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Exploring Industrial Cameras: A Guide for Engineers in Life Sciences, Semiconductors, and Automotive Fields 

In the bustling landscape of industrial camera offerings, discerning the parameters that genuinely define a camera’s worth can be a daunting task. This article serves as a compass, steering you through six fundamental properties that should illuminate your path when selecting an industrial camera. While the first three aspects play a pivotal role in aligning with your camera needs, the latter three hold significance if your requirements lean towards unique settings, external conditions, or challenging light environments.

    1. Resolution: unveiling the finer details. Imagine your camera as a painter’s canvas and resolution as the number of dots that bring your masterpiece to life. In simple terms, resolution is the number of pixels forming the image, determining its level of detail. For instance, a camera labeled 4096 x 3008 pixels amounts to a pixel symphony of around 12.3 million, or 12.3 megapixels. Yet don’t be swayed solely by megapixels. Focus on the pixel count on both the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) axes. A 12-megapixel camera might sport configurations like 4000 x 3000 pixels, 5000 x 2400 pixels, or 3464 x 3464 pixels, each tailor-made for your observation intent and image format.
    1. Frame rate: capturing motion in real-time. The frame rate, akin to a movie’s frame sequence, dictates how swiftly your camera captures moving scenes. With figures like 46.5/74.0/135 denoting your camera’s capabilities, it reveals the number of images taken in different modes. Burst mode captures a rapid series of images, while Max. streaming ensures a consistent flow despite interface limitations. The elegance of Binning also plays a role, making it an adept solution for scenarios craving clarity in dim light and minimal noise.
    1. Connectivity: bridging the camera to your system. The camera’s connectivity interfaces, such as USB3 and GigE, shape its rapport within your system.

USB3 Interface: Like a speedy expressway for data, USB3 suits real-time applications like quality control and automation. Its straightforward nature adapts to diverse setups.

GigE Interface: This Ethernet-infused interface excels in robust, long-distance connections. Tailored for tasks like remote monitoring and industrial inspection, it basks in Ethernet’s reliability. Choosing the best fit: USB3 facilitates swift, direct communication, while GigE emerges triumphant in extended cable spans and networking. Your choice hinges on data velocity, distance, and infrastructure compatibility.

    1. Dynamic range: capturing radiance and shadow. Imagine your camera as an artist of light, skillfully capturing both dazzling radiance and somber shadows. Dynamic range defines this ability, representing the breadth of brightness levels the camera can encapsulate. Think of it as a harmony between light and dark. Technical folks may refer to it as the Ratio of Signal to Noise. It’s influenced by the camera’s design and the sensor’s performance. HDR mode is also worth noting, enhancing contrast by dividing the integration time into phases, each independently calibrated for optimal results.
    1. Sensitivity: shining in low-light environments. Your camera’s sensitivity determines its prowess in low-light scenarios. This sensitivity is akin to the ability to see in dimly lit spaces. Some cameras excel at this, providing a lifeline in settings with scarce illumination. Sensitivity’s secret lies in the art of collecting light while taming noise, finding the sweet spot between clear images and environmental challenges.
    1. Noise: orchestrating image purity. In the world of imagery, noise is akin to static in an audio recording—distracting and intrusive. Noise takes multiple forms and can mar image quality:

Read noise: This error appears when converting light to electrical signals. Faster speeds can amplify read noise, affecting image quality. Here, sensor design quality is a decisive factor.

Dark current noise: Under light exposure, sensors can warm up, introducing unwanted thermal electrons. Cooling methods can mitigate this thermal interference.

Patterns/artifacts: Sometimes, images bear unexpected patterns or shapes due to sensor design inconsistencies. Such artifacts disrupt accuracy, especially in low-light conditions. By understanding and adeptly managing these noise sources, CMOS industrial cameras have the potential to deliver superior image quality across diverse applications.

In the realm of industrial cameras, unraveling the threads of resolution, frame rate, connectivity, dynamic range, sensitivity, and noise paints a vivid portrait of informed decision-making. For engineers in life sciences, semiconductors, and automotive domains, this guide stands as a beacon, ushering them toward optimal camera choices that harmonize with their unique demands and aspirations.

