Vision + Automation Products

Interface board eases data acquisition

Matrox Concord is a family of interface cards prelicensed for use with the Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) and preconfigured to minimize application setup time. The single-port Matrox Concord GigE is factory-configured to maximize the size of jumbo packets and manage interrupt moderation and receive descriptors for optimal GigE Vision performance. Matrox Concord 1394 features three IEEE-1394a/b adapter ports and a 1394a/b bilingual copper connection. Both cards support 64-bit conventional PCI and x1 PCI Express host interfaces. Software support is available for 32-bit Microsoft Windows XP.
Matrox Imaging
Dorval, QC, Canada
www.matrox.com/imaging

LEDs feature mounting options

Surface-mount RGB LED with a 150° viewing angle, the OVSRRGBCC3 has three separate diodes housed in a miniature package that is compatible with both automatic pick-and-place equipment and IR and vapor-phase solder-reflow processes. Customers have the option of mounting the LED as a top-emitting or side-emitting device. The full-color surface-mount LED package is composed of a red, green, and blue LED with a white diffused lens. Operating temperature ranges from -40°C to +85°C.
OPTEK Technology
Carrollton, TX, USA
www.optekinc.com

Small camera adds flexibility

The In-Sight Micro is a full vision system the size of a remote-head camera (30 × 30 × 60 mm), making it ideal for mounting in very tight spaces on robots, production lines, and machinery. It has a nonlinear calibration tool that enables mounting at angles up to 45º for hard-to-reach applications. The system includes EasyBuilder configuration software and VisionView operator interface display. EasyBuilder eliminates the need for programming, yet provides the flexibility to customize complex applications.
Cognex
Natick, MA, USA
www.cognex.com

Smart cameras target industrial apps

NI 1722 and NI 1742 smart cameras are embedded devices that combine an industrial controller with an image sensor. They are shipped with the company’s Vision Builder for Automated Inspection, an interactive software environment for configuring, benchmarking, and deploying machine-vision applications without programming. The cameras also integrate with LabVIEW software. Built for use in harsh industrial environments, the NI 1722 features a 400-MHz PowerPC processor, and the NI 1742 features a 533-MHz processor. The monochrome VGA (640 x 480) image sensor used in both cameras is a Sony CCD.
National Instruments
Austin, TX, USA
www.ni.com

Frame grabbers support cameras

Alta-AN analog frame grabbers can acquire images from most analog cameras—high-speed asynchronous-reset monochrome cameras to high-resolution color HDTV cameras. There are three models: Alta-AN1, which has one virtual frame grabber (VFG) and can support one analog camera; Alta-AN2, which has two VFGs and supports two cameras; and Alta-AN4, which has four VFGs and supports four cameras. Each VFG is a completely independent frame grabber. Each Alta model is a half-size x4 PCI Express board, supporting a total data rate up to 1 Gbyte/s. A SDK is available for both 32- and 64-bit Windows platforms.
BitFlow
Woburn, MA, USA
www.bitflow.com

Camera delivers high-speed images

OPAL-1000, a high-speed CCD camera for fast machine-vision applications, can deliver up to 120 full-frame images per second with high signal-to-noise ratio. The OPAL-1000 uses sensors that offer high spatial resolution at high speeds. Performance parameters include global shutter, channel matching to below noise level, automatic black and shading, and defect-pixel correction. The OPAL-1000m optimizes a 1/2-in. CCD area-array sensor with 1024 × 1024, 5.5-µm square pixels.
Adimec
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
www.adimec.com

Stage speeds 3-D imaging

P-737 PIFOC Piezo-Z stage is designed for biotech research microscopes utilizing deconvolution and 3-D imaging techniques. It features up to 250-µm travel, millisecond responsiveness, and nanometer precise motion under closed-loop control. The stage allows Z-stack imaging with multiple objectives and very high throughput. It can be controlled through digital interfaces, as well as by fast analog signals through a high-speed 0–0-V input. For ease of integration, a comprehensive set of LabView drivers is included.
Physik Instrumente
Auburn, MA, USA
www.pi-usa.us

