Machine vision applications today are diverse and often innovative, as demonstrated by ATM Automation’s latest use of the technology within a system that manufactures precision optical lenses. This recent configuration of the machine vision systems within this cell demonstrates the capabilities of the technology to both vision inspect and optically inspect a range of disposable tonometer optical lenses.

Tonometry is the procedure used by eye care professionals to check the intraocular pressure inside the eye. For these precision molded parts to function correctly, it is essential that the optical surfaces are flat to within a few microns. ATM's production solution uses two separate vision systems, one to vision inspect each component for contamination and correct laser de-gating before measuring the flatness of each individual molded lens surface using the second system in conjunction with structured lighting.

(Photo, below) ATM’s system uses machine vision to perform quality checks and measure optical flatness on precision tonometer lenses.

The first machine vision system checks for contamination and gate witness on each individual lens. Indexed into the inspection station using a rotary table system, the lenses are backlit to allow inspection checks to take place. Any contamination detected which is greater than 0.3mm2 and/or having gate witness of 1.0mm results in that lens rejection from the system. Lenses that pass these inspection checks are then presented to the second vision system, which is used to check optical flatness.

This part of the system uses a clever lighting arrangement, combined with a PC based machine vision system, to measure the flatness of the optical surface to micron level to determine whether the component is within the required, fine tolerance specification.

The vision inspection stations are just part of a full turnkey system that performs all operations from de-molding with a 6-axis robot and part handling and transfer using dual rotary tables and several pick and place mechanisms. A laser de-gating system was also incorporated to allow a non-contact method of gate removal, eliminating any potential for mechanical shock that could damage the lens. A further benefit was the super smooth finish achieved by the laser.

Source: ATM Automation Limited

Washington, D.C. – The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released the February 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $827 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 63.3, the second highest index in two years and off slightly from last month’s two-year index high of 64.9. 

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent Valerie Hayes Jester, president, Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc., said, “I am optimistic that there is increasing demand for equipment and therefore financing to acquire that equipment. The brutal winter experienced by a significant portion of this country has slowed down many projects that would have been in progress by now. I am hoping that the last third of this quarter will show the signs we had experienced at year end, as demand increased.” 

February 2014 Survey Results:
The overall MCI-EFI is 63.3, a decrease from the January index of 64.9.

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 21.2% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, down from 33% in January. 72.7% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 61% in January. 6.1% believe business conditions will worsen, up from 5.6% who believed so the previous month.
• 24.2% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, down from 36% in January. 69.7% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, up from 61% the previous month. 6.1% believe demand will decline, up from 2.8% who believed so in January. 
• 31.3% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 25% in January. 65.6% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, down from 75% in January. 3.1% expect “less” access to capital, up from no one who expected less access the previous month. 
• When asked, 40.6% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 33% in January. 53% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, down from 58.3% last month. 6.3% expect fewer employees, down from 8.3% who expected fewer employees in January. 
• 3% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” relatively unchanged from 2.8% last month. 93.8% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down slightly from 94.4% last month. 3% rate it as “poor,” also relatively unchanged from last month.
• 34.4% of the of survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 41.7% who believed so in January. 59.4% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 55.6% in January. 6.2% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 2.6% last month. 
• In February, 56.3% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 55.6% in January. 43.8% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, an increase from 39% last month. No one believes there will be a decrease in spending, a decrease from 5.6% who believed so last month. 

Why an MCI-EFI?
Confidence in the U.S. economy and the capital markets is a critical driver to the equipment finance industry. Throughout history, when confidence increases, consumers and businesses are more apt to acquire more consumer goods, equipment and durables, and invest at prevailing prices. When confidence decreases, spending and risk-taking tend to fall. Investors are said to be confident when the news about the future is good and stock prices are rising. 

Who participates in the MCI-EFI? 
The respondents are comprised of a wide cross section of industry executives, including large-ticket, middle-market and small-ticket banks, independents and captive equipment finance companies. The MCI-EFI uses the same pool of 50 organization leaders to respond monthly to ensure the survey’s integrity. Since the same organizations provide the data from month to month, the results constitute a consistent barometer of the industry's confidence.

How is the MCI-EFI designed? 
The survey consists of seven questions and an area for comments, asking the respondents’ opinions about the following:

1. Current business conditions
2. Expected product demand over the next four months
3. Access to capital over the next four months
4. Future employment conditions 
5. Evaluation of the current U.S. economy
6. U.S. economic conditions over the next six months
7. Business development spending expectations
8. Open-ended question for comment

How may I access the MCI-EFI?
Survey results are posted on the Foundation website, http://www.leasefoundation.org/IndRsrcs/MCI/, included in the Foundation Forecast newsletter and included in press releases. Survey respondent demographics and additional information about the MCI are also available at the link above.

Source: The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation 

Los Angeles - By 2020, nearly 80 million people are expected to have glaucoma, a disorder of the eye that, if left untreated, can damage the optic nerve and eventually lead to blindness. 

The disease often causes pressure in the eye due to a buildup of fluid and a breakdown of the tissue that is responsible for regulating fluid drainage. Doctors commonly treat glaucoma using eye drops that can help the eye drain or decrease fluid production.

Unfortunately, patients frequently have a hard time sticking to the dosing schedules prescribed by their doctors, and the medication – when administered through drops – can cause side effects in the eye and other parts of the body. 

