2. • Standard alignment, also called
standard adjustment(s), or bench
alignment: These are the adjustments
that a frame SHOULD have before it
ever leaves the lab and reaches a
patient.
• “standard” alignment because it places
the frame in a neutral position that
provides you, the optician, with a good
place to start when adjusting the frame
for an individual wearer.
3. 10 Points
before you
deliver
• 1 Tighten ALL Screws
• 2 Check for any X-Ing
• 3 Check Co-Planar
• 4 Check Skewed Bridge
• 5 Check Face-Form
• 6 Check Pantoscopic Tilt
• 7 Check Temple Parallelism
• 8 Check Open Temple Angle
• 9 Check Temple Fold Angle
• 10 Check Adjustable Pads
4. • Tighten all screws: If you fail to tighten all
the screws prior to trying to align the
frame, you will be “bending against
nothing.”
• Check lens co-planar alignment: When the
lenses are parallel, but one lens is farther
forward than the other, the lenses are
misaligned. This misalignment will be seen
when viewing the frame from above.
Coplanar misalignment occurs from the
bridge being pushed forward or backwards
• while the lenses remain “on axis” and in
correct tilt. This misalignment is corrected
by using your fingers and thumbs to gently
bend the bridge back in place.
5.
6. • Check for X-Ing: Which refers to the
lenses being twisted about the bridge.
The bend occurs at the point where the
eyewires are attached to the bridge.
Think of one lens having pantoscopic
tilt and the other having retroscopic tilt
.
• This misalignment will be seen when
viewing the glasses from the side. It is
corrected by grabbing the eyewires and
gently bending them in place as if you
were wringing out a washcloth.
7. • Check for skewed bridge, or skewed
eyewires: A skewed bridge occurs
when a lens is rotated inward or
outward around the bridge. This
misalignment will be seen when
looking at the glasses straight on from
the front. A useful tool for checking this
alignment is the prescription alignment
gauge.
• To correct a skewed bridge or lens, grab
the eyewire(s) and simply rotate them
in or out from where they meet the
bridge until the eyewires are level
across the frame while assuring that
the bridge is straight across.
8.
9. • Check face-form: Face-form is the curvature
of the frame front to the patient's face as
seen from
• above.
• There are three distinct types of face-form.
• A Positive
• B Negative
• C Neutral
10. The desired alignment is shown in Figure A: Positive Face-
Form, in which the frame front sits slightly curved to match
the curvature of the wearer’s face. The bridge of the frame
sits slightly more forward than the end pieces. Some amount
of positive face-form is required, both for good cosmetics and
for good optics.
The alignment that needs to be corrected is shown in Figure
B: Negative Face-Form, in which there is a slight outward
curvature of the frame front from the wearer’s face or from
the bridge, end pieces of the frame are more forward than
the bridge when viewed from above. This is both cosmetically
unacceptable and optically incorrect.
Some frames will have no face form, or have a Neutral Face-
Form as shown in Figure C, which is a frame front that is
perfectly flat. The end pieces and the bridge look straight
upon the same
11. • Check Pantoscopic Tilt: Frame tilt occurs at the
temples where they are attached to the chassis
and form an angle, or tilt slightly downward,
forcing the bottom of the eyewire slightly in
towards the cheek when viewed from the side.
• The desired position for the temple and frame
front is Pantoscopic Tilt as shown in Figure A.
• Pantoscopic tilt is present when the bottoms of
the eyewires are closer to the face than the
tops of the eyewires. Some pantoscopic tilt is
needed for good cosmetics and for good
optics.
• To create or reduce pantoscopic tilt, you need
to use temple-angling pliers, your hands or a
similar tool. While firmly holding the eyewire,
bend the temple up or down.
12.
13. • The misalignment that must be corrected in standard
alignment is Retroscopic Tilt as shown in
• Figure B. Retroscopic tilt is present when the bottoms
of the eyewires sit out further from the face than the
tops of the eyewires. This is cosmetically unacceptable,
and can create a variety of optical distortions for the
wearer.
• Check temple parallelism: See if both temples are
parallel to each other. Your test for parallelismis the
“flat surface touch test.” Turn the frame UPSIDE DOWN
on a flat surface. If the frame front (or the tops of both
eyewires) and both temples make contact with the flat
surface, thetemples are parallel, and the frame is in
correct standard alignment. To correct for temple
parallelism, simply use the same tools and methods
that you do for tilt and adjust only one temple.
• Note: This test is made with the frame "on it's back"
not with the temple tips!
14.
15. • Check for open temple angle: Which
occurs when the open temples create a
90° angle with the chassis. The temples
may be angled out slightly by a degree
or two. However, they should never be
angled in, since this will actually push
the glasses away from the wearer’s
face.
• To correct this misalignment, use the
soft-hard pliers, and carefully bend the
temple where it meets the chassis
while holding the eyewire firmly.
16.
17. • Check the temple fold angle: Which refers
to the position of the temples when they
are folded over, closed, and about to be
placed into their case.
