Much of the latest news surrounding machine vision is about machine learning and the innovations regarding algorithms. But those algorithms need data to perform correctly. The data in this case is the images. It is imperative to capture the best image possible so that the algorithms can perform at their highest level.

Imaging lenses are critically important components for systems deployed in all types of environments such as factory automation, robotics, and industrial inspection.

Many of today’s industrial software applications are designed to run natively on the Windows platform. Accessing and controlling external hardware devices with a Windows application is usually achieved by using a driver provided by the hardware supplier and activating hardware functions using an SDK.

While early adopters found more promise than productivity, Industry 4.0 has finally come of age.

Industrial machine vision cameras and sensors are finding their way into applications both on and off the manufacturing floor.

When an engineer begins the process of specifying a new machine vision system, they will often think very carefully about the line speed, the optics, and the image processing software.

You’ve learned about light sources, lenses, cameras, camera interfaces, and image processing software. Now, you may be wondering exactly how to design and implement a complete, successful machine vision system. 

In the world of machine vision, as in any tech field, there is a distinct divide between hardware and software. The hardware includes components of machine imaging systems such as the physical camera, lensing, cable interfaces, the PC or processor, etc. and are defined by rigid specifications (i.e. resolution of a camera, processing power, bandwidth of interface). 

Frame grabbers are essential components in machine vision systems that provide ultra high-speed, high-data image capture from one camera or multiple cameras simultaneously. 

Machine vision systems consist of a number of component parts and all of these must be optimized for the best possible performance. Choosing the right cables and connectors to link cameras to a vision system or PC is one important part of this and is driven by the particular application.