The Opticianry Laboratory operating within Üsküdar University is a fully equipped practical training center designed to enable students to develop advanced expertise in the tools, equipment, and methods they will directly use in the optical sector after graduation.
What is the Opticianry Laboratory? / What is its Purpose?
Core Purpose: The primary purpose of the Opticianry Laboratory is to help students acquire the technical skills required by their education and transform their professional theoretical knowledge into practical applications in a fully equipped environment. Centered on the critical importance of eye and vision health, the laboratory is designed to equip future opticians with competencies in both craftsmanship and advanced technological automation systems.
Key Features: Located on the -1st floor of Üsküdar University Çarşı Campus, the laboratory has an indoor area of approximately 50 m2 and a simultaneous working capacity of 25 students. It provides continuous integration into the course schedule, allowing students to practice the theoretical knowledge they acquire in their courses throughout their education, starting from the first year and continuing for four semesters.
Academic Contribution: Designed with consideration for developing vision care technologies and the increasing variety of optical products, this infrastructure aims to help students specialize in both digital and manual working environments. The laboratory's lighting, ergonomic, and ventilation systems have been optimized for the specific requirements of optical lens cutting and mounting processes.
Equipment and Technical Facilities Available in the Laboratory
The laboratory contains a sufficient number of devices designed specifically for the precise structure of optical materials, helping students use their time effectively, as well as a comprehensive stock of high-quality original consumable materials:
- Focimeter Systems: Manual and digital focimeters used to measure the optical center, axis, and dioptric (focusing) power of spectacle lenses.
- Automatic Lens Edging Machines: Digital patternless automatic machines and patterned automatic machine systems used for mounting lenses according to prescriptions.
- Facet Drilling Units: Digital and manual facet drilling equipment used for drilling lenses in rimless spectacle mounting.
- Computer-Assisted Measurement Device: An advanced measurement unit designed to ensure precise measurement of spectacle mounting parameters with a high degree of accuracy.
- Pupillometer: A precision optical instrument used to measure the distance between the pupils of the two eyes (PD - Pupillary Distance) in millimeters.
- Hand Grinding Wheels: Manual grinding units used to remove burrs from lens edges and ensure a precise fit with the frame.
- Dyeing Machine: A specialized device used for tinting organic spectacle lenses and providing them with filter properties.
- Small Hand Tools: Specialized optical hand tools used for frame adjustment, component replacement, and screw tightening operations.
- Original Consumable Material Stock: A comprehensive stock of optical lenses, contact lenses, and other auxiliary optical raw materials provided in the laboratory to ensure uninterrupted practical training.
Research and Application Areas
The laboratory provides students with extensive operational experience through a practical course curriculum conducted over four semesters. The main areas of practice and study include:
- Manual and Digital Focusing Measurements: Measuring the focal power and axis of spectacle lenses with different geometries, including spherical, cylindrical, and progressive lenses, using both manual and digital methods.
- Patterned and Patternless Lens Cutting: Simulating lens cutting techniques according to frame shapes using automated systems and digital patternless machines.
- Rimless and Nylon Mounting Technologies: Performing precision drilling and mounting applications, including grooved (nylor) and screw-mounted systems, using facet drilling equipment.
- Precise Measurement and Pupillometry: Performing personalized focal point determination and frame selection simulations according to facial morphology using computer-assisted devices and pupillometers.
- Mechanical Troubleshooting and Maintenance Training: Providing hands-on training in the periodic maintenance of optical instruments, troubleshooting basic problems, replacing components, and identifying mechanical malfunctions.
Benefits for Students and the Optical Industry
- Graduates Prepared for Industry Conditions: Since the laboratory is designed with consideration for students' socioeconomic circumstances and the dynamics of the optical industry, students develop the technical competence required to practice their profession under a wide range of technological conditions after graduation.
- Combination of Craftsmanship and Technology: With a wide range of equipment, from hand grinding wheels to computer-assisted digital measurement units, students are trained as hybrid professionals capable of combining traditional craftsmanship skills with modern digital technologies.
- On-Site Technical Service Competence: Students who receive training in addressing basic mechanical problems with equipment develop essential maintenance and repair skills that can reduce their dependence on external technical services in their professional lives.