In what could be a significant step toward improving the management of glaucoma, researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have created a drug delivery system that may have less severe side effects than traditional glaucoma medication and improve patients' ability to comply with their prescribed treatments. The scientists bound together glaucoma-fighting drugs with nanodiamonds and embedded them onto contact lenses. The drugs are released into the eye when they interact with the patient's tears. 

The new technology showed great promise for sustained glaucoma treatment and, as a side benefit, the nanodiamond-drug compound even improved the contact lenses' durability.

The study, led by Dr. Dean Ho, professor of oral biology and medicine and co-director of the Jane and Jerry Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology at the UCLA School of Dentistry, appears online in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Nano.

Nanodiamonds, which are byproducts of conventional mining and refining processes, are approximately five nanometers in diameter and are shaped like tiny soccer balls. They can be used to bind a wide spectrum of drug compounds and enable drugs to be released into the body over a long period of time. 

To deliver a steady release of medication into the eye, the UCLA researchers combined nanodiamonds with timolol maleate, which is commonly used in eye drops to manage glaucoma. When applied to the nanodiamond-embedded lenses, timolol is released when it comes into contact with lysozyme, an enzyme that is abundant in tears.

"Delivering timolol through exposure to tears may prevent premature drug release when the contact lenses are in storage and may serve as a smarter route toward drug delivery from a contact lens," said Kangyi Zhang, co-first author of the study and a graduate student in Ho’s lab. 

One of the drawbacks of traditional timolol maleate drops is that as little as 5% of the drug actually reaches the intended site. Another disadvantage is burst release, where a majority of the drug is delivered too quickly, which can cause significant amounts of the drug to "leak" or spill out of the eye and, in the most serious cases, can cause complications such as an irregular heartbeat. Drops also can be uncomfortable to administer, which leads many patients to stop using their medication. 

But the contact lenses developed by the UCLA team successfully avoided the burst release effect. The activity of the released timolol was verified by a primary human-cell study.

"In addition to nanodiamonds' promise as triggered drug-delivery agents for eye diseases, they can also make the contact lenses more durable during the course of insertion, use and removal, and more comfortable to wear," said Ho, who is also a professor of bioengineering and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the California NanoSystems Institute. 

Even with the nanodiamonds embedded, the lenses still possessed favorable levels of optical clarity. And, although mechanical testing verified that they were stronger than normal lenses, there were no apparent changes to water content, meaning that the contact lenses' comfort and permeability to oxygen would likely be preserved.

Previous UCLA studies have shown that nanodiamonds could potentially be used to address other diseases and disorders, including cancer and osteonecrosis of the jaw.

"This discovery represents the pipeline of innovation that is coming from Dr. Ho's team," said Dr. No-Hee Park, dean of the School of Dentistry. "Dr. Ho is a visionary in his field and his advances continue to generate significant excitement regarding the use of nanodiamonds in biology and medicine."

Other authors of the study were Ho-Joong Kim, co-first author and postdoctoral research scholar who was previously in Ho's laboratory and is now a professor at Chosun University in South Korea, and Laura Moore, a medical student at Northwestern University, who is also a graduate student in Ho’s lab.

The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

The UCLA School of Dentistry is dedicated to improving the oral and systemic health of the people of California, the nation and the world through its teaching, research, patient care and public service initiatives. The School of Dentistry provides education and training programs that develop leaders in dental education, research, the profession and the community. The School of Dentistry also conducts research programs that generate new knowledge, promote oral health and investigate the cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of oral disease in an individualized disease-prevention and management model; and delivers patient-centered oral health care to the community and the state.

Source: UCLA

Colorado Springs, Colorado - Colorado Gov.  John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach topped the speakers list for the grand opening celebration of Bal Seal Engineering Inc.’s new manufacturing facility. The event, held on February 18, also featured speeches from Bal Seal management, including President and CEO Rick Dawson.

Addressing a 300-plus crowd, Hickenlooper and Bach congratulated Bal Seal on the completion of its 155,000ft2 state-of-the-art facility. Tours featured the unveiling of a permanent display that tells the story of Bal Seal from its founding in 1958 to the present, and showcases the breadth of applications in which Bal Seal products are found.

The arrival of Bal Seal, a technology manufacturer with worldwide locations, signals 200–250 new job opportunities for the Colorado Springs community, as well as continued involvement with local academic institutions. The construction project, which was designed on a philosophy of equality, transparency, and flexibility, is the result of collaboration between CSNA, a local architectural firm, and local contactor Bryan Construction.

“We’re investing in our future and in the future of Colorado Springs,” said CEO Richard Dawson. “This facility enables us to increase capacity to meet the anticipated demand for our products, but it also enables us to support the Colorado Springs community and to continue our partnerships with Colorado educational institutions.”

In creating an environment that fosters social interaction and interpersonal relationships, the new complex features a picnic area, a playground, a fitness trail and a park. Finishes and amenities such as Air Pear thermal equalizers and Solatube tubular daylighting devices provide purified air and natural sunlight throughout the building.

Bal Seal, a privately held company with headquarters in Foothill Ranch, Calif. and offices in Europe and Asia, announced in late 2011 that it had chosen Colorado Springs as a location for the facility. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony of the new facility in June 2012. The manufacturer of Bal Seal Canted Coil Springs and Bal Seal Spring-energized Seals currently leases a smaller building in the city, where it employs 81 people. A projected rise in sales and significant increase in demand for its products drove its decision to expand.

Source: Bal Seal