ZEISS India unveils how digital metrology is slashing inspection time by 50%

By Staff Report June 6, 2025 7:54 pm IST

The most common quality-related challenges faced by manufacturers today include digitalisation, which transforms raw measurement data into actionable insights with speed, efficiency, and integrated quality assurance. Aveen Padmaprabha, Head of Industrial Quality Solutions at ZEISS India, shares the importance of collaborating with the right technology partners, continuously upskilling teams, and embedding quality across stages of the value chain.

How is ZEISS IQS helping manufacturers enhance quality assurance through advanced metrology and inspection technologies?

Our Industrial Quality Solutions (IQS) enhance quality by integrating advanced metrology and inspection technologies with pervasive digitalisation. Beyond traditional optical and coordinate measuring systems, we offer digital solutions to manage the vast amount of data generated by quality control. By transforming this data into actionable insights, we enable manufacturers to leverage precision metrology for comprehensive digital integration and data-driven intelligence, fundamentally improving quality assurance processes in the evolving manufacturing landscape.

What are the most common quality-related challenges manufacturers face today, and how does ZEISS address them with its solutions?

Today’s manufacturers face several quality-related challenges that are critical for their competitiveness and success. These include digitalisation, which transforms raw measurement data into actionable insights with speed, efficiency, and integrated quality assurance. Digitalisation focuses on transforming raw measurement data into actionable insights, enabling continuous improvement and informed decision-making. Accuracy is crucial for producing precise parts with tight tolerances and higher precision, while speed ensures timely product delivery without compromising quality. Efficiency is a must for making complex shapes, and integrated quality assurance ensures seamless communication and data sharing comprehensive insights.

We understand these overarching challenges and have adopted a holistic, solution-driven approach, rather than merely a problem-driven one. We believe that by effectively addressing these larger systemic challenges, manufacturers can achieve approximately 90% efficiency in manufacturing and quality assurance processes, with the remaining 10% attributable to human-driven approaches and training. Every solution we launch and every feature we integrate into our products is meticulously designed to cater to these specific challenges.

For digitalisation, we provide improved data output and sophisticated integrated software solutions that transform raw data into actionable intelligence, facilitating better insights and decision-making. Our precise measurement instruments provide highly reliable results, enabling manufacturers to produce parts that meet specifications. We are enhancing the measurement speed of our systems, allowing manufacturers to maintain high throughput and accelerate their quality control processes.

Our solutions are designed to handle complex geometries, providing advanced measurement capabilities to streamline the inspection of intricate parts. We integrate quality assurance and develop software solutions that enable seamless communication between diverse equipment, ensuring that every measurement system “talks” to each other for better insights and a unified quality overview.

Can you elaborate on how ZEISS integrates Industry 4.0 principles, such as automation and data analytics, into its quality systems?

In the “Phygital World” of manufacturing, we are at the forefront of integrating Industry 4.0 principles into quality systems, leveraging automation, data analytics, and AI to transform quality control from reactive to predictive. Our ZEISS Automated Defect Detection (ZADD) solutions in X-ray systems utilise AI for faster, more accurate defect identification, while ZEISS ScanBox cobot solutions automate repetitive tasks.

Furthermore, our Digital Twin technology, exemplified by the Virtual Measuring Room (VMR) in our Inspect, enables virtual prototyping and process optimisation. This approach empowers manufacturers with vast datasets for enhanced efficiency, precision, and overall product excellence in the data-driven manufacturing landscape.

How does ZEISS IQS cater to the needs of high-precision industries such as automotive, aerospace, and medical devices?

We tailor our metrology offerings to the diverse precision needs of aerospace, automotive, and medical by recognising the unique demands driven by evolving global manufacturing trends. The shift from IC engines to electric vehicles, India’s domestic electronics manufacturing, increasing emphasis on quality in medical exports, and the performance-orientated requirements in aerospace with the advent of additive manufacturing have all amplified the demand for precision manufacturing. To address these challenges, we have developed targeted solutions.

