Integrated Lighting Solutions

Steve Kinney, Director of Training, Compliance, and Technical Solutions, Smart Vision Lights

When it comes to traditional machine vision solution designs, the light is the tail on the dog. The camera and, more recently, software control the system. The light's job was to take up as little space as possible while setting the stage for the camera and software. Today's growing demand for flexible manufacturing lines that can produce a wider variety of products with the same tooling, increasing OEM productivity while constraining costs, is changing the role lights play in the machine vision solution. Flexible manufacturing -- often using robots for assembly and/or inspection, needs light systems that offer a number of lighting systems and methods -- performed asynchronously on demand. This is leading to machine vision solutions that incorporate bright field, dark field, multispectral, and multi-focal point capabilities – among others --  along with intelligent control systems necessary to generate the different light fields on demand. This presentation will look at how machine vision light designs are adapting to accommodate the growing needs of flexible manufacturing and robotic systems.

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