ORAFOL Fresnel Optics halves lens inspection time with Zebra AI vision

ORAFOL Fresnel Optics GmbH has automated quality inspection of its Fresnel lenses with a bespoke system built on Zebra Aurora Vision Studio with Aurora Deep Learning. Zebra announced the deployment, saying the setup has processed more than 1.5 million optical lenses.

Previously, operators held each lens to the light under specific conditions to spot defects, a repetitive task that caused fatigue and tied up as many as 15 operators across production lines. ORAFOL struggled to find a supplier able to handle the complex lens microstructures, so a bespoke optical turret was developed for the job. Zebra says the software works with any standard camera.

As demand grew, ORAFOL built a second, more advanced system for high-volume inspection of optical windows with ID Engineering, a Zebra Industrial Automation System Integrator, again using Aurora Vision Studio with deep learning. Zebra reports that inspection times were halved, 24/7 workflows and end-to-end component traceability were enabled, and frontline staff were freed for other tasks.

For optics shops weighing automation, the case points to deep-learning vision as an alternative to manual light-table checks on hard-to-inspect microstructures. The performance figures are Zebra's and ORAFOL's; the source does not independently verify them.