The growing adoption of X-ray technology in India and the expanding medical device sector necessitate metrology solutions capable of handling increased production volumes while maintaining stringent quality standards; the O-Inspect multi-sensor CMM, with its combination of different sensors, effectively meets these demanding inspection requirements. Similarly, we offer advanced microscopic ZEISS SmartZoom 100 solutions for high-speed, high-volume inspection needs. 

What role does software play in your measurement ecosystem, and how are manufacturers using it for traceability and decision-making?

For us, a software portfolio is a vital solution evolving as dynamically as our hardware offerings. Last two years, our software portfolio has met the demanding and challenging needs of the manufacturing sector, particularly traceability and data-driven decision-making. Our ZEISS Quality Suite exemplifies this evolution, uniting our entire system software portfolio under one comprehensive roof.

To manage continuous data flow and provide holistic insights, we integrate robust software with its advanced hardware, including optical, electron, X-ray, and coordinate measuring systems. This powerful synergy enables manufacturers to leverage connected microscopy for comprehensive analysis and ZEISS PiWeb for aggregating quality data from diverse systems. These capabilities are crucial for achieving complete traceability and making informed decisions.

Furthermore, our ZEISS Smart Services offer automated maintenance and health monitoring for traditional hardware, empowering proactive quality assurance. Through these intelligent software solutions, we permit manufacturers to embrace the future of connected, data-utilising quality assurance, leading to enhanced traceability and more effective decision-making.

Can you share a recent example where ZEISS IQS significantly improved a customer’s manufacturing process or product quality?

A customer specialising in high-volume, precision medical components sought to overcome significant measurement time challenges. Through a collaborative effort, we implemented our ZEISS O-INSPECT multisensor CMM and leveraged the unique customisation capabilities of ZEISS CALYPSO software. Our partnership extended beyond system provision; we worked closely to standardise measurement plans and provided custom part-holding fixtures. This integrated approach led to a 50% reduction in measurement time by reducing the number of measurement iterations.

Another compelling case involved a major OEM with stringent demands for production measurement speed. They previously came with up to ten different gauges to inspect complex geometries on a single part, leading to time-consuming and error-prone random measurements. Despite the existing robustness of our ZEISS DURAMAX shop floor CMM for production challenges, this OEM required even faster measurement cycles. Our solution facilitated precise measurement of complex geometries directly on the shop floor and empowered them to handle 37 different part variations for the same component without investing in additional gauges. This efficiency gain was specifically achieved through our system’s increased scanning speed feature, underscoring our commitment to delivering precise, rapid, and versatile measurement solutions.  

With increasing emphasis on speed and accuracy, how is ZEISS balancing inline inspection and lab-based precision metrology?

We recognise the fundamental role of digitalisation; we transform traditional optical and coordinate measuring systems from standalone tools into vital components of connected digital quality control ecosystems. This involves equipping conventional systems with advanced digital capabilities that complement physical applications. Beyond hardware, we offer dedicated software solutions to manage and leverage the growing volume of quality control data, generating actionable insights to optimise broader business processes. This strategic investment in digital integration allows manufacturers to achieve real-time monitoring and rapid feedback loops typical of inline inspection while benefiting from the unparalleled precision and comprehensive analysis capabilities of lab-based metrology, ensuring speed and accuracy throughout the production lifecycle.

What advice would you give Indian manufacturers looking to elevate their quality infrastructure to global standards?

Indian manufacturers have made impressive strides in upgrading production capabilities, but now the focus should shift to elevating quality infrastructure to global standards. With global OEMs increasingly setting up operations in India, precision, traceability, and digital integration are fast becoming baseline expectations. Investing in advanced quality technologies such as CT scanning, inline metrology, and AI-driven analytics goes beyond inspection; it empowers faster decision-making, predictive maintenance, and process optimisation.

My advice to manufacturers is do not just aim to meet global benchmarks; build ecosystems that can surpass them. This means collaborating with the right technology partners, continuously upskilling teams, and embedding quality across every stage of the value chain. The world is looking to India as a manufacturing hub, and we must ensure we’re not just prepared. We are leading.