Zeiss
- Tony LeBlanc
Zeiss uses an XML-based web service which LMS systems communicate with. The lab will be provided with a URL to connect, as well as a lab ID and password. These settings are unique to each lab and must be set up in the Digital Types entry for the Zeiss calculator.
As of summer 2015, Zeiss provides support for base curve requests (BRS) for all designs, through the web service, so these designs should be set up with the “Use BRS to get BC from DS” option checked. The LNAM values can be set up in the lens style, as they do not differ by material, coating, or treatment.
Zeiss digital designs do use Zeiss pucks – not regular SV blanks – so these Zeiss pucks must be set up in the lab’s inventory, and the blank selection alias should be set up to alias each design to the PUCK items, similar to:
LNAM, LMATID, COLR
The Zeiss calculator uses LNAM, LMATID and COLR to select the correct product to do calculations on. LNAM is set on the specific lens design, but LMATID and COLOR are set for all designs, in the VCA label table ZEIS.
The lab should ensure the latest values for the ZEIS table, by using the "Web Import" option under "Devices", "VCA Label Table Settings", and updating the ZEIS table:
Then, the digital interface to Zeiss must be set to use that ZEIS table, this is done under "Devices", "Device Interface Parms", and then, on the specific setup for the Zeiss calculator:
Cribbing
With Zeiss Digital, there are several options which control how cribbing is calculated and handled.
If the lab specifies ELLH in the LDS file, then Zeiss will calculate and send back ELLH in the LMS file.
If the lab does not send CRIB/ELLH in the LDS file, then Zeiss can define round, elliptical or complex format as the default format to this customer and server will always calculate lenses according to this option. They will only move to complex crib if it detect a knife edge at lens. In this case, they will change from round or elliptical to complex. But, there is another way to avoid knife edge, which is increase a little the final thickness. In this case, it will not be changed to complex crib and maintain the default format defined at account set up.
So, the Zeiss server will provide ELLH if customer required an elliptical format or if the customer account is set up to calculate elliptical lenses as default format. And, if the lab does not want to produce complex crib in any situation, then the account will be set up to send back either a round (or elliptical) shape as the default format and knife edge will be avoided by increasing the thickness of the lens.
Based on testing, recommendation for Rx-Universe is to include the CRIB and ELLH labels in the LDS file (for uncuts), but check the new option to only send CRIB and ELLH for uncuts.
Alternate Interface with Schneider Equipment
If you are using Schneider equipment with the Zeiss designs, you will need to manually create sub-folders in the “Location of SDF files from digital surface” location to allow for machine dependent command files that are returned by the calculator.
The folders are machine dependent and are as follows:
HSC100 for the Schneider HSC 100/101, using example, “DS\SDF\HSC100”
HSCSMT for the Schneider HSC Smart, using example, “DS\SDF\HSCSMT”
HSCMST for the Schneider HSC Master, using example, “DS\SDF\HSCMST”
CCP101 for the Schneider CCP101 polisher, using example, “DS\SDF\CCP101”
CCP102 for the Schneider CCP102 polisher, using example, “DS\SDF\CCP102”
When using Schneider equipment, a user-defined VCA label is used to tell the equipment to look for “technology” files in the above folders. Each different model of device should be configured to look at the appropriate folder, so it gets the correct technology file for the device.
To accommodate the user of either tray number or order number, the _ALTINTR label (used to tell the Schneider equipment to use the alternate interface), can be modified to send the order number as part of the response. As of version 6.45.00, a new option has been added which causes the order number of the job to be appended to the _ALTINTR=1 record sent to the device. This allows either the tray number or the order number to be scanned on the device, and allows the equipment to find the correct file. Because this option is not supported by all versions of software on Schneider equipment, it must be activated by checking the appropriate box when use is desired.
Zeiss requires a verification ticket to be printed, by the lab, for each job. This ticket can be printed in two ways – either manually from Rx-Universe, by scanning each tray, or automatically when the job is shipped.
To print these tickets manually (one at a time) from Rx-Universe, select the option from the Closing (Shipping) menu. From the screen (below), scan or enter the tray or order number to be printed. 
If the ticket is returned (from Zeiss) as a PDF document, this will be printed first; if the ticket is returned as a TKT file, the Zeiss-provided CZVTKTPRINT.EXE is used to print the verification ticket.
Alternatively, the verification ticket can be automatically printed when the job is shipped. To do this, the printer to print the Zeiss ticket on must be set up. This can be done from within the Workstation Setup screen for the Job Tracker, if only one printer is to be used:
If different printers are used depending on which job station is used to ship the jobs, then the Zeiss ticket printer should be set on the Job Station screen, as follows: