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Eyewear fitting face for optician training

A realistic mannequin face for an eyewear company's optician training kit, modelled from a reference head and designed on an articulating base.

Made for
Training opticians to fit spectacles
What it is made of
White SLA resin, with dark glossy eyes
What it wears
Real spectacle frames, resting on the nose and ears
Plan a training model (opens WhatsApp) Send a brief

What we brought

  1. What we can do

    A face that fits real frames

    Modelled from the client's reference head, so spectacles rest on the nose bridge and ears as on a person.

  2. How we look after you

    Eyes behind the lenses

    Eyeballs sit in sockets behind the face, so frames are fitted against real eye positions, not a blank mask.

  3. What you get

    A head that tilts and turns

    We designed an articulating base with a ball joint, so the head sets at the angle each lesson needs.

The build

How we built it

5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 5 · 07/11/2023

Reference
The client's mannequin head
Use
Training opticians to fit spectacles
Base
Articulating, so the head can tilt and turn

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we designed a mannequin face, printed in SLA resin, for an eyewear company's optician training kit. They needed a realistic face to fit spectacles on, with eyes, on a base that lets the head move.

Design and prototyping

Step 2 of 5 · 09/11/2023

We modelled the face as a thin shell from the reference head. Behind it, a bar holds both eyeballs in their sockets, and a ball joint links the face to a heavy base, so it tilts and turns.

  1. Revision 0

    The ball joint and the heavy base.

    Render

  2. First face · 08/11/2023

    A face with a fine skin texture and open eye holes, modelled from the reference head.

    Render

  3. Revision 0 · 09/11/2023

    A smooth face with eyeballs in their sockets, on a ball joint and a heavy base.

    Render

Production

Step 3 of 5 · 29/11/2023

The parts were printed by SLA in white ABS-like resin and Somos 9120, a tougher, slightly flexible resin. The face came out matt white, so nothing competes with the frames.

Build and assembly

Step 4 of 5

We fitted the eyeballs into their sockets behind the face, so the glossy dark irises sit where a person's would, then tried spectacles on the face from every angle.

The eyes set in their sockets.
The face with its eyes fitted.

The final build

Step 5 of 5 · 12/12/2023

Once the design was approved, the eyewear company ordered the head and articulating base to be made. Spectacles sit on the nose and ears as they would on a person, from straight on to full profile.

Spectacles on, at a three-quarter angle.

More product development

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