User:Dr.cueppers/OneDollarGlasses



OneDollarGlasses (EinDollarBrille) describes firstly the affordable, locally produced glasses invented by Martin Aufmuth for the population of the poorest countries in the world, secondly also the charitable German Association OneDollarGlasses, which has the objective of producing and selling in a simple way many of such glasses.

History
Martin Aufmuth started developing the OneDollarGlasses in 2010 and along side the glasses, the tools needed to produce them. On 29 April 2010, he registered the glasses under the registered design DE202010006431U1 and DE202010006432U1. In January 2015 he presented the glasses in the headquarters of the UNESCO in Paris in the frame of the United Nation launch events for the United Nations International Year of Light.

Glasses
The glasses consist of stable steel spring wire, polycarbonate lenses as well as heat-shrink tubing and two coloured decorative beads, which give the glasses an individualised designed. Glasses can be produced locally without electricity and jobs can be created. The sales price is around two to three times local daily wages. Wages and materials are financed from this. The bending machine is provided by the Association.

Material
The steel spring wire, lenses, shrinkable tubing and coloured pearls cost around one US Dollar. Producing the glasses takes around half an hour.

Metal Wire
For the glasses frame, a material is used, which was originally developed for dental braces.

Plastic Lenses
The lense are a chinese custom-made fabrication from made of break-proof Polycarbonate with a hardened, scratch resistant surface. These are cast in polished, spherical forms and no rework or finishing is required.

The basic sortiment consists of 25 spherical lenses with strengths ranging from -6,0 bis +6,0 diopters in intervals of 0,5 diopters. In principle, the system can be complemented with lenses of 0,25 intervals and strengths greather than 6,0 diopters. Uncut lenses for sunglasses are also available. The finished sunglasses are available over the counter or for those with allergies on the basis of a prescription.

The lenses are clicked by hand into the glasses frame via corresponding notches.

Heat-shrink tubing
Coloured or colourless heat-shrink tubing made from Polyolefin is used wherever the glasses come into contact with the skin, such as the nose bridge and the frame ends.

Glass Beads
The patients select the decorative glass beads from a sortiment of different colours.

Bending Machine


In the meantime, Martin Aufmuth has constructed the 11th generation of the bending machine. Six people can use it in parallel; the production capacity is around 50 000 glasses per year. With this machine, glasses for three different interpupillary distances can be produced. They are financed by donations and are gratis in the corresponding countries.

Awards
For this invention, Martin Aufmuth, founder and first chairperson of the OneDollarGlasses Association, received the empowering people award from the Siemens Foundation in October 2013. He was selected from among 800 other competitors.