The process of grinding a lens can also be referred to as:

• A. Surfacing
• B. Generating
• C. Surfacing, Generating
• D. Polishing

Answer: (C)

Grinding a lens is about removing material to shape the surface to the desired prescription. In lens fabrication, two terms describe aspects of this same operation: generating and surfacing. Generating refers to how the surface is formed as the grinding tool moves and the blank rotates, effectively creating the curvature. Surfacing is the broader idea of removing material to produce the required surface, including the shaping and finishing actions during grinding. Since grinding involves both forming the curvature and shaping the surface, both terms apply, so saying Surfacing, Generating captures the concept. Polishing, by contrast, is a later finishing step to improve smoothness, not the grinding process itself.