New Products

System makes 3-D measurements The YP20 measuring system operates within a z-axis range of 20 mm to read and measure a part's surface. It uses a laser, a CCD color video camera, 50X optical lens, Sony Trinitron monitor, video capture board, and 450-MHz Pentium II PC. A 230 x 230-mm part stage mounted on a microflat granite table provides x- and y-axis movements within a 110 x 110-mm range. Closed-loop control in all three axes provides 0.1-µm resolution and a z-axis positioning repeatability of ±0.2 µm. Running within Windows 98, the system's inspection software furnishes a range of color, 3-D screen displays for parts' observation, measurement, and analysis. Sony Precision Technology America Inc.,20381 Hermana Circle, Lake Forest, CA 92630; (949) 770-8400; Fax: (949) 770-8408.

Software offers interactive imaging Matrox Inspector 3.0 is an interactive Windows-based application for image capture, processing, analysis, display, and archiving. Based on the Matrox Imaging Library software development toolkit, it provides point and click access to image processing, blob analysis, gauging and measurement, and pattern matching. Other tools include image calibration, FFT, polar coordinates transformation, warping, and watershed. A Visual Basic for Applications-compatible scripting environment can be used to create custom dialog boxes for controlling script execution and interaction with other Windows applications such as Excel using OLE automation. Images can be acquired from the company's frame grabbers and vision processors. Matrox Imaging, 1055 St. Regis Blvd., Dorval, Quebec, Canada H9P 2T4; (514) 685-2630; Fax: (514) 822-6273.

CMOS sensor is programmable The PresencePLUS pixel-counting sensor consists of a 512 x 384 CMOS pixel array and a programmable processor, controller, lens, lighting, and mounting bracket and cable. It captures a 256-level gray-scale image of a specified area, converts the image to black-and-white pixels, and compares the designated-color pixel count with user-programmable upper and lower threshold values to determine pass or fail decisions. The sensor comes with a fluorescent or visible LED ring lamp; an 8-, 12- or 16-mm C-mount lens; a base-mounting swivel or column-mounting bracket; and a 6.5-, 15-, or 30-ft length of PVC-jacketed, quick-disconnect, sensor cable. The PRC1 hand-held processor-based controller is used to program and monitor the CMOS sensor, displays programming options, monitors options, and captures images on an LCD screen. Banner Engineering Corp.,POB 9414, Minneapolis, MN 55441; (612) 544-3164; Fax: (612) 544-3213.

Fiberoptic illuminator aids vision Providing shadow-free, glare-free cool illuminations for machine vision, the Mille Luce Model 1000 can be used with a standard 150-W quartz halogen lamp. With the illuminator at full intensity, lamp life is claimed to be 1000 hours. To eliminate the problem of fiberoptic goosenecks slipping and rotating in the nosepiece, the Mille Luce uses a positive locking mechanism. Other features include an integrated infrared filter and low vibration and fan noise. Stocker and Yale,32 Hampshire Rd., Salem, NH 03079; (800) 843-8011; Fax; (603) 893-5604.

CMOS sensors serve high end The ACS-IXXX line of CMOS area image sensors offers three resolutions: 512 x 512, 1024 x 1024, and 2048 x 2948, each with 12-µm square pixels. Its PVS-BUS technology permits video outputs at rates exceeding 60 million pixels/s. Active-column-sensor technology achieves signal-to-noise ratio greater than 60 dB. A 10-bit analog-to-digital converter digitizes at 24 MHz at ±1/2 bit. Offset, gain, and electronic shutter are digitally programmable. Operating modes include progressive, frame integration, master, slave, and nondestructive read-out. Photon Vision Systems LLC,POB 509, Cortland, NY 13045; (607) 756-5200; Fax: (607) 756-5319.

Light source uses metal halide arc lamp The Solarc light source measures 3.2 x 2.5 x 4.5 in. and offers a low-watt, metal halide arc lamp that provides as much as five times more light per watt compared to halogen light sources. Housed in a metal chassis, it delivers white light at a nominal 5500K, providing daylight illumination for color rendering and color balance. It can transmit light energy into small-diameter fiber bundles. Lightguide connections and a 110/220-V power supply are available. Alternative Endoscope Instruments,4290 Deerpath Rd., Marcellus, NY 13108; (315) 673-4151; Fax: (315) 673-1410.

Camera is self-contained The CV-M820 remote color camera head comes in a 17-mm diameter x 110-mm long cylindrical housing and allows flexible application configurations via an RS-232 port. It needs no controller unit and accommodates any cable length to system control. An integrated 12-pin Hirose connector handles video output, 12-Vdc power, and the RS-232 interface. The sensor uses1/4- or 1/2-in. interline color CCD technology and works with standard microhead optics and a C-mount adapter. An OEM-board version is available. JAI A·S,Produktionsvej1, 2600Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark; (+45) 4457 8850; Fax: (+45) 4491 1401.

Camera reads codes The VC38 camera measures 100 x 50 x 36 mm, weighs 250 g, and contains a Sony 1/3-in. progressive-scan sensor with a 640 x 480-pixel resolution for reading bar- and matrix codes and verifying alphanumeric characters. It also features a digital-signal processor, 8 Mbytes of SDRAM, and 2 Mbytes of flash EPROM. Also included are four 12-24-V inputs and four 150-mA outputs that are optically isolated, an RS-232 serial port, a pixel-identical sensor readout, and a VGA video output. Powered by 12 Vdc, the camera supports full-frame image acquisition, program-controlled and external triggering, and 1/10,000- to 20-s shuttering. Vision Components,478 Putnam Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139; (617) 429-1252; Fax: (617) 429-1252.

