Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPTResearch project "PRIMAD"
Faster production of high-quality glass optics: Digitally optimizing precision blank molding
High-performance optical systems are opening up future markets in medical technology, sensor technology, automation, semiconductor manufacturing, and mobility. However, their production often requires long development cycles and time-consuming quality inspections. At the same time, manufacturers must bring new products to market faster, more cost-effectively, and with consistently high quality.
In the “PRIMAD” project, we are working with our project partners to digitize and automate the development and production process for precision blank molding. In this process, manufacturers of glass optics heat a glass blank and press it directly into its final shape between high-precision tools. This produces optical glass components efficiently, with precise dimensions, and with a high surface finish.
Our goal is to reduce scrap and manual inspection efforts. This lowers the costs of high-quality optical components – from small-batch production to mass production – and shortens development time. Companies can respond more quickly to new customer requirements, strengthening their innovative capacity and competitiveness.
Two leverage points for more efficient optics production
PRIMAD focuses on two key leverage points in precision blank molding: the development of new optical products and quality inspection in series production:
1. Bringing prototypes to volume production faster
For each new optical product, companies develop and manufacture custom molding tools. At the same time, they determine process parameters that ensure consistently high product quality. Since the tool and process parameters strongly influence one another, development teams go through multiple cycles of simulation-based design, test production, and prototype analysis.
This iterative process ties up a significant amount of time in development and the measurement lab. In addition, adjustments or the remanufacturing of tools result in high costs.
2 . Making quality inspection in series production more efficient
During production, employees regularly inspect the optics for quality. If deviations from specifications occur, they identify the causes and adjust the production parameters or rework the molding tools.
These manual interventions require experienced specialists and limit production efficiency.
Simulation and inline measurement technology for faster optics manufacturing
A comprehensive, digitized development and production process addresses these two key areas. The goal is to bring new optical products to series production more quickly and to utilize production facilities more efficiently.
To achieve this, we create simulation models for glass forming and test automated measurement concepts. These comprehensively and reliably capture relevant quality characteristics of the manufactured optics.
We integrate inline measurement technology directly into the production line. The measurement data obtained supports the parameterization of the system and, together with the system data, feeds back into the product design. This creates the conditions for faster optimizations and a deeper understanding of the entire process.
In doing so, we take into account the tight time and space constraints of production. After all, high system utilization is crucial for manufacturing high-quality optics in a resource-efficient and cost-effective manner.
The digital twin connects data, processes, and knowledge
The project team consolidates the data from all manufactured products into a digital twin. This central data foundation links the individual subsystems and production phases and enables seamless data exchange.
AI models are developed and trained based on this data. They identify correlations between process parameters, equipment behavior, and product quality, and detect deviations early on. This enables employees to react more quickly and optimize processes in a targeted manner.
The digital twin also supports new employees in operating the equipment and interpreting measurement results. At the same time, process changes and quality fluctuations can be traced even retrospectively. In this way, we secure knowledge, create transparency, and improve optical manufacturing in the long term.
Project Consortium
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT (Project coordination)
- EDI AG, Karlsruhe
- INGENERIC GmbH, Baesweiler
- MABRI.VISION GmbH, Aachen
Funding
The project "PRIMAD – Process optimization and reduction of inspection times using inline measurement technology and defect detection in optical production" is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under the funding guidelines for photonics in digitized and automated production.
Funding Reference Number: 13N17458
Project Sponsor: VDI/VDE-IT, commissioned by the BMFTR
Project duration: 11/2025 – 10/2028