Cameras feature Camera Link interface

SmartBlue models 512 and 1K offer pixel resolutions of 512 or 1024 pixels, respectively, with data-transmission rates up to 40 MHz. The cameras come equipped with a Camera Link interface and maintain product noise immunity, precise linearity, and high charge-transfer efficiency. The cameras offer user-controllable pixel correction to compensate for nonuniformities in lighting, lens, or CCD sensor variations, as well as adjustable gain levels and real-time status LEDs. They incorporate Reticon photodiode arrays.
PerkinElmer Optoelectronics
Fremont, CA, USA
optoelectronics.perkinelmer.com

Lights are linear

Connect-a-Light is a modular linear light that has 12 high-output, high-current LEDs in a 300-mm housing. Connect-a-Light is available in white, red, blue, green, cyan, UV, and IR. It includes an integrated constant current driver with a built-in strobe input with option for PNP or NPN trigger control. There is no need for an external driver to power and control the light. The integrated driver also includes variable light-intensity control. Light can be controlled by an external port or a 0–10-Vdc analog signal.
Smart Vision Lights
Muskegon, MI, USA
www.connect-a-light.com

Cameras are compliant

Four new camera models are based on Sony’s high-sensitivity ICX285 CCD sensor. They feature a 30-frame/s image capture rate and come in a 29 × 44 × 73.7-mm housing with either a GigE Vision-compliant interface or a FireWire-b interface in monochrome or color. With the GigE Vision interface, these cameras can perform 12-bit image data transfer and color output at full 30-frames/s. The cameras provide standard RJ-45 Ethernet or screwable FireWire-b connectors.
Basler
Ahrensburg, Germany
www.basler-vc.com

Simulator speeds development

PROC_CamSim enables users to do most system development in a low-cost and quiet lab environment. The user can change the FPGA code, connect to system I/Os (via PSDB_IO), and/or add a user process to handle additional tasks of the simulator. Key features include simulation of all Camera Link configurations; support of AVI videos and BMP, JPG, PNG images, and predefined patterns; and PCI data rates up to 350 Mbytes/s.
GiDEL
Santa Clara, CA, USA
www.gidel.com

UID verifier meets MIL specs

Unique identification (UID) verification system meets MIL-STD-130 and Association of Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) direct-part-mark Quality Guideline DPM-1-2006 verification standards. It also provides complete backward compatibility to the earlier MIL-STD-130 releases and performs full syntax validation of data content. The all-in-one system combines camera, optics, and the full set of required AIM DPM lighting into an easy to use, portable device. Specific output results can be output as data fields to most commercial database products.
Siemens Energy & Automation
Norcross, GA, USA
www.usa.siemens.com

Rail guides enable precise positioning

Profile rail guides provide precise positioning, smooth operation, high load-carrying capacity, high stiffness, and unlimited stroke to satisfy linear motion-system demands. Guides with specific preload can be supplied. Profile rail guides are designed with four precision-ground raceways and a slide unit with four ball circulation paths. The square configuration of raceways results in a guidance system with good rigidity that can accommodate equal load capacity in all directions.
SKF USA
Bethlehem, PA, USA
www.skfusa.com/profilerailguides

Frame grabbers connect easily

USB-powered frame grabbers have lightweight external components that can easily be controlled using the API of the company’s SDK, which is compatible with Windows operating systems and Linux. The frame grabbers are available with casing or as an OEM component. All models feature time stamps and frame counter. Up to nine user configurations can be stored on the converter.
VRMagic
Mannheim, Germany
www.vrmtech.com

Camera monitors chips

CSF5M7C3L18NR, an advanced remote-head FireWire B camera, utilizes the Foveon X3 layered CMOS sensor containing 5 million photodetectors, each responsive to full color spectrum. The Foveon sensor “stacks” color pixels on top of one another, increasing the sampling density in the image plane, and detects red, green, and blue light at each pixel, resulting in freedom from color aliasing artifacts. The CSF5M7C3L18NR has a 29-mm remote head. It is connected to the control unit with a flexible cable that can extend up to 3 m. The head features a C-mount.
Toshiba Teli America
Irvine, CA, USA
www.toshiba-teli.com

