Machine Vision Components

This Category usually consists of one or more cameras and lenses (optics), which take a picture of the part being inspected. Depending on the application, the digital cameras (GigE, Fiirewire, USB) can be mono/colour, high resolution, high speed or line scan.

We offer a complete range of video lenses for every scientific, medical and industrial application. Video lenses from Navitar, Fujinon, Tamron, Computar and Avenir are the ideal choice for applications ranging from PC board inspection to viewing glass bottles on a production line.

Lighting is needed to illuminate the part so that the best possible image can be acquired by the camera. Lighting assemblies cam in various shapes and sizes and are available in a variety of intensities. The most common form of lighting are high frequency fluorescent, LED (Light Emitting Diode), incandescent, and quartz -halogen fibre-optics types.

Often in the form of a light barrier or sensor, this device sends a trigger signal when it senses that a part is in close proximity. The sensor tells the machine vision system when a part is in the correct position for an image to be acquired.

Also referred to as a video capture card, this component is usually in the form of a plug-in board that is installed in the PC. A frame grabber’s job is to interface the camera (or cameras) to the host computer. It does this by taking the image data provided by the camera (in either analog or digital form) and converting it into information for use by the host PC.

Machine vision software is used for creating and executing programs, processing incoming image data, and making PASS/FAIL decisions. Machine Vision software can come in many different forms ("C" Libraries, ActiveX controls, Point & Click programming environments, etc.) and can be single function (e.g., designed only for one purpose like LCD inspection, Ball Grid Array (BGA) inspection, alignment tasks, etc.), or multi-function (e.g., designed with a suite of capabilities including gauging, bar code reading, robot guidance, presence verification, etc.)

The computer is a key element of a machine vision system. For inspection type applications, usually a Pentium III or equivalent is used. In general, the faster the PC, the less time the vision system will need to process each image. Due to the vibration, dust, and heat often found in manufacturing environments, an industrial-grade or ruggedised PC is often required.

Once the system has completed its inspection of a part, it must be able to communicate with the "outside world" to control the manufacturing process, communicate PASS/FAIL information to a database, or both. Usually, a digital I/O interface board and/or network card make up the interfacing through which the machine vision system communicates with the outside systems and databases.

Motion control products are designed for powerful; yet simple applications in both point-to-point and advanced multi-axis coordinated motion systems. Servo and step motors are widely used for positioning and velocity control in a variety of machine configurations.