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Success Story
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics automates quality inspection of complex microstructured lenses with Zebra
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics GmbH, based in Apolda, Germany, has been manufacturing microstructured polymer optics since 1991, handling every step in-house, from optical design and tool manufacturing to precision replication, coating, and final inspection.
Zebra Success Story: ORAFOL Fresnel Optics
Overview: Manufacturing Challenge
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics looked to automate the final visual inspection of complex microstructured Fresnel lenses and other plastic optics, where no existing inspection system could reliably detect defects on the intricate surface structure.
Benefits / Outcomes
- Two operators’ time freed for higher value tasks
- Inspection time cut in half
- 1.5 million+ parts processed
- 24/7 continuous inspection
- 100% automated thickness and dimension checks
- Full end-to-end traceability per component
About ORAFOL Fresnel Optics
Whether it's inside the sensors that guide autonomous vehicles, the displays that illuminate our screens, or the lighting systems embedded in modern architecture, precision optics are everywhere. Most people never see them, but these tiny, microstructured components are doing critical work across some of the most demanding industries in the world, where performance standards are uncompromising.
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics GmbH, based in Apolda, Germany, has been manufacturing microstructured polymer optics since 1991, handling every step in-house, from optical design and tool manufacturing to precision replication, coating, and final inspection. A division of the global ORAFOL Group, the company serves customers across the machine vision, sensor, lighting, display, and solar markets with a catalogue of more than 600 components. With parts supplying high-tech applications worldwide, every single component must meet exacting quality standards before it leaves the facility, which is where Zebra Technologies plays a key role.
The Challenge
Every optical component that leaves ORAFOL Fresnel Optics must be flawless. This includes Fresnel lenses, which are pieces of plastic, sometimes as small as 4 mm across, covered in tiny concentric stepped rings, each one precisely shaped. This complex microstructure makes inspection difficult: the fine surface structure masks defects, making them hard to spot consistently.
For years, the task fell to human operators. "An operator takes a component, holds it up to the light, and checks for scratches, streaks, or other defects," explains Rico Traxdorf, Production and Technology at ORAFOL Fresnel Optics. The work is repetitive, and fatigue inevitably introduces risk. With 10 to 15 operators dedicated to final inspection, the process also ties up significant personnel.
The biggest benefit is that everything is more consistent now. We define a specification in the system, and every scratch that looks like that—or every scratch that is outside the specification—is rejected.
The Solution
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics decided to automate this step to bring the inspection process more consistency and cost savings. The team found that no inspection system supplier could guarantee reliable defect detection on a Fresnel surface, which meant they would have to build their own solution. "We needed a powerful tool that we could train and control ourselves," says Alexandra Frenzel, Engineer for Quality at ORAFOL Fresnel Optics. "It was important that we could do everything in-house, without always having to explain it to someone external."
ORAFOL Fresnel Optics’ developers researched the market and identified Aurora Vision Studio from Zebra Technologies, drawn in by the quality of its support and training programme. Aurora Vision Studio's no-code approach was central to its appeal. Rather than writing complex programming code, the team could configure the system by dragging and dropping building blocks on the screen, making it easier to collaborate and make changes quickly. The software is also hardware-independent, meaning ORAFOL Fresnel Optics was free to match it with their own cameras and equipment rather than investing more time and money in new hardware that’d be compatible.
With the software selected, ORAFOL Fresnel Optics came up with an automated inspection system. "We built what I'd call an optics tower, where we can inspect these Fresnel structures using three different types of lighting: point light, transmitted light, and reflected light," shares Traxdorf.
The team trained the deep learning defect detection model within the Aurora Vision Studio software themselves. “You tell the system: this is a scratch, this is dirt, this is an inclusion. When you have many images like that, an algorithm learns what each defect looks like and applies that knowledge to new images,” notes Frenzel. To date, more than 1.5 million parts have been processed through this system.
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
As demand grew, ORAFOL Fresnel Optics planned a second, more advanced inspection system capable of handling various optical windows in high volume. This time, they brought in ID Engineering as an implementation partner. “Our collaboration with ID Engineering draws on their great experience and expertise as specialists in industrial image processing,” says Frenzel. “Based on deep trust and constructive teamwork, they provide detailed preliminary consultations, high availability, and very user-friendly implementations.”
ID Engineering carried that groundwork into a working setup using Zebra’s Aurora Vision Studio's no-code platform aligned with ORAFOL Fresnel Optics’ specific requirements.
Today, the two systems run with minimal operator involvement. Parts are inspected and placed into packaging automatically, and the operator's main task is simply to replace the tray when it's full. The software, configured by ID Engineering, has two access levels so operators see only what they need, while quality experts can adjust parameters and retrain models as needed. “The operators need to be trained in using the system, but it’s a very user-friendly interface,” notes Traxdorf. For lower-volume products and parts with varying shapes and requirements, manual inspection remains part of the process, but for the high-volume lines where consistency matters most, the system handles it without interruption.
That reliability was built on a foundation of strong partnership. “We consistently received timely and reliable support from ID Engineering whenever something came up,” says Frenzel. “Zebra offers excellent customer service too, as well as a system that's easy to use and intuitive enough that we could annotate and train failure images of our products on our own.”
The impact on quality is clear. “The biggest benefit is that everything is more consistent now,” shares Traxdorf. “We define a specification in the system, and every scratch that looks like that—or every scratch that is outside the specification—is rejected.”
Traceability reinforces this further. Every batch is logged before inspection begins, and quality data is exported directly into the company’s production planning system, giving the team visibility into scrap rates and a clear trail back to the source of any issue. "If a customer reports an issue with a specific package, we can fully trace its exact contents as well as the reported defects, enabling us to take targeted corrective action immediately," explains Traxdorf. “No customer complaints have come in so far, but for businesses integrating these components into high-tech products, knowing that the trail exists matters.”
Finally, the company has noticed significant time savings. Inspection time has been cut in half, allowing more parts to be processed each day. "Automated inspection frees up two operators to focus on other specialised tasks where they are urgently needed, and because it runs 24 hours a day, there are no breaks, vacations, or similar interruptions," shares Frenzel. Much of that comes down to how much the system handles on its own. For example, thickness and dimension checks are now done automatically for every single part. "If you do that manually, you can imagine how long it takes," Frenzel adds.
"The system is stable, reliable, and largely self-explanatory, and we were able to annotate and train it on our own products ourselves," says Frenzel. "We plan to keep building on what we have." What started as a challenge no supplier could solve has grown into a foundation the entire production process depends on—delivering the consistent, flawless quality that ORAFOL Fresnel Optics customers have come to expect.