Workstation captures dual images The NucleoVision 830 dual-imaging system performs simultaneous color and fluorescence image documentation and analysis of electrophoretic gels, autoradiographs, blots, microscopy specimens, and 3-D images. A real-time CCD camera detects and quantifies color and gray-scale images and resolves nanogram quantities of DNA. GelExpert software provides image acquisition, archiving, analysis, and publication tools. Analysis tools include OD analysis, molecular weight calculation, 1-D automated multilane densitometry, dot/slot blot analysis, free-object quantification, genotyping, bioassay, and 2-D spot densitometry. NucleoTech Corp.,1400 Fashion Island Blvd., Suite 510, San Mateo, CA 94404; (650) 554-1800; Fax: (650) 554-1808.

Software enhances 3-D The 3-D-Doctor Version 3.0 is a three-dimensional, image-processing, rendering, and visualization software package for CT, MRI, microscopy, and other volumetric images. Its algorithms have been optimized to perform volume and surface rendering on a Pentium-based PC in real time. The polygon-based surface-rendering algorithm creates 3-D surface models using contours or object boundaries generated form automatic image segmentation. The 3-D models can be saved to AutoCAD DXF, 3D Studio, and STL formats for rapid prototyping of an object for display over the Internet. The proprietary voxel-based volume rendering supports real-time maximum density, transparency, direct voxel, and ray tracing methods. Other supported functions include 3-D image registration, automatic slice alignment, texture-based image segmentation, image mosaic, and deconvolution. Able Software Corp., 5 Appletree Lane, Lexington, MA 02420; (781) 862-2804; Fax: (781) 862-2640.

Vision system adds logic control The EZ Vision Sensor PLC-based machine-vision system combines image processing and a programmable logic controller for static or high-speed inspections to 15,000/min. It includes two camera inputs for simultaneous image capture of two views of a part, 16 inspection programs, template matching with normalized correlation, rotational correction and measurement/inspection tools. The PLC offers 15 input/output points, 128 internal registers, eight timers, and eight counters. PC-based software and turnkey systems are available. Cincinnati Industrial Automation Ltd.,2625 Crescent Springs Rd., POB 17573, Covington, KY 41017; (606) 341-1141; Fax: (606) 341-7479.

Monitors work in factories The 9015/9019 series of industrial rack-mount monitors are for medium-to-large-scale applications in factory-automation and process-control environments. The 9019 series (19-in.-diagonal screen) and 9015 Series (15-in.-diagonal screen) monitors can be ordered with or without optional touch screens for use as an operator input station. To simplify installation in 19-in. equipment racks of 18-30-in. depth, optional chassis slide rail kits are supplied. Features include resolution to 1600 x 1200 (19 in.) or 1280 x 1024 (15 in.), VGA support, and power consumption of 150 W (on) and 15-W standby. ICS Advent,6260 Sequence Dr., San Diego, CA 92121-4371; (858) 677-0877; Fax: (858) 677-0895.

Runs on multiple buses The VFG-M PCI mezzanine card (PMC) accommodates the PCI, VME, and CompactPCI bus environments. It contains 2 Cirrus 64-bit graphics controllers and 2 Bt848 video digitizers, a PCI-PCI bridge, and a 2-port USB hub. Each video digitizer can select from four video sources, scale the image, perform color translation, and copy the clipped real-time data to an assigned display memory using DMA. Each graphics controller supports analog monitors to 1280 x 1024-pixel resolution or digital flat-panel displays to 1024 x 768 pixels. The bridge isolates transfers between two video-capture devices and two display generators from the host processor's PCIbus. Software support includes Linux, Windows NT, VyWorks, LynxOS, and Solaris; CPU support covers x86, PowerPC, and Sparc. Peritek Corp.,5550 Redwood Rd., Oakland, CA 94619; (510) 531-6500; Fax: (519) 530-8563.

Stereo camera goes digital The monochrome Digiclops stereoscopic vision camera offers digital capture and output, a 10-bit image analog-to-digital converter, two 6-pin IEEE-1394 interface connectors for handling 400 Mbits/s, and a Triclops 2.2 software API. Its three progressive-scan 1/3-in. CCDs provide 640 x 480-pixel resolution for real-time 3-D digital video for tracking, measuring, counting, VRML modeling, and mobile robotics. Camera gain is -3 to +33 dB, shutter speed runs from 1/25 to 1/15,000 s, and software support includes Windows 98/2000. Point Grey Research,101-1847 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1Y6; (604) 730-9937; Fax: (604) 732-8231.

Ringlights offer high-frequency fluorescence Two 25-kHz fluorescent ringlights, the Model 5 and the Superlite 18S, are engineered for machine-vision applications and are engineered in a rugged black anodized-aluminum housing. With a 0.984-in. bore, the Model 5 ringlight features a 5100k deluxe daylight fluorescent lamp. For lighting requiring illumination over a larger field of view, systems developers can choose the Superlite Model 8 with a 4-in. bore and a 6500k deluxe daylight fluorescent lamp. Stocker & Yale,32 Hampshire Rd., Salem, NH 03079; (800) 843-8011; Fax: (603) 893-5604.

DSP board does GFLOPS The Champ-AV DSP board is capable of 14.4 GFLOPS of processing density in a single 6U VME slot and can support two 64-bit/66-MHz PMC sites. It can provide more than 1 Gbyte/s simultaneous data movement throughout the board. Global and local memories are both 32-64 Mbytes of SDRAM, 64 bits wide. The L2 cache is up to 2 Mbytes of SBRAM per G4 PowerPC, and Flash memory is up to 16 Mbytes. Processors include a choice of two or four MPC750 processors. Ixthos Inc.,741-G Miller Dr. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175; (703) 779-7800; Fax: (703) 779-7805.

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