• When the temples are closed, the temple
tips should not touch the ocular surface of
the lens. The tips should rest on the edges
of the eyewire. They should cross over
each other at the middle of the bridge
area, coming as close to parallel as
possible.
• To correct temple fold angle, with the
temples folded or closed, use your
hands,the hard-soft pliers, or the wide-
jaw temple angle pliers designed for that
purpose.
18.
19. • Check adjustable pads: On metal
frames, we must also look at the nose-
pads. Just think about how a human
nose is shaped! Place the pads in the
position that best represents the
human nose.
• A properly aligned frame will give the
patient an immediate positive
experience. A properly bench - aligned
frame will feel good to the patient and
set the stage for a positive dispensing
experience.
20. Double Nylon Jaw
Pliers – Used for
adjusting bridges,
endpieces, and temples
Angling Pliers – Used
for pantoscopic and
retroscopic angle
adjustments
Snipe Nose Pliers –
Used for fine eyewire
adjustments
Cutter Pliers – Used to
cut screws
Nose Pad Pliers – Used
for nose pad assembly
adjustments
Axis Pliers – Used for
lens axis alignment
Compression Pliers –
Used for rimless
eyeglass frames
Compression Sleeve
Cutters – Used for
trimming compression
sleeves
3-Piece Frame
Adjusting Pliers – Used
for drill mount frame
adjustment
Screwdriver Set – Used
for removing and
replacing screws
Nutdriver Set – Used
for removing and
replacing nuts
Hot Air Frame Warmer
- Used for warming
plastic frames
21. • Before dispensing glasses, frames should be
in a neutral position, or “four point
adjustment.” There are four points of where
the frame will touch the counter, and
should always be checked with the frame
upside down, so the adjusted temple tips
will not interfere. In this position, both
temples and both eye wires should sit flat
on the table.
22. • Glasses will put pressure on the patient in four
places. These are either side of the nose and on
each ear. The goal is to keep this pressure even, so
the patient does not feel any pressure of the
glasses, and is able to wear them comfortably. If
the patient feels pressure at the nose, extra
adjustment may be needed at the ear, if the nasal
adjustment appears correct and vise versa.
23. • If a patient states that their glasses are too tight, look to see where
they are tight and ask the patient specific questions about where they
feel pressure. If it is at the nose, check the pads. These should sit
flush on either side of the nose. They should sit snugly, without any
visible pressure. If there is pressure, or they are ill fitting, move them
out. If they are sitting well, see what material they are made of.
Patients wearing hard pads, may need a softer pad. If they are already
in silicone pads, ask them if they have a silicone sensitivity, or if the
pads feel like they are pulling on their skin. If it is though the temple,
you may have to bring the temple out at the hinge or bow the temple
a bit.
24. • If the patient states their glasses are too loose, stop and first make sure
they are not actually too tight! If nose pads a squeezed in so far, that they
are on top of a patient’s nose, instead of on either side of it, the bridge will
slip. If the temples are too tight against a patient’s head, the frame will
push forward and drop down. Open the frame and see if it fits better. If the
frame is honestly splayed loose, heat the frame, then start at the bridge,
bringing the frame in a little at a time through the whole frame. Often
times I will see an optician simply crank the temple down behind the
patient’s ears in hopes of hooking on a loose frame, instead of actually
fixing the frame. Obviously, this is wrong. Sometimes the frame does just
need a little tightening at the bridge, or behind the ear, and that is ok, but
they key is to observe. Fix what is actually wrong.
25. COMMON EYE
GLASS REPAIR
Help My Glasses are Loose
I sat on my glasses
Glasses are leaving red marks
Glasses are heavy on ears
Screw fell out
26. NOSE PADS
• Frames should always be dispensed with clean,
fresh nose pads!! Nose pads should be
selected according to frame size and weight, as
well as the patient’s nose shape.
• Men usually have larger noses and will benefit
from nose pads point down, where women’s
noses are usually thinner at the bridge and
should have the nose pads pointing up.
• Children and ethnic bridges may need a
smaller nose pad, or a button nose pads.
27. SCREWS
• If a screw comes out of a frame, please replace it with
a new screw. We do not charge for screws. Nose pads
screws are in the drawer with nose pads and are
usually a 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2 mm screw. Thread lock screws
are best for nose pads.
• Eye wire screws are usually a 1.3 or 1.4 mm screw,
although, you may occasionally need a 1.2 or 1.5.
Screw should fit snuggly and tighten down completely.
If the screw goes straight through, or does not tighten
completely, use the nest size up. Start with a 1.3
thread lock screw. If that is not tightened, the screw
barrel may be stripped, so go to a 1.4. You may need a
self-tapping screw. Make sure the lens bevel is
properly set.
• Temple screws usually need a 1.2 or 1.3 mm screw. If
the temple has a spring hinge, you will need to use a
1.2 or 1.3 logic screw to align the two parts of the
hinge, as these have a longer taper. Again, please
make sure the screw is snug and the head no longer
turns
