The world's first titanium eyeglass frames were made by the Japan Optical Industry Corporation, which overcame the difficulties in titanium processing and began selling titanium eyeglasses under the names of "TitexA" and "TitexB" in 1981, and solved the problem of drawing on the titanium material "TitexA". With "TitexA", we solved the problems of die breakage during wire drawing and stamping, and the finish of the processed surfaces, and obtained the optimum cutting conditions for cutting the processed surfaces.
In surface processing, we are concentrating on solving problems with abrasives, polishing rollers, processing machines, and processing conditions. We also made a breakthrough in the development of new solder for titanium, which is the biggest obstacle in brazing titanium. In terms of surface treatment, titanium has many difficulties with the previous method of wet plating precious metals on the material (zinc alloy, nickel alloy, stainless steel, etc.), so the method of ion plating is used. Golden color can be obtained by nitriding, and silver white can be obtained by chromium nitride. In addition, these nitrides are super-hard substances that give the surface good abrasion resistance. In addition, a brownish yellow color can be obtained by spray painting.
The weight of the TitexA sample is about 16g, and the weight of the TitexB sample is about 17g, which is about 30% lighter than that of the previously used material, because titanium is used as the core material and the corrosion-resistant metal material is coated on the surface. "The frame is available in two styles and weighs about 13g.
Classification of frames
Full Titanium: The frame is made of titanium except for the screws and plastic feet.
Nickel-coated titanium: the frame is made of titanium with a nickel-coated surface, which no longer exists.
Pieced titanium: Due to the high cost of producing nickel-clad titanium and the need to upgrade equipment, pieced titanium frames were created before the upgrade, however, they are dangerous because each metal has a different melting point and can be very fragile if they are put together. Early nickel-clad titanium frames were flattened at an angle so that the distribution of the frame lines was not as even as the original factory production, so after use, the layer of nickel and titanium cladding would break off and could not be welded back together for repair, including the case of assembled titanium.
Nickel-plated titanium: In order to reduce costs and make production easier, some factories have researched the use of titanium plated with nickel. This can then be handled by traditional welding techniques.
Generally speaking, pure titanium frames are marked with 100% TITANIUM or PURE TITANIUM on the temples or lenses; Beta titanium frames are marked with BetaTitanium or Beta Titanium, with slight differences in the writing style of different manufacturers.
Various kinds of eyeglass frames made of titanium were developed and started mass production in the early 1990s in foreign countries, and before 1998, titanium eyeglass frames had occupied more than 60% of the Japanese market. Titanium eyeglass frames belong to the middle and high grade consumer goods. In recent years, with the improvement of the living standard of our people, the domestic demand for titanium eyeglass frames is expanding rapidly, and many manufacturers of titanium eyeglass frames have appeared in China.
