Abstract: An apparatus for forming contact lenses, wherein front curve mold halves are filled with a hardenable transparent material, such as a polymerizable hydrogel, and back curve mold halves are coupled to the front curve, therein forming a lens. More particularly, the apparatus includes a conveyor for transporting pallets of mold halves to the apparatus, an array of piston structures for raising and aligning the back curves with respect to the filled front curve halves, a mechanism for reciprocating the piston array to couple pairs of front and back curves, and a vacuum chamber for maintaining a vacuum around the curves during coupling. In addition, there is provided individual spring biasing to each reciprocating element whereby sensitivity to thickness variations and pallet misfeeds may be minimized. Further, there is provided a vacuum sleeve, through which the pistons reciprocate within the vacuum chamber, which sleeve preserves the vacuum within the chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling and assembling mold parts for a contact lens includes a first automated station for receiving a plurality of front curve contact lens mold parts and depositing in each front curve mold a predetermined amount of a polymerizable monomer or monomer mixture, and, a second automated station for receiving the plurality of front curve mold parts and assembling each front curve mold part with a back curve mold part under vacuum to prevent entrapment of gas between the mold parts. The front curve mold parts are transported to the first and to the second automated stations by a pallet having registration guides that cooperate with the second station to register the pallet prior to assembly of the mold parts.