Vision + Automation PRODUCTS

April 1, 2005
E-mail your product announcements, with photo if available, to vsdproducts@pennwell.

E-mail your product announcements, with photo if available, to [email protected].

11-Mpixel cameras are rugged

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Two new 11-Mpixel progressive-scan CCD cameras are built around Kodak’s interline-transfer CCD with 4000 × 2672-pixel format, providing up to 5 frames/s. The rugged design makes the cameras suitable for applications such as remote sensing and surveillance. Users can set image resolution, frame rate, horizontal and vertical binning, gain and offset and can specify asynchronous external triggering with pre-exposure and capture duration, electronic shutter, long-time integration, strobe output, and gamma correction. A standard Camera Link interface includes user-selectable 8/10/12 bits/pixel with one or two output taps, as well as camera control and asynchronous serial communication on a single cable.

Imperx
Boca Raton, FL, USA
www.imperx.com

FPGA board has high-speed interface

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ZestSC1, a desktop Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA development board with USB 2.0 interface, is for data acquisition, control, DSP, and image processing. The interface runs at 480 Mbits/s and also can run at the full-speed USB 1.1 rate of 12 Mbits/s. It achieves a sustained bandwidth of greater than 40 Mbytes/s using the streaming interface of the dedicated on-board USB hardware engine. The FPGA is configured from the host computer over USB, and the USB also is used for data transfers between the board and the host computer. It is less than 7.5 × 12.5 cm and has eight LEDs for diagnostics.

Orange Tree Technologies
Hagbourne, UK
www.orangetreetech.com

Profile rail guides position precisely

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Profile rail guides feature four precision-ground raceways and a slide unit with four ball circulation paths. The square configuration of raceways provides good rigidity that can accommodate equal load capacity in all directions. The miniature guides incorporate a two-point contact of rolling elements, with the raceways promoting high-speed operation, quiet running, and low friction. The product line includes high-performance, heavy-duty, compact, medium, and miniature series.

SKF Motion Technologies
Bethlehem, PA, USA
www.linearmotion.skf.com

Digital systems operate in real time

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Up to eight color or monochrome cameras with differing resolutions can be combined in one iMUX digital image-capture system and can be operated asynchronously. The iX matrix cameras have ultrahigh sensitivity and low noise level. In binning mode the sensitivity can be substantially increased, and in true partial scan (ROI) any readout format can be defined. Both operating modes, which can be used simultaneously, allow for high-image acquisition rates. An optoencoupled trigger interface and output for the precise control of external flash illumination units is located at the camera housing for process synchronization. In-house software device drivers and associated SDK are available for integrating the cameras into exiting applications.

Baumer Optronic
Radeberg, Germany
www.baumeroptronic.de

Camera has large detection array

Available in monochrome or color models, cooled or noncooled, the Retiga 2000R provides 1.92 million-pixel resolution to yield high-quality images for brightfield, darkfield, and fluorescence work. With FireWire digital interface, the Retiga 2000R requires only a single wire to connect the camera to a computer or laptop. The camera weighs 585 g noncooled and 845 g cooled.

Qimaging
Burnaby, BC, Canada
www.qimaging.com

Camera is multipurpose

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MAVIS, an intelligent machine-vision inspection system, comes with a graphical user interface that eliminates the need to program complex algorithms. MAVIS includes a 2-µs to 300-ms electronic shutter, requires no frame grabber, and processes 1024 × 1024-pixel images. The CMOS imager and control electronics perform inspections at 600 to 6000 parts/min. The camera is 3 × 3.5 × 4 in., weighs less than 2 lb, and consumes 5 W of power.

Southern Vision Systems
Madison, AL, USA
www.southernvisionsystems.com

VME bus gets an upgrade

Recent BusView 4.30 software upgrade to the Vanguard VME bus analyzer adds address mnemonics, USB and Ethernet connections, and extended context-sensitive help with mouse-over functions. In addition, a new Vanguard VME bus analyzer expansion module-the VME exerciser-provides VME bus master with two DMA engines, built-in script recording and playback, interrupt generator and handler, and full 2eSST protocol support.