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Tackling the Most Demanding Applications With Precision Sensors

Standard industrial sensors can solve a lot of automation challenges. Photoelectric, capacitive, and inductive technologies detect presence, distances, shapes, colors, thicknesses, and more. To satisfy these general applications, there are a few reputable manufacturers in the market that design and produce such products. In many instances, it is possible to interchange them from manufacturer to manufacturer, due to similar mounting patterns, technical specifications, connectors, and even common pin assignments.

But some applications require more precision – where standard sensors will not do.  Some examples include:

    • The target may be too small or difficult material to detect
    • The target may move very slowly, or very quickly
    • The target may have a minimal displacement, as in valve feedback
    • The sensor must have low mass, for high-acceleration applications
    • The sensor location has severe space constraints or material constraints

Applications that must detect particles that can’t be seen with the naked eye, or something as small as sensing the thin edge of a silicon wafer or the edge of a clear glass microscope slide, require sensors with exceptional precision.

Many precision sensing applications require a custom-designed sensor to meet the customer’s expectations. These expectations typically involve a quality sensor with robust attributes, likely coupled with difficult design parameters, such as high switch-point repeatability, exceptional temperature stability, or exotic materials.

What constitutes a precision sensing application? Let’s take a look.

Approximately 70% of all medical decisions are based on lab results. Our doctors are making decisions about our health based on these test outcomes. Therefore, accurate, trustworthy results, performed quickly, are priorities. Many tests rely on pipetting, the aspirating and dispensing of fluids – sometimes at a microscale level – from one place to another. Using a manual pipette is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. Automating this procedure reduces contamination and eliminates human errors.

To satisfy the requirements of an application such as this requires a custom-manufactured LED light source, with a wavelength chosen to best interact with the fluids, and an extremely small, concentrated light emission that approaches laser-like properties (yet without the expense and power requirements of the laser). This light source verifies pipette presence and dispensing levels, with a quality check of the fluids dispensed down to the nanoliter scale.

So, the next time you face an application challenge that cannot be tackled with a standard sensor, consider a higher precision sensor and rest assured you will get the reliability you demand.

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Detecting Liquid Media and Bubbles Using Optical Sensors

In my line of work in Life Sciences, we often deal with liquid media and bubble detection evaluation through a vessel or a tube. This can be done by using the absorption principle or the refraction principle with through-beam-configured optical sensors. These are commonly embedded in medical devices or lab instruments.

This configuration provides strong benefits:

    • Precise sensing
    • Ability to evaluate liquid media
    • Detect multiple events
    • High reliability

How does it work?

The refraction principle is based on the media’s refraction index. It uses an emitted light source (Tx) that is angled to limit the light falling on the receiver (Rx, Figure 1). When the light passes through a liquid, refraction causes the light to focus on the receiver as a beam (known as a “beam-make” configuration). All liquids and common vessel materials (silicon, plastic, glass, etc.) have a known refraction index. These sensors will detect those refraction differences and output a signal.

The absorption principle is preferred when a media’s absorption index is high. First, a beam is established through a vessel or tube (Figure 2). Light sources in the 1500nm range work best for aqueous-based media such as water. As a high absorption index liquid enters the tube, it will block the light (known as a beam-break configuration). The sensor detects this loss of light.

Discrete on-off signals are easily used by a control system. However, by using the actual light value information (commonly analog), more data can be extracted. This is becoming more popular now and can be done with either sensing principle. By using this light-value information, you can differentiate between types of media, measure concentrations, identify multiple objects (e.g., filter in an IV and the media) and much more.

There is a lot to know about through-beam sensors, so please leave a comment below if you have questions on how you can benefit from this technology.

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Error-Free Assembly of Medical Components

A SUV and a medical device used in a lab aren’t very similar in their looks, but when it comes to manufacturing them, they have a lot in common. For both, factory automation is used to increase production volume while also making sure that production steps are completed precisely. Read on to learn about some ways that sensors are used in life science manufacturing.

Sensors with switching output

Automation equipment producers are creative builders of specialized machines, as each project differs somehow from previous ones. When it comes to automated processes in the lab and healthcare sectors where objects being processed or assembled are small, miniaturization is required for manufacturing equipment as well.  Weight reduction also plays an important role in this, since objects with a lower mass can be moved quickly with a smaller amount of force. By using light-weight sensors on automated grippers, they can increase the speed of actuator movements.