Integrated device controls motors

Multiphase (2- and 4-phase) ICD200 stepper controller/driver series controls high-throughput working features of advanced NEMA-sized stepper motors. The stand-alone system executes trapezoidal and S-curve shape (memory data) acceleration/deceleration motion profiles. The 60 × 90 × 36-mm unit offers three operation modes--sensor mode, absolute position mode, and relative position mode--and is rated at 1.2 amps/phase for unipolar stepper motors and 0.6 amps/phase for bipolar motors. Input power is 24 Vdc, with power consumption of 36 W. It is daisy-chainable up to 15 devices using RS-485 communication protocol.
Nyden Corporation
San Jose, CA, USA
www.nyden.com

Software is updated

LEADTOOLS is a collection of SDKs designed to help programmers integrate digital images into their applications. The latest update of the LEADTOOLS imaging toolkits offers new Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) enabled controls that replace the existing LEADTOOLS Web Forms controls, a new COM wrapper for developers who are not ready to move straight to the LEADTOOLS V15 .NET class library, support for JPEG 2000 Part 2 (JPX), improved documentation, and new tutorials.
LEAD Technologies
Charlotte, NC, USA
www.leadtools.com

Slide moves large tables

RGS 10000 slide handles dynamic axial loads up to 100 lb at speeds of more than 60 psi. It is compact, self-contained, and both backlash and maintenance free. The slide is for applications such as transportation doors actuation, materials handling, CNC routers, and large x-y tables.
Kerk Motion Products
Hollis, NH, USA
www.kerkmotion.com

Video compression is in real time

CineForm codec is now offered in both StreamPix image-acquisition software and the Hermes API. It provides high compression in real time during live acquisition of image streams, with no degradation of Bayer pattern. The result is movie-quality compression with high-quality color rendering on decompression for playback. The CineForm codec can use all available CPU core, loading up to 100% if needed. Typical pixel processing is up to 90 Mpixels/s on a dual-core 2.4-GHz machine.
NorPix
Montreal, QC, Canada
www.cineform.com

3CCD camera is compact

IK-TF9H9U progressive-scan camera features a 32.6 × 38.6 × 41-mm remote head that outputs 2048 × 1536 pixels. It is for industrial imaging in confined spaces and is easy to integrate into existing machine-vision processes. The camera system comes equipped with Camera Link output, a C-mount, and two optional cable lengths (3 and 5 m) for maximum flexibility. It also features 1/100- to 1/100,000-s electronic shuttering capability and one- or two-pulse triggering for advanced imaging tasks.
Toshiba Imaging Systems Division
Irvine, CA, USA
www.cameras.toshiba.com

Camera is plug-and-play

uEye UI-5480-C has a Gigabit Ethernet interface and a light-sensitive 1/2-in. CMOS sensor, which allows resolutions to 2560 × 1920 pixels. Up to 12 frames/s are achieved at full resolution. Using subsampling and binning at sensor level, this frame rate can be increased. In addition, the camera features a variable power supply of 6 to 24 V, a C-mount lens adapter with adjustable mounting dimensions, and an RS-232 interface.
IDS Imaging Development Systems
Obersulm, Germany
www.ids-imaging.de

Camera has higher line rate

SU-LDH InGaAs digital linescan near-infrared camera has been enhanced to increase line rates for 1024 pixels to greater than 46,000 lines/s, making it ideal for Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. For high-data-rate industrial process control and machine vision, the SU-LDH provides wavelength response from 0.8 to 1.7 µm. It features high sensitivity, room-temperature-stabilized operation, and integrate-while-read capability for faster readout speeds with minimal dead time.
Sensors Unlimited, part of Goodrich Corporation
Princeton, NJ, USA
www.sensorsinc.com