Vmetro
Houston, TX, USA
www.vmetro.com

Camera offers resolution, color

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The Silicon Video 9T001C camera system offers a programmable 2048 × 1536 pixel Micron CMOS sensor with 10-bit dynamic range in a Bayer pattern color format. The sensor can provide 12 frames/s at full resolution and up to 65 frames/s at 800 × 600 SVGA resolution. The SV9T001C is capable of asynchronous capture and strobe output. It comes with PIXCI SI digital frame grabber, 7-vft CAT-5 interface cable with RJ-45 plugs, infrared cut filter, and XCAP-Lite Imaging Program. Camera head is 4.85 × 3.84 × 1.88 cm and weighs 73 g.

EPIX
Buffalo Grove, IL, USA
www.epixinc.com

USB board produces fast images

USB 2.0 high-resolution color camera board, the 20K14XUSB, has direct D1 interface to the camera board, producing clear images at high speed. The board presents no analog redundancy and, at optimal processor speed, no artifacting. The USB 2.0 bus powers the camera, while also offering control of all camera features over USB. The board comes with Twain and DirectX compatible software drivers. Custom software changes are possible. Any pinhole, board, or CS mount lens can be used.

Videology Imaging Solutions
Greenville, RI, USA
www.videologyinc.com

Adapters aid NIR/VIS imaging

Acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) camera video adapters can be used with any commercially available imaging system and, when combined with the company’s Synthesizer Electronics and software, provide features such as narrow-bandwidth, rapid wavelength selection, and intensity control. AOTF adapters and optical systems can be customized for a specific wavelength region in the near-infrared or visible spectrum and deliver greater than 100 linepairs/mm.

Brimrose Corp. of America
Baltimore, MD, USA
www.brimrose.com

Dome LED has high output

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New range of Dome LED Monster Lights uses ultrahigh flux LEDs that emit light toward the dome, which reflects it back onto the subject to provide a uniform and even light without shadows for both constant or strobe-effect lighting. Four dome sizes are available: 7.25, 12.25, 18.25, and 29.25 in. The 29.25-in. light provides improved measuring accuracy and is ideal for inspection for scratches or defects on highly reflective areas such as engine blocks. The lights are available in white, green, blue, cyan, red, red-orange, and amber, have an operating life of 100,000 h, and are powered from 24 Vdc. They are supplied complete with a DIN rail mount, LDM driver, and 12 ft of cable.

Spectrum Illumination
East Bergholt, UK
www.sapltd.co.uk

Software calibrates cameras

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AccuCAL software module is a generic camera-calibration component for machine-vision applications suited to robotics applications in which the camera is static, mounted on the robot arm at any orientation, or mounted on the quill or theta axis of a robot/positioning system. The software module enables system developers to maximize performance by using any combination of robots and vision systems without calibrating the cameras. The mathematical software takes in a sample of data that represents the location and angle of the tool in the robot/world domain and produces the tool offsets. The module can be used with any application that uses a COM/DLL interface.

OptoMatix
Meridianville, AL, USA
www.optomatix.com

Camera has rgb/bw modes

Quadrilinear camera-the TAPIX LXD 8000@14000-is both a color and B/W linescan camera with a 7-tap CCD and full Camera Link connection. This camera can work in three modes: color only at 7000 lines/s; B/W only at 14,000 lines/s with 8160-pixel resolution; and color + B/W at 7000 lines/s with RGB resolution of 4096 pixels and B/W resolution of 8160 pixels. Sensor flexibility is complemented by an Altera Stratix FPGA that provides in-camera processing: spatial correction, shading correction, area of interest, and on-demand porting of customer algorithms into the camera.

