Italiano 
Advances in tool technology have given designers greater creative freedom to craft eyewear that is both unique and financially viable
Nowadays, eyewear brands are constantly pushing the boundaries of originality. And that’s no easy task, given that the market is so overcrowded. The only way to make a name for yourself, as Corrado Rosson, founder of Lightbird explained to us in a previous article, is to come up with something new (click here to read the article).
The pursuit of originality calls for design creativity and manufacturing expertise. But finding a way to make something often isn’t enough: the production process must also be financially viable. Often what stops unique, one-of-a-kind products from ever seeing the light of day are their manufacturing costs.
But we can get round this by making the tools we need. The initial cost is undoubtedly higher, but it saves a lot of time and money in the long run.
The evolving market and new demands on production
This is a conundrum that Andrea Scopel, Head of D.F.’s Technical Department, has to deal with on a daily basis; so he seemed like the best person to explain it to us in more detail: «Since I joined the team at D.F. 17 years ago, the way we manufacture, but also the way we design, has changed. There is a growing tendency among designers to incorporate exclusive elements – such as rounded or recessed details or logos – into the temple or temple tip for instance and therefore the mould. They tend to make things more and more complex, so they stand out from the rest. This obviously has a knock-on effect on our work because we have to find solutions to execute these ideas.»
«The pursuit of originality, which can sometimes be a bit over the top, is paramount in our business. It reminds me of how the fashion industry evolves. We know machinery can do more, so we push ourselves to do more; it’s a balancing act between technological innovation and requests from designers. The more advanced technology becomes, the more designers strive to raise the bar.»
Raising the bar while still being financially viable
The ease with which we can produce a metal object from a mould nowadays has not just satisfied designers’ imaginations, it has totally liberated them. New challenges present themselves every day, due to the fact that what was once difficult to make is now actually quite easy, thanks to the invention of new tools. This has established a new baseline for designers.
That is how the market works: designers are constantly looking for new ways to set their product apart and make it unique and one-of-a-kind. Lots of incredible things can be done, the only problem is that adding new elements and details often ups the number of processes and, therefore, steps a product needs for its creation, and this can increase production times and costs considerably.
If, however, all or nearly all of the details are incorporated into a single mould, the number of stages in the process is drastically cut. «The advantage of this is seen mainly in the production process», continues Andrea, «because it eliminates the need for further processing, such as milling to obtain certain effects, after the part has been moulded.»
«This is a cost saving for the client, if you think of the time needed to remove the part and execute the cycle that is saved, multiplied by thousands or hundreds of thousands of parts. It’s true that we invest more in making the mould, but then we use it to manufacture all the pieces. The likelihood of making mistakes is also reduced when we work like this. The parts that come out of the mould are all the same.»
Inventing and building tools to meet our clients’ needs
«At D.F. we often have to be inventive to ensure our clients’ original ideas become reality. What we do isn’t all that strange, given the way we’re used to working here. As with all great inventions, you take something that already exists and improve it.»
«Recently, I was involved in this process for a particular kind of core. The client made a suggestion and, after a number of tests, we were actually able to improve the core injection system.»
«The issue we had was that the tool we had didn’t grip the core properly and it turned round and round as it was inserted, it didn’t go in properly and we were discarding more and more pieces.»
«We put our heads together to work out how to solve the problem. We always work as a team, constantly interfacing with the client. So we developed and built a new tool that didn’t exist before. Set-up time is also shorter because it’s easier to use and guarantees greater accuracy and better results.»
