How Prescription Lenses Are Made Today: Inside a Modern Optical Lab

While lenses were once made almost entirely by hand, modern optical labs now rely on advanced automation.

After the era of fully manual lens-making, optical labs began adopting more automated processes. In some advanced labs, this shift started as early as the 1960s and 1970s, but it became much more common in the 1980s and 1990s.

During this stage, machines were introduced with preset curves built into the system. The optician would place the lens into the machine, and the machine would grind the prescription directly into the lens surface. This greatly improved consistency and efficiency compared to earlier manual methods.

Once the lens was ground, it would be matched with the appropriate tool and mounted into a polishing machine—often called a cylinder machine. Inside this machine, the lens moved back and forth repeatedly until the surface was fully polished. This approach was much better for production work and remains in use in many labs today.

Modern optical labs have taken automation even further. Machines that were once considered advanced are now viewed as outdated. Today’s systems are fully automated: the lens is placed into the machine, the computer calculates the prescription, and the lens is ground with minimal manual involvement.

In some of the newest machines, the entire process happens in one continuous workflow. The machine blocks the lens, grinds it, polishes it, and then produces a finished lens at the other end. The technician’s role becomes one of monitoring and quality control, rather than hands-on shaping.

This is how prescription lenses are made today. Modern technology allows optical labs to achieve high precision and efficiency, while experienced professionals oversee the process to ensure quality. The result is a lens that meets exact specifications, produced faster and more consistently than ever before.