ANSI Z87.1 is a set of standards for protective eyewear, including prescription and non-prescription glasses, goggles, face shields, and welding helmets. The standard is maintained by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is used by manufacturers to ensure that their products meet certain performance and safety requirements.
Once the eyewear has passed all of the tests, it can be certified as compliant with ANSI Z87.1 and labeled as such. The individual test for ANSI Z87.1 involves a series of laboratory tests to determine the safety and performance of the eyewear, their optical properties and protection against UV radiation.
The ANSI Z87.1 tests include :
- high-mass impact resistance
- impact resistance
- prism and prism imbalance
- lens retention
- refractive power
- astigmatism
- optical clarity
- UV test
Lens retention: This test measures the ability of the eyewear to hold the lenses securely in place in the event of an impact. The eyewear is subjected to a series of tests to determine if the lenses will stay in place or if they will fall out, potentially causing injury to the user.
Refractive power test - this optical clarity (focus) test measures the ability of a
lens’ entire surface area to focus on the rays of a sunburst
pattern without blurring, blending, or bending the lines.
Astigmatism test - this test looks for improper lens curvature or flat areas that create a
refractive power and/or cause image shifting.
Optical clarity: this test measures the clarity of the lenses and determines if they meet the standards for visual acuity and clarity
UV Test is designed to ensure that the lens can filter out harmful ultraviolet rays. To pass this test, the lens must be examined under a UV lamp and must block at least 99.9% of the UV rays. A cheaper solution for the manufacturer is to solve the protection against UV radiation by sticking the appropriate protective film on the lenses. It is more expensive to integrate UV protection directly into the lenses.
The ANSI Z87.1 determines standards by which you can choose sunglasses. These standards are objective determination of the quality of glasses.