Camera Link cable is flexible

Cable for Camera Link applications, which passes 17 million cycles when tested for flexion, includes standard cable and Power over Camera Link (PoCL)—Camera Link cable with power transmission capabilities. PoCL is available for standard Camera Link or mini Camera Link (MiniCL) assemblies. MiniCL uses a smaller connector than traditional Camera Link but incorporates the same hardware and software protocols. The cables feature 28 AWG conductors and meet the requirements of Appendix D and Appendix E of the Camera Link specification.
Northwire
Osceola, WI, USA
www.northwire.com/pocl

Smart camera is rugged

VC4438 camera is a freely programmable, intelligent high-performance camera whose key component is a 1-GHz processor from Texas Instruments. It acts as a stand-alone image-processing system, renders additional PC stations unnecessary, and features a 1/3-in. CCD sensor with 640 × 480-pixel resolution and a maximum frame rate of 63 frames/s (126 frames/s in binning mode). Standard equipment includes an RS-232 and Ethernet interface, a high-speed encoder interface, and an external trigger input that enables jitter-free image recording. The VC4438 has a robust industrial housing that makes it suitable for rugged environments.
Vision Components
Ettlingen, Germany
www.vision-components.com

System produces IR sub-band images

The ORION is an infrared multispectral imaging system capable of producing IR sub-band images at video rate within the SWIR, MWIR, or LWIR regions. It uses focal-plane-array detector technology along with large-dynamic-range, real-time electronics to deliver results from applications including IR signature analysis, gas detection, flame analysis, environmental studies, and target/background characterization. The FPA detector can capture up to 200 images/s in snapshot mode. Image data are processed in real time by onboard ALTAIR software that operates under the Windows 2000/XP environment.
CEDIP Infrared Systems
Croissy-Beaubourg, France
www.cedip-infrared.com

Monitoring lenses resist radiation

Compact in design, fixed-focus nonbrowning lenses range from 6- to 25-mm focal length with fields of view up to 108º. All lenses provide high image resolution and minimum geometric distortion from 400 to 750 nm. They have been designed for use with 1/2-, 2/3-, and 1-in. CCTV cameras, as well as Newvicon and Chalnicon tubes in a variety of nuclear monitoring applications.
Resolve Optics
Chesham, UK
www.resolveoptics.com

Sensor has high dynamic range

The C640 linear image sensor with 4000 photodiode elements of 7 × 7-µm pixels has integrated programmable gain amplifier, 12-bit A/D converter, voltage regulator, low-voltage differential amplifier, and timing generator built to deliver a 28-mm imaging length. Thermal noise is less than 2 LSB. Saturation is 4096 LSB, giving the device more than 2000:1 of the dynamic range. The image-processing function controls include coarse gain (2 bits control) or fine gain (3 bits), and both can be latched through external latch start pulse.
CMOS Sensor
Cupertino, CA, USA
www.csensor.com

IR light is compact

Standard incandescent infrared (IR) light source offers broad light spectrum unachievable with LEDs. Compact in design, the MHAB-100 provides stable output (±1%) over a long life span (>1000 hours). The 100-W halogen light uses proprietary technology to deliver high illuminance across the 1000–1800-nm spectral region, enabling the IR light to penetrate into or through materials including Si, GaAs, LiNbO3, and LiaO3. The light can be manually controlled or remotely operated by analog or digital signals.
Moritex Europe
Cambridge, UK
www.moritex.com

Optical design software is enhanced

The next generation of the company’s Advanced Systems Analysis Program (ASAP) features SolidWorks Layering, which allows interoperability between the SolidWorks Parts Only 3D Modeling Engine and ASAP 2008 and allows users to assign layers and object names within SolidWorks. The ASAP 2008 release comes with numerous polarization ray-tracing enhancements, including a realistic polarizer model, Stokes-value inputs and data views, Jones-value inputs and data views, and a Poincare sphere visualization tool. Three new optimization methods are included in the release: a Brent’s Method routine for single-variable problems, as well as Downhill Simplex and simulated annealing methods for multivariable problems.
Breault Research Organization
Tucson, AZ, USA
www.breault.com

