Optics Giant ZEISS Teams with Artec 3D for 3D Scanning Software

Artec 3D, the Luxembourg-based leader in the 3D scanner market, has partnered with German optics giant ZEISS to become a provider of ZEISS metrology software. The partnership will start with Artec 3D bundling ZEISS INSPECT Optical 3D and ZEISS REVERSE ENGINEERING software with Artec 3D scanners.

ZEISS has long been at the forefront of 3D metrology, and notably at the forefront of the overlap between 3D metrology and advanced manufacturing, with the company being one of the first to offer CT scanning solutions for additive manufacturing (AM) quality control. Given the proven potential of Artec 3D’s scanners in the AM industry, a partnership between the two companies could certainly have legs far beyond this initial announcement.

For instance, Artec 3D recently began work in Rwanda with nongovernmental organization (NGO) Humanity & Inclusion (HI) to provide scanners to medical professionals, towards the goal of producing custom medical devices for children. It is easy to envision ZEISS benefitting from and reciprocally contributing to and improving the data garnered from that endeavor for long-term know-how gains in the medical space.

In a press release about Artec 3D’s partnership with ZEISS, the CEO and president of Artec 3D, Art Yukhin, said, “Artec 3D is pleased to partner with ZEISS, a fellow leader in the industry; this will allow us to provide our advanced users with more options for complex tasks. We are excited to begin this cooperation, and to see what else we can accomplish.”

CEO of ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions, Dr. Marc Wawerla, said, “We are excited to partner with Artec 3D to enable customers from all industries to benefit from our market-leading expertise in metrology software.”

The 3D scanning industry could be one of the biggest early beneficiaries of crossovers between advanced manufacturing and AI. Quality 3D scanning data is critical to improving generative design, and a combination of ZEISS and Artec 3D would be a powerful force in maximizing that opportunity.

Along those lines, the potential for leaders on the periphery of the AM industry to rapidly become leaders within the industry itself has perhaps been under-appreciated. This is especially true given the bargain-bin valuations of AM companies in the current environment.

In an industry that is all about leverage, the power to close deals, when the time comes, may simply go to the largest and most competent enterprises with a direct stake in the industry, rather than pure-play AM companies. Consider that the mega-mergers floated in 2023 collapsed and faded into distant memory, at the same time that Nikon Advanced Manufacturing was consolidating the company’s AM portfolio to set up shop in the US.

Images courtesy of ZEISS & Artec 3D