Changing the sensor game Precitec Optronik

ChaNGING ThE SENSoR GaME

Precitec Optronik, a member of the Germany-based Precitec group, happens to operate in today’s fastest growing sector. Its pioneering sensors have been developed to meet rising customer requirements for the utmost precision and accuracy across industries and continents. Romana Moares spoke to Jean-François Pichot, Director of Sales and Marketing about the current business focus and the new product to be launched in 2018.

Precitec Optronik, the German specialist in optical measuring technology, is a member of the family-owned Precitec Group founded in Baden-Baden in 1971. Over the 40 years of its existence, the group have become a sought-after specialist for complex system solutions in laser processing as well as optical metrology, operating numerous subsidiaries around the world and employing a total of around 500 people.

While Precitec Optronik is a relatively young company with about two decades of operation, it has become a market leader in its field. "Our core business is to develop non-contact optical sensors for very accurate distance and thickness measurement that have many applications in a variety of industries," summarises Mr Pichot.

He further explains that while traditionally the strongest sector has been the glass container industry, where the company still controls about 80 per cent of the market share, in the last ten years or so the products have been applied in an increasing number of other industries, such as the silicon wafer and the coordinate measurement machine sectors, and - most recently – the consumer electronics market. Here the Precitec sensors are installed, for example, for inspecting the quality of smart phones in the mass production factories of the world leaders.

Innovation driven

Innovation is the company's very basis and each year Precitec Optronik launches several new products. "We see our products as intended more for the high-end, cutting edge technologies. The products are the result of our own product development but may be customised to fit the customers applications," says Mr Pichot. Given the company size of about 90 people, it´s product development capability are impressive. The - R&D department employs 25 - 30 specialists and enjoys annual investments of 12 per cent of total turnover.

Innovative products include the CHRocodile C and CLS sensors and, the latest addition, Chromatic Vision camera. "CHRocodile C and CHRocodile CLS sensors are our 3D measurement sensors based on chromatic confocal technology. Basically, we focus light with special lens on a surface. The special lens splits light around the focus into different wavelength - like you can see in a rainbow. When imaging back the light we have colour-coded distance. It is a very accurate and stable measurement with resolution down in Nanometer scale. We have very high acceptance angle and could measure on any surface," explains Jean-François Pichot.

The CHRocodile C sensor was introduced at Control 2016 and is the first “all in one” chromatic confocal point sensor. Its revolutionary design integrates opto-electronics and measuring probe in one single housing, the size of a pack of cigarettes. This device offers an excellent alternative to classical laser triangulation based sensors thanks to its unrivalled performance/price ratio. "CHRocodile CLS is our line sensor with 192 measurement points, enabling very fast and accurate measurement, introduced about four years ago. For our customers it was a gamechanger in the semicon and consumer electronic market," he points out.

Classical microscopy technology CHRomatic Vision Camera technology

Jean Francois Pichot, Director Sales & marketing

Breaking new grounds

The company is now launching a new sensor, CHRomatic Vision Camera, which will complements its classical 3D inspection technology. "With the new product we are trying to expand our portfolio to include 2D inspection. Chromatic Vision is a new microscopy technique with extended depth of focus. This is the real breakthrough of this new type of camera, unrivalled in the market. Simply put normally, a product measured on a production line may vibrate slightly, resulting in a poor image. Our technology enables to get a very focused, sharp image," explains Mr Pichot.

Precitec’s CHRomatic Vision line scan camera uses chromatic optics for 2D imaging. It is distinguished from microscope cameras thanks to it high depth of field, eliminating the need to autofocus. The technology may be used for quality assurance in in-line and offline applications like cosmetic inspection of metal parts, defect inspection on wafers or OLED mask inspection. The all-in-one design with integrated coaxial illumination enables easy integration into any production line. "We moved from 3D to 2D but still use the special lens to split light while focusing, enabling the highest depth of field compared to microscope optics," Mr Pichot adds.

Rising star

Although the key market for Precitec Optronik used to be Germany, the company has been intensively developing its international presence in the last ten years. Current focus is on Asia, indicating the biggest growth. "In China alone we have doubled the turnover recently," admits Mr Pichot. "We are also seeing a rapid growth in Korea and Taiwan but generally speaking the whole of South-East Asia is very promising."

An undeniable competitive advantage for Precitec's products is clearly its place of origin - 'Made in Germany' is a synonym for top quality and reliability and, coupled with the company's engineering capability, focus on innovation, extensive know-how and the rising demand for smart products Precitec seems to have just the right solution to meet the needs of every producer.

"The CHRomatic Vision camera has generated some fantastic feedback from the markets. It is very well suited for mass production in most sectors, and brings a significant advantage to our customers worldwide. It is also fully in line with the trend for smart factories with smart machines – and with the expansion of the Industry 4.0 its potential is huge."

Increasing demand means accelerated growth for the German company. "In the last three years we have expanded by 25 per cent each year. Now we are going to exceed this figure. You may say that Precitec Optronik really is a rising star, in the right place, at the right time," concludes Mr Pichot. n

Colour coded 3D Image derived from CHRocodile ClS