Tattile USA
Bedford, NH, USA
www.tattile.com

High-resolution ID readers

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In-Sight ID readers provide omnidirectional reading of 1- and 2-D barcodes and support Code 128, Code 39, UPC, EAN, 12 of 5, and QR Code. They deliver robust and reliable direct-part-mark reading using IDMax Data Matrix reading software based on PatMax technology. In-Sight 5410 can read at line speeds in excess of 7200 parts/min. In-Sight 5411 offers 1024 × 768 pixels for a larger field of view to handle greater variation in the position and orientation of codes on parts and packages. In-Sight ID readers meet IEC specifications for shock and vibration and achieve an IP67 (NEMA 6) rating for dust and washdown protection.

Cognex
Natick, MA, USA
www.cognex.com

Breakout box transfers data

CLB-501 Camera Link Breakout Box provides access to data transferred between camera and frame grabber over a Camera Link connection. All video, control, and communication data can be monitored and/or sourced via a connector located on rear panel. Box comes with standard 0.1-in. pitch dual-row header-style connector, removable header jumpers (shunts) for external data sourcing, and aluminum enclosure with mounting flange. It supports Base Camera Link configuration and Medium using two boxes.

Vivid Engineering
Shrewsbury, MA, USA
www.vividengineering.com

System acquires multiple images

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NetSight II DCL, a Camera Link version of the NetSight II machine-vision system, provides asynchronous acquisition of images from up to two Camera Link cameras (area- or linescan formats) and one FireWire camera using an IEEE 1394 port.

It is equipped with a high-performance processor, 256 Mbytes of program memory, 20 Gbytes of storage memory, and programmable digital I/O. Built-in Ethernet connectivity and compatibility with industry protocols such as Ethernet/IP and Modbus make it easy to integrate NetSight II DCL into an existing factory and/or enterprise network. NetSight II DCL uses the SherlockT vision software as its interface.

ipd
Billerica, MA, USA
www.goipd.com

Software decodes Data Matrix

VCM200 Version 4.1 Data Matrix industrial decoder software has expanded feature set and operational range. The decoder deciphers rectangular and square ECC 200 Data Matrix codes with module sizes from 6 × 6 up to 144 × 144. Advanced autodetection mode determines the size, number of modules, and bright-on-dark or dark-on-bright code types automatically and adjusts the reader engine accordingly. Software can read codes as fast as 40 codes/s when running on latest-technology digital-signal processor. Reader library is offered for a one-time license charge and no runtime fee.

Vision Components
Hudson, NH, USA
www.vision-comp.com

DSP board integrates eight processors

T2-6U-VME (T2V6), an addition to the company’s T2 family of TigerSHARC boards, is a COTS VME/VXS board based on the ADSP-TS201. Designed for multiprocessor-based applications, the T2V6 is available in both air-cooled and conduction-cooled versions. The T2V6 is a 6U VME/VXS board featuring eight 600-MHz ADSP-TS201S TigerSHARC DSPs, two Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGAs, a PMC+ site, 512 Mbytes of SDRAM, and more than 9 Gbytes/s of flexible, high-throughput I/O interfaces via the front panel, VXS switch fabric, and 2eSST VME. Multiprocessor board implements a scalable architecture, ATLANTiS, which enables system designers to reconfigure the I/O and communications. Software tools are available that provide host interface libraries and a variety of diagnostic utilities and configuration tools.

BittWare
Concord, NH, USA
www.bittware.com

Lens is compact

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All-glass DSL829 multielement lens is optimized for compact CCD/CMOS imagers with 1/3-in. format. It has a focal length of 5.9 mm and operates at f/3.0. Overall length is 8.84 mm from front physical surface to image plane. IR-cut filter coating is included, and lens mount is optional. The lens is available off-the-shelf but also can be customized.