Conveyor system using photoelectric sensors for object detection

Photoelectric sensors are quite common in automated production because they can detect objects from a distance. Miniaturized photoelectric sensors are more easily placed in a production process that works with small parts. And photoelectric sensors can be used to detect objects that are made of many different types of material.

A common challenge for lab equipment is to detect clear liquids in clear vessels. Click here for a description of how specialized photoelectric sensors face this challenge.

Specialized photoelectric sensors for clear water detection

Image Processing

Within the last several years, camera systems have been used more frequently in the production of lab equipment. They are fast enough for high-speed production processes and support the use of artificial intelligence through interfaces to machine learning systems.

Identification

In any production setting, products, components and materials must be identified and tracked. Both optical identification and RFID technology are suitable for this purpose.

Sample analysis with industrial camera

Optical identification systems use a scanner to read one-dimensional barcodes or two-dimensional data matrix or QR codes and transmit the object information centrally to a database, which then identifies the object. The identification cost per object is pretty low when using a printed label or laser marking on the object.

When data must be stored directly on or with the object itself, often because the data needs to be changed or added to during the production process, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is the best choice. Data storage tags come in many different sizes and can store different amounts of data and have other features to meet specific needs. This decentralized data storage has advantages in fast production processes when there is a need for real-time data storage.

Data of RFID tag at pallet are read and written with RFID read/write head and transferred via bus module

There are numerous parallels between automation in the life science sector and general factory automation. While these manufacturing environments both have their own challenges, the primary automation task is the same: find the best sensor for your application requirements. Being able to choose from many types of sensors, with different sizes and characteristics, can make that job a lot easier. For more information about the life sciences industries, visit https://www.balluff.com/en-us/industries/life-science.

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The Right Mix of Products for Recipe-Driven Machine Change Over

The filling of medical vials requires flexible automation equipment that can adapt to different vial sizes, colors and capping types. People are often deployed to make those equipment changes, which is also known as a recipe change. But by nature, people are inconsistent, and that inconsistency will cause errors and delay during change over.

Here’s a simple recipe to deliver consistency through operator-guided/verified recipe change. The following ingredients provide a solid recipe-driven change over:

Incoming Components: Barcode

Fixed mount and hand-held barcode scanners at the point-of-loading ensure correct parts are loaded.

Change Parts: RFID

Any machine part that must be replaced during a changeover can have a simple RFID tag installed. A read head reads the tag in ensure it’s the correct part.

Feed Systems: Position Measurement

Some feed systems require only millimeters of adjustment. Position sensor ensure the feed system is set to the correct recipe and is ready to run.

Conveyors Size Change: Rotary Position Indicator

Guide rails and larger sections are adjusted with the use of hand cranks. Digital position indicators show the intended position based on the recipes. The operators adjust to the desired position and then acknowledgment is sent to the control system.

Vial Detection: Array Sensor

Sensor arrays can capture more information, even with the vial variations. In addition to vial presence detection, the size of the vial and stopper/cap is verified as well. No physical changes are required. The recipe will dictate the sensor values required for the vial type.

Final Inspection: Vision

For label placement and defect detection, vision is the go-to product. The recipe will call up the label parameters to be verified.

Traceability: Vision

Often used in conjunction with final inspection, traceability requires capturing the barcode data from the final vials. There are often multiple 1D and 2D barcodes that must be read. A powerful vision system with a larger field of view is ideal for the changing recipes.

All of these ingredients are best when tied together with IO-Link. This ensures easy implantation with class-leading products. With all these ingredients, it has never been easier to implement operator-guided/verified size change.

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Custom Sensors: Let Your Specs Drive the Design

Customized sensors, embedded vision and RFID systems are often requirements for Life Science devices to meet the needs for special detection functions, size constraints and environmental conditions. Customization can dramatically raise costs and you don’t want to pay for stock features, such as an external housings and universal outputs, that are simply not needed. So, it comes down to your specification driving the design. A qualified sensor supplier can create custom orders, allowing your specifications to drive the design, building just what you need and nothing you don’t.

It’s as easy as putting a model together.

