets.

OptiCentric^® MAN has two manual stand options:

• Stand “B” with 250 mm travel
• Stage “BL” with 400 mm travel

In order to easily find the height position of different centers of curvature or focal planes of the samples to be measured, the manual stand should be additionally equipped with linear encoders displaying the position of the measuring head on the stand. For OptiCentric^® MAN position measuring devices including a linear slide with LCD-Display, 0.01 mm resolution and 300/450 mm length are available.

The OptiCentric^® MAN instruments may be fitted with different measuring heads depending on application and accuracy required. Following basic options are available:

• Visual measuring head (OptiCentric^® MAN-Visual)
  
• Measuring head with CCD camera and video-monitor (OptiCentric^® MAN-Video)
  
  
• Measuring head with CCD camera, PC and software control (OptiCentric^® MAN)

OptiCentric^® MAN-Visual

The operator reads the centering error off a reticule (e.g. with millimeter graduation) through the eye piece of the autocollimator. The purely visual check is simple and therefore a cost-effective solution although accuracy and reproducibility are restricted. The measurement result depends on the skills and level of fatigue of the operator.

The OptiCentric^® MAN-Visual is suitable for measuring and cementing individual lenses where the measurement does not require a high degree of accuracy or speed.

OptiCentric^® MAN-Video

The measuring head consists of a CCD-camera and imaging optics mounted on the eyepiece. The CCD-Camera is connected to a Video-Monitor, the centering error can now be read on the monitor. This product version increases the comfort in operation, allows the operator to better concentrate on the rotation of sample, however, has the same limitation concerning the accuracy and repeatablity

Neither OptiCentric^® MAN-Visual nor OptiCentric^® MAN-Video provides records of the centering errors or of the accuracy achieved. This is an important drawback of these product versions especially when it comes to integration in modern quality assurance systems.

OptiCentric^® MAN

The use of an automated, PC-controlled optical measuring head increases dramatically the accuracy and repeatability, provides records of the tolerances achieved and is not dependent on the skills or the level of fatigue of the operator. The CCD-camera is in this case either connected to a frame grabber or to a digital interface card mounted in the PC. The software controls the measuring process, so that the accuracy and repeatability of the measurement and the stability of the process are significantly increased.

The measurement data are automatically acquired and used for calculation of centering errors or utilized for further complex analysis.

The measuring certificate includes data presented according to the standard ISO 10110, so that a direct comparison with the tolerance values is possible.