Prepared by object جامعة المستقبل
Ahmed Mohammed boxing system كلية التقنيات الصحية والطبية
MSc Optometrist lecture 6 course 2 قسم البصريات
BOXING SYSTEM
*The previously used datum system for measuring lenses was
established as a system of reference points for frames and lenses so
that placement of lens optical centers and bifocal segment heights
would be consistent.
* With the lens placed as it should sit in the frame, horizontal lines
were drawn at the highest and lowest edges of the lens.
* A line drawn halfway between the two horizontal lines and parallel to
them was known as the datum line.
* The width of the lens along this line was called the datum length or
eye size.
* The point along the datum line halfway between the edges of the lens
is the datum center.
* The depth of the lens, measured as the vertical depth through the
datum center, was the mid-datum depth.
THE BOXING SYSTEM :
The boxing system improved on the foundation provided by the datum system.
*The datum system used two horizontal lines; one against the top and the other
against the bottom of the lens.
* The boxing system kept these two horizontal lines and added two vertical lines.
* These vertical lines are placed against right and left edges of the lens.
*All four lines form a box around the lens.
In the boxing system, the A dimension is the horizontal boxing width.
* If the frame is properly marked, the eye size will be equal to the A dimension of
the frame.
*The B dimension is the vertical boxing length.
* The C dimension is the width of the lens along the horizontal midline.
*The C dimension should not be confused with the “C-size” of a lens. The C-size of
a lens is the distance around the lens (i.e., its circumference).
*The dispenser uses the C-size to ensure that a lens ordered by itself (without the
frame) will be exactly sized for that frame.
Horizontal Midline
* There is a horizontal line halfway between the top and bottom of the lens.
* In the datum system, this was called the datum line.
* But, in the boxing system, this line is more commonly referred to as the
horizontal midline or the 180- degree line.
Geometric Center
* The center of the lens is the point on the horizontal midline halfway between
the two lens-bordering vertical lines.
* It is known as the geometric center or boxing center of the edged lens.
Size
*The size of the lens is the length and depth of the box containing the lens.
* The horizontal length is now commonly referred to as the eye size when
referring to the frame and the lens size when referring to the lenses.
* It is denoted by the letter ‘A’. Both are measured in millimeters
*The letter “B” denotes the vertical measure of the box enclosing the lens.
*Both “A” and “B” are in a sense independent of lens shape.
*The letter “C” refers to the width of the lens itself along the horizontal midline.
*In the older datum system, this was the eye size of the frame.
Measurement
* To measure the horizontal dimension of a frame, the measurement begins at
the inside of the groove on one side and extends across the lens opening to the
farthest part of the groove on the other.
*We cannot see the inside of the groove when looking from the front. This means
we can estimate where it will be and hold the ruler so that the zero point is at the
position of the left-hand side of the groove. Do not filt the box.
* Then we need to read the ruler at the position where the groove will be on the
right.
* If the opening itself is measured, then about ½ mm per side needs to be added
to the measure to allow for the depth of the groove. This may vary somewhat,
depending upon the depth of the groove.
Effective Diameter
*The effective diameter of a lens is found by doubling the distance from the
geometric center of the lens to the apex of the lens bevel farthest from it.
Frame Difference
* The difference between the horizontal and the vertical measurements is known
as the frame difference and is measured in millimeters.
* Frame difference is sometimes referred to as lens difference
Distance Between Lenses (DBL) or Bridge Size
* The DBL is the distance between the two boxes when both lenses are boxed off
in the frame.
* Bridge size or DBL is measured on the frame as the distance from the inside
nasal eyewire grooves across the bridge area at the narrowest point. This distance
is measured in millimeters.
* Naturally, two frames having the same DBL will not necessarily fit the same
person in the same manner because of variations in lens shapes.
Geometric Center Distance (GCD)
*The distance between the two geometric centers of the lenses is known as the
geometric center distance (GCD).
* It can also be calculated by simply adding the eye size to the DBL.
*The GCD is also known by three other names
1. Distance between centers (DBC)
2. Frame center distance
3. Frame PD
* The term frame PD is commonly used in dispensing, but has no relationship to
the wearer’s inter-pupillary distance or distance between pupil centers.
Seg Height
*When specifying bifocal or trifocal segment height, the reference points are
given in millimeters as either
(1) the distance below or above the horizontal midline (called seg drop or seg
raise), or
(2) the distance from the lower line of the boxing system rectangle enclosing the
lens shape (called seg height).
TEMPLE LENGTH
Overall Temple Length
* The overall temple length is the distance from the center of the center barrel
screw hole to the posterior end of the temple, measured along the center of the
temple
Length to Bend (LTB)
* This is measured from the center of the barrel to the middle of the bend. The
distance from the middle of the temple bend to the end of the temple is known as
the length of drop.
Front to Bend (FTB)
* If the endpieces wrap around in a swept-back manner, there is a distance
between the plane of the frame front and the actual beginning of the temple.
