Ophthalmic lens edging process by calculation

1. An ophthalmic lens edging machine, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the ophthalmic lens edging machine to:

receive an edger code comprising data associated with a requested edging job, the edger code comprising a plurality of characters, wherein each character of the plurality of characters is associated with a different feature of the requested edging job;

determine a total weight for the edger code based upon weights of each character of the plurality of characters; and

select an edging process macro based upon the total weight of the edger code.

2. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of characters in the edger code comprise characters selected from a group consisting of: digits, alphanumeric characters, special characters, and symbols.

3. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of characters in the edger code are represented in at least one of a decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary format.

4. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions further cause the ophthalmic lens edging machine to: identify a value of each individual character in the edger code; identify a weight for each value; and combine the weight for each value to generate the total weight.

5. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 4 , wherein the program instructions further cause the ophthalmic lens edging machine to: determine that one or more unweighted characters in the edger code are not assigned a weight; and ignore the one or more unweighted characters when determining the total weight.

6. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions further cause the ophthalmic lens edging machine to: provide feedback to a source device that provided the edger code, wherein the feedback comprises information regarding an ability of the ophthalmic lens edging machine to execute the requested edging job associated with the edger code.

7. The ophthalmic lens edging machine of claim 6 , wherein the feedback comprises one or more of an abrasive wheel wear level, a consumable availability, and a component status.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving lens data from a lens management system;

receiving edging machine information identifying one or more lens edging machines; and

generating an edger code using the lens data and the edging machine information, the edger code comprising a plurality of characters,

wherein each character is associated with a different feature of a requested edging job.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: determining whether a particular feature is activated for edger code generation; if the particular feature is activated, identifying a character for that feature; and if the particular feature is not activated, assigning a zero or null value for the particular feature.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: sequentially identifying characters for each of a plurality of features associated with the requested edging job; creating a character string by concatenating the characters for each of the plurality of features; and assigning the character string as an edger code value.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

transmitting the edger code to a selected lens edging machine; and

receiving feedback from the selected lens edging machine, the feedback comprising information regarding capabilities of the selected lens edging machine relative to the requested edging job.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of characters in the edger code comprise characters selected from a group consisting of: digits, alphanumeric characters, special characters, and symbols.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of characters in the edger code are represented in a decimal, hexadecimal, octal, or binary format.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein features of the requested edging job comprise one or more of: a material type, a lens thickness, an edge type, a frame type, a lens coating, a lens shape, a lens ratio, a lens treatment, and an edging machine block type.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving an edger code at a lens edging machine, the edger code comprising data associated with a requested edging job, the edger code comprising a plurality of characters, wherein each character is associated with a different feature of the requested edging job;

determining a total weight for the edger code based upon weights assigned to each individual character of the plurality of characters; and

selecting an edging process macro based upon the total weight of the edger code.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising selecting the plurality of characters in the edger code from a group consisting of: digits, alphanumeric characters, special characters, and symbols.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising representing the plurality of characters in the edger code in at least one of a decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary format.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising: identifying a value of each individual character of the plurality of characters in the edger code; identifying a weight for each value; and combining the weight for each value to generate the total weight.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising: determining that one or more unweighted characters in the edger code are not assigned a weight; and ignoring the one or more unweighted characters when determining the total weight.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising providing feedback to a source device that provided the edger code, wherein the feedback comprises information regarding an ability of the ophthalmic lens edging machine to execute the requested edging job associated with the edger code.