Sunex
Carlsbad, CA, USA
www.sunex.com

USB 2.0 speeds camera

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mvBlueFOX is an industrial camera with a high-speed USB interface in a compact case. It can be easily integrated into existing image-processing systems. Available resolutions are 640 × 480 up to 1600 × 1200 pixels. Integrated preprocessing such as Bayer-Mosaic color conversion minimizes the processor load. The

mvBlueFOX features a C-mount lens with back-focus adjustment and a CS-mount or an integrated lens as an option. Diverse binning and partial-scan modes are available, as well as an IP65 protected version for harsh-environment applications.

Matrix Vision
Oppenweiler, Germany
www.matrix-vision.de

Digital camera for OEM market

EC1280 digital FireWire camera features snapshot shutter, region-of-interest readout, and decimation and is capable of 29 full-resolution (1280 x 1024) frames/s. The backplane of the EC1280 provides an IEEE-1394 port and a 4-pin Hirose connector for external triggering. It does not require a frame grabber but communicates with the host computer through an IEEE-1394 interface. The EC1280 is available with either a monochrome or color sensor.

Prosilica
Burnaby, BC, Canada
www.prosilica.com

Cameras conform to Camera Link

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XCL series of four Camera Link-compatible, C-mount cameras offer various resolutions and sensitivity, along with partial-scan and external-trigger functions. The XCL-U1000 B&W and XCL-1000C color cameras use a 1/1.8-type progressive-scan CCD to produce 1600 × 1200-pixel images at 15 frames/s. Partial-scan modes and external-trigger shutter speeds of 1/15 to 1/10,000 s are included. The XCL-V500 and XCL-X700 B&W cameras feature a 1/3-type progressive-scan CCD and produce VGA images at 60 frames/s and XGA images at 29.2 frames/s, respectively; external shutter speed is 1/4 to 1/100,000 s. Cameras measure 1 3/16 in. cubed.

Sony Electronics
Park Ridge, NJ, USA
www.sel.sony.com

IR filter sharpens image

SubWave infrared cutoff filter (IRCF) increases the crispness and color saturation of digital images. Currently available as a standard device, the SubWave IRCF ES22 has a 22-nm edge shift for a change in incidence angle from 0° to 30°, >93% average transmission from 420 to 625 nm, a cutoff dropping from >90% transmission to <5% in less than 30 nm centered around a half power point of 650 ±10 nm, and <2% average transmission in the IR from 675 to 1000 nm.

NanoOpto
Somerset, NJ, USA
www.nanoopto.com

Micropositioning system has high resolution

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M-824 Hexapod 6D micropositioning and alignment system provides high-resolution motion in six degrees of freedom. Designed to work in vacuum environments, it combines multiaxis motion to 50 mm/36° with submicron resolution and repeatability. Features include 10-kg load capacity, 0.01-µm resolution, and linear travel ranges to 50 mm.

Physik Instrumente
Auburn, MA, USA
www.pi-usa.us

IR camera functions in high temps

A high-temperature option is available for the IR FlexCam Pro and IR FlexCam T cameras that doubles their function temperature-measurement range to 1200°C for process control, R&D, and maintenance applications. An upgrade package is available for customers that own either camera. The cameras come with Windows CE software, 5-in. high-color LCD panel, 180° articulating lens joint, automatic image enhancement, and optical zoom

Infrared Solutions
Minneapolis, MN, USA
www.infraredsolutions.com

Software speeds machine vision

NI Vision 7.1 development module features tools for engineers and scientists using NI LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, C/C++, or Visual Basic to inspect, align, identify, and measure objects. Users can access new algorithms such as geometric matching, object classification, OCR, and 2-D barcode readers to locate, sort, and track objects even under poor imaging conditions. The module includes NI Vision Assistant, which automatically converts a script to LabVIEW diagrams or ready-to-run NI LabWindows/CVI, C/C++, or Visual Basic code. Users can run the code by itself or add it into a larger machine-vision, industrial-control, or data-acquisition application.

National Instruments
Austin, TX, USA
www.ni.com

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