DDCA modules use QWIP technology

New series of detector Dewar cooler assembly (DDCA) modules have split as well as integral cooler solutions targeting both military and industrial applications. The IRnova640 LWIR DDCA has a split linear Stirling cooler. Mean time to failure is estimated to be greater than 20,000 hours. A long-life DDCA has a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours. The spectral response and detector electronics of the modules can be tailored to meet specific application requirements.
IRnova
Kista, Sweden
www.ir-nova.se

Frame grabbers are for single-tap

Domino Symphony boards are high-performance frame grabbers for industrial applications. Equipped with 8- or 10-bit A/D converters clocked at up to 65 MHz and on-board 64-Mbyte memory, they offer an affordable interface to four single-tap monochrome analog cameras. In addition, they expose multiple general purpose I/O lines available in parallel on a standard HD-26 bracket connector and on an on-board header. The Domino Symphony frame grabbers are available in two form factors: the Domino Symphony is a conventional PCI board equipped with a 64-bit/66-MHz bus, and the Domino Symphony PCIe is a 1-lane PCI Express board.
Euresys
Angleur, Belgium
www.euresys.com

Lenses have options

Low-vignetting, image-sided telecentric lens system is designed specifically to meet the needs of big sensors up to 28 mm. These low-shading far-field lenses provide have high resolution with options previously unavailable for big sensors. Features include f/1.8 and F-mount.
IB/E Optics
Hutthurm, Germany
www.ib-eckerl.de

2-Mpixel camera is versatile

Compact SVS274 camera has 1620 × 1220-pixel resolution and frame rate of 24-frames/s. Much higher frame rates can be achieved in the partial-scan mode. A Sony 1/1.8-in. sensor allows partial readout, while the field of view remains unchanged. The camera is available with a Camera Link or a Gigabit Ethernet interface, as well as in a monochrome or a color version. A large range of objectives can be connected via the C-mount adaptor.
SVS-VISTEK
Seefeld, Germany
www.svs-vistek.com

System extends inspection limits

OptiCon AOI systems now include inspection of 01005 components, as well as solder joints of 0.3-mm pitch raster. This inspection scope extension is achieved by an increase in lens resolution in the camera module. Telecentric lens offers image recording independent of the component position. The higher pixel number enables a better visual presentation.
GOEPEL electronic
Jena, Germany
www.goepel. com

Robot series is improved

G-Series is the next-generation of high-performance SCARA robots for the company’s Micro PowerDrive Controllers. There is a choice of models ranging from 450 to 1000 mm in reach. The company’s smart motion-control technology is combined with a new high-rigidity arm design to achieve ultrahigh speed, ultrahigh precision, and low vibration. All G-Series robot arms are available in standard, Class 10 Clean, or IP54/65 configurations. They are available in tabletop, wall-, or ceiling-mount configurations, as well.
EPSON Robots
Carson, CA, USA
www.robots.epson.com

FireWire cameras deliver B&W or color

Pike F-505 camera is equipped with a Sony ExView HAD CCD sensor with 5-Mpixel resolution in a compact 2/3-in. format. It comes in black-and-white (Pike F-505B) and color (Pike F-505C) versions. The camera is equipped with a FireWire IEEE 1394b (S800) interface, giving a frame rate of up to 15 frames/s in full resolution. And with true partial scan, it can provide higher frame rates at smaller AOI. The standard version has two copper connectors that allow several cameras to be linked together in a daisy chain.
Allied Vision Technologies
Ahrensburg, Germany
www.alliedvisiontec.com

GigE Vision-compliant model added

A GigE Vision-compliant version of the Spyder 3 camera family uses the company’s patented dual-linescan sensor technology. The Spyder 3 offers 1k and 2k resolution with a 14 × 14-µm pixel size and has a maximum line rate of 68 kHz and throughput of 80 Mpixels/s. Key features include seamless interoperation among compliant hardware and software from different vendors; 1000-Mbit/s bandwidth for image transfer in real time up to 100 m; and low cost cables and integration.
DALSA
Waterloo, ON, Canada
www.dalsa.com