When Appearance is Critical, Think Brazing.

Application:

Wire frame sunglasses, manufactured by Bausch 8 Lomb, Co., in Rochester, N.Y. Bausch & Lomb uses the brazing process to produce the ten joints needed for the Ray-8an wire frames available in its sunglasses product line. The component metal parts of frame fronts, which consist of an eyewire, endpieces, a bridge, a brace and a browbar, are constructed of nickel or a nickel alloy. To form the sunglass front, they are joined together by induction brazing in a series of steps. At each step of the process, they are held in place by a jig. The Handy & Harman / Lucas - Milhaupt brazing filler metals typically used for the joints are 50% silver - bearing alloys such as Braze 505. in some instances, Handy Flux or Handy Flux Type 8-1 is used to insure optimal wetting action. When the brazing process is complete, the fronts are pickled to remove any discoloration, polished, and then plated in the desired color. The brazed joints in the finished frames are virtually invisible to the eye.

1. The bridge of a sunglass frame is brazed.
2. Various metal frame parts are joined during the induction brazing process.
3. Handy & Harman/Lucas-Milhaupt filler metal in wire from is used.
4. Brazing provides invisible joints as this browbar is brazed.
5. A total of 10 joints are formed during the fully automated process.