Catching up on some older news. Machine vision technology seems to be making a comeback. After considerable consolidation many years ago, the market stabilized. Beckhoff Automation has released a vision system deeply compatible with its automation platform. This should be good for machine builders and their customers.
Beckhoff Vision consists of a line of EtherCAT-enabled industrial cameras, lighting and lensing components are paired with TwinCAT Vision software to round out a complete product portfolio.
Hardware includes area scan cameras, C-mount lenses, multicolor LED illumination and complete vision units.
- Cameras: The IP65/67, EtherCAT-enabled area-scan cameras generate image data via monochrome and color Sony CMOS sensors with up to 24-megapixel resolution and GigE Vision transfer rates of 2.5 Gbit/s.
- Lenses: The robust, industrial C-mount lenses ensure ease of use and high availability, along with robust locking mechanism, VIS to NIR AR coating, up to 2 ìm resolution, and models for camera formats of up to 1.2” (19.3 mm image circle).
- Lighting: The IP65/67, EtherCAT-enabled multicolor LED illumination, in panel, ring, and bar configurations, produces highly controlled illumination for consistently high-quality images. Incorporated current-based controls allow precise operation even in spectrally adjustable pulse mode.
- All-in-one solutions: Complete machine vision units consisting of a camera, illumination and electronically focusable liquid lens are also available.
This fully integrated approach reduces latency, accelerates reaction times and supports a single development environment for the complete machine control solution.
