ALICONA IMAGING GMBH

Their core work

Alicona develops optical 3D surface measurement and metrology instruments used for quality control in precision manufacturing. In H2020 projects, they contribute in-process inspection capabilities for advanced manufacturing processes including micro-manufacturing, additive metal manufacturing, and injection moulding of micro-structured surfaces. Their instruments enable non-contact, high-resolution measurement of surface topography — a critical step in verifying that manufactured parts meet tight tolerances. They serve as the measurement and quality assurance link in manufacturing research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Alicona's H2020 participation spans 2015–2017 start dates, a relatively compact window. Their earliest involvement (MICROMAN, 2015) was as a third-party contributor to training networks in micro-manufacturing metrology. By 2016–2017, they took on direct participant roles in PAM^2 and Himalaia with larger funding shares, suggesting growing confidence and deeper integration into manufacturing research consortia. The shift from general micro-manufacturing toward functional surface inspection (antimicrobial, self-cleaning coatings) in Himalaia signals a broadening of their application scope beyond dimensional measurement.

Moving from pure dimensional metrology toward characterizing functional surface properties (antimicrobial, anti-scratch, self-cleaning), which positions them for smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 quality control applications.

How they like to work

Alicona never coordinates — they join as a specialist participant or third party, contributing their measurement technology to larger manufacturing consortia. With 40 unique partners across 10 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern is typical of an equipment/technology provider that plugs into many different research contexts without leading the overall research direction.

Despite only 3 projects, Alicona has worked with 40 distinct partners across 10 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes of their manufacturing research projects. Their network spans a broad European manufacturing research community rather than being concentrated in any single region.

What sets them apart

Alicona occupies a specific niche: they are one of the few companies that bring industrial-grade optical surface metrology directly into manufacturing research projects. While many partners in these consortia develop new processes or materials, Alicona provides the measurement backbone that validates whether those innovations actually work at required tolerances. For consortium builders, they are the go-to partner when a project needs in-process or post-process 3D surface quality verification.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PAM^2
  Largest funded project (EUR 255,934) focused on precision additive metal manufacturing — a high-growth area where surface metrology is critical for part qualification.
• Himalaia
  Applied surface measurement to functional micro-structured coatings (antimicrobial, self-cleaning), showing expansion beyond traditional dimensional inspection into functional surface characterization.