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Materialise Partners with HOYA to Transform the Eyewear Industry with the World’s First Vision-Centric Eyewear: Yuniku
In a close partnership, Materialise and HOYA Vision Care collaborated with
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The Yuniku 3D scanning system is designed to be installed in opticians' shops, to take high-resolution scans of a customer's facial anatomy for fully 3D-tailored eyewear. (Photo credit: HOYA Vision Care)
“When 3D Printing meets the right application and the right partners, it has the potential to turn around an entire industry,” states
For opticians, Yuniku is an opportunity to deliver more effective interaction and service to their clients, enhancing their buying experience, while the use of 3D printing also opens new distribution possibilities and eliminates the stock risks common to the eyewear industry. For the end-consumer, Yuniku means eyewear truly tailored to their unique visual, comfort and aesthetic needs.
“Yuniku is an exciting step forward in custom eyewear. By capitalizing on advances in 3D printing technology, we have removed the limitations posed by traditional spectacles,” says
Bieke Hoet of
How Yuniku works
Conventional eyewear design does not allow for optimal lens performance because opticians face restrictions in lens placement resulting from the frame chosen by the customer. To turn this around, Materialise and HOYA co-created a custom 3D scanner and software platform, directly linked to Materialise’s Certified Additive Manufacturing factory. Using 3D scanning, parametric design automation, and 3D Printing, the Yuniku platform designs the frame around the ideal position of the optical lenses.
The Yuniku experience starts with a scan to capture facial features, and a short questionnaire to determine the wearer’s visual needs. Advanced software designed by HOYA uses facial and visual data to determine the ideal position of the lenses in relation to the eyes and communicates this with Materialise’s software, which in turn tailors the frame around the lenses according to the wearer’s unique facial characteristics. Frame design, color and finish can all be adjusted to match the customer’s individual style, with the integrated software solutions working to ensure that both ideal lens positioning and fit are preserved. Additionally, a screen will display a virtual image of the customer in the selected eyewear, ensuring complete satisfaction with the end result.
The base frame collection for Yuniku comes from
The range features an exclusive selection of frame designs, colors and finishes. These are complemented by a choice of a premium progressive, single vision or indoor lens solution.
About Materialise
Materialise incorporates more than 25 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which together form the backbone of 3D printing technologies. Materialise’s open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in
About HOYA
Founded in 1941 in
About HOET
With more than 25 years of experience in (eyewear) design, being founders of the brand THEO for which HOET introduced the first laser cut frames and chemical etched frames, the HOET design studio is a synonym for innovation. Eyewear designs created from the heart, driven by technology is making their creations standing out.
The studio is also pioneer in bringing custom made 3D printed frames to the optical market. Essential to our design process is extensive research, thorough knowledge of materials and the talent to adapt old techniques into new ones. Their expertise is offered in freelance design assignments for companies that want to include an exclusive line of eyewear to enhance their brand or identity. For additional information, please visit: www.hoet-design.com.
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Source: Materialise
Materialise
Vanessa Palsenbarg, +32 16 39 66 37
Corporate Communications Manager
GSM : + 32 484 485 183
press@materialise.com
@MaterialiseNV
www.materialise.com