Spectacle repairs specialists Spec-Care not only won the Technology Supplier of the Year award at the Optician Awards last December, it was also shortlisted in the Optical Supplier of the Year category. Director Rob Barrow discovered on the same evening that he had been elected to the board of the Optical Suppliers Association (OSA), which he says ‘really got the party going’. The Awards judges praised Spec-Care for putting ‘a particular focus on the patient’. Barrow says: ‘The team had worked extremely hard since the end of lockdown. Our bounce-back plan was to focus solely on the trade and put individual patient care first.’
Exeter-based Spec-Care introduced 3D design and printing services to assist with fitting, repairing and modifying frames some five years ago. Specialist fits and adaptions account for about 40% of the company’s work and the other 60% is made up of frame repairs. Through its 3D design and printing service, the company provides unique adaptions – additive parts to enhance a frame’s fitting – such as S-shaped sides to fit patients with small, low-set ears; 3D printed head bands for patients without ears, side shields for patients with extreme photosensitivity and glasses combined with hearing aids for patients with hearing loss. Barrow says the specialist fits and adaptions are spread evenly between all ages: ‘Younger wearers often require applications like 3D printed parts for facial asymmetries and adults require professional adjustments to frames to make their personal choice of style wearable, while maintaining all cosmetic attributes of the manufactured item.’
Profile gains
Introducing 3D printing and design has always been a ‘personal challenge’ for Barrow: ‘The financial gain from each piece is far from equitable. The gain in profile and recognition is tremendous. It’s my way of giving back where the end user has no comprehension of the technical challenges overcome. Pricing is largely irrelevant as the primary goal is to make life a little more normal,’ he adds.
Initially, he says the project was about understanding manufacture design with computer aided design (CAD) software, followed by the future technology of 3D printing. ‘The experience lent itself perfectly to many applications we created by hand, it also raised the quality and accessibility to the appliances,’ he says.
Spec-Care selected the software provider SolidWorks to assist with the project, which opened the prospect of an internship from Exeter University. ‘The following 12 months was a fantastically fast-learning curve with our intern imparting huge engineering knowledge into the business. We quickly identified the suitable materials and opened up this service as a trial venture with Great Ormond Street Hospital,’ he says. Spec-Care’s relationship with the children’s hospital dates back 15 years when it provided a special set of side shields for a patient: ‘They contacted us and we got the job done.’ The trial quickly led to Barrow co-presenting to the hospital’s conference of visiting professors, which he says was ‘an amazing experience and very much the start of the large-scale recognition we have today.’ The project focused on Tomato and SwissFlex frames, which ‘lend themselves perfectly to modification for people with asymmetrical facial characteristics,’ Barrow explains. Through social media, events and word-of-mouth, Spec-Care gained many new clinical customers. ‘With our understanding of dispensing optics, technical services, engineering and practicality, we have reshaped the way people with facial dysmorphia can wear spectacles. We are extremely proud to be the leader in this sector and even more proud to know our appliances are enhancing the cosmetic finish of the spectacles compared to traditional methods,’ he says.
Development opportunities
The use of high-end CAD software to design unique adaptions has a great possibility for development: ‘CAD software can evolve with the business development and more features can be unlocked. Our current software package includes 52-week engineer assistance and stress testing whereby we virtually test a design for strength and, in the case of using the software for computerised numerical control routing, run simulations from desktop before material is cut. All these features save time, money and resources like plastics,’ he says. As the library of patterns and adaptions increases, Spec-Care is actively reducing costs further to benefit more people. The costings of each part are based on design time allocation and cost per print. The company has invested in CAD-controlled frame cutting routers, which will enable frames to be easily adapted with asymmetrical lens sizes, bridge fittings and custom shot sides.
Elsewhere, Spec-Care has launched Exeter Eyewear, a low-cost, high-quality brand of frames. ‘We will replace any frame, damaged in anyway at a 50% discount, during the lifetime of the prescription,’ says Barrow. ‘The brand will put particular focus on the patient and offer clinical teams a frame range that provides easy fitting, easy modification and 3D print appliances.’