The process is fairly straight forward. After reviewing your specifications, the sensor supplier develops a plan to supply a functional prototype for your testing phase. Qualified sensing companies can quickly build prototypes either by starting with a standard product or using standard modules. Both methods have advantages.

Standard Product approach: This is the fastest method to get a prototype up and running. Here, the focus is on providing a solution for the basic sensing/detection application. Once testing confirms the functionally, a custom project is started. The custom project ensures seamless integration into your device. Also, cost control measures can be addressed.

Standard Module approach: This will handle the most demanding applications. When a standard product is not able to meet the basic required functionally, we turn to the base component modules. An ever-growing field of applications are solved by combining options from the hundreds of available modules. While this takes more time, the sensing company can deliver a near final prototype in much less time than if they were creating an internal development.

Qualified sensor companies can easily handle the production side as well. With significant investments in specialized automated manufacturing equipment, production can be scaled to meet varying demands. And as components go obsolete, sustaining engineering projects are routinely handled to maintain availability. This can be disruptive for internal production or contract manufacturers. Sensor companies will take on the responsibility of life-cycle management for years to come. It’s part of their business model.

So, make sure your sensor, embedded vision or RFID supplier has a large model kit to pull from. Your projects will exceed your specification and be completed on time without long-term life-cycle issues.

For more information , visit https://www.balluff.com/en/de/service/services/productbased-service/.

 

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Using MicroSpot LEDs for Precise Evaluations in Life Science

Handling microfluidics and evaluating samples based on light is a precise science. And that precision comes from the light source, not the actual detection method. But too many times we see standard LEDs being used in these sensing and evaluation applications. Standard LEDs are typically developed for lighting and illumination applications and require too many ancillary components to achieve a minimum level of acceptability. Fortunately, there is an alternate technology.

First, let’s look at a standard LED. Figure 1 shows a typical red LED. You can see the light emission surface is cluttered with the anode pad (square in the middle) and its bond wire. These elements are fine for applications like long-range sensing, lighting and indications, but for precise, up-close applications they cause disturbances.

Figure 1: Typical red LED showing the intrusion of the anode and bond wire into the light emission

Most notable is the square hole in the middle of the emission pattern. There are two typical methods to reduce the effect of the hole: lensing and apertures. An aperture essentially restricts the emitted light to a corner of the die, substantially reducing the light energy causing difficulties with low-contrast detections. Using a lens only will maintain the light energy, but the beam will have a fixed focused point that is not acceptable for many applications. But even the bond wire produces reflections and causes spurious emissions. These cannot be tolerated with microfluidics as adjacent channels will become involved in the measurement. An additional aperture is typically used to suppress the spurious emissions.

Fortunately, there is an alternative with MicroSpot LEDs. Basically, the anode and emission areas are inverted as shown in the Figure 2 comparison.

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Figure 2: Comparison of the typical LED with the MicroSpot’s clean, powerful and collimated emission

This eliminates the need for the anode and bond wire to interfere with the emitted light. This produces a clean, powerful and collimated emission that will produce consistent results without additional components. This level of beam control is typically reserved for lasers. However, lasers also require more components, are much larger and cost more. The MicroSpot LED is the best choice for demanding life science applications.

Try the MicroSpot for yourself in select Balluff MICROmote miniature photoelectric sensors.

Learn more at www.balluff.com.

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Mini Sensors Add Big Capabilities to Life Science Applications

1Miniaturization is one of the essential requirements for medical instruments and laboratory equipment used in the life science industry. As instruments get smaller and smaller, the sensor components must also become smaller, lighter and more flexible. The photoelectric sensors that were commonly used in general automation and applied in life science applications have met their limitations in size and performance.

2.jpgSensors used in these complex applications require numerous special characteristics such as high-quality optics, unique housing designs, precise LEDs with the best suited wavelength and the ability to be extremely flexible to fit in the extremely small space available. Sensors have been developed to meet the smallest possible installation footprint with the highest optical precision and enough flexibility to be installed where they are needed. These use integrated micro-precision optics that shape and focus the light beam exactly on the object without any undesirable side-effects to achieve the reliability demanded in today’s applications.

Previously many life science applications used conventional plastic fiber optic cables that were often too large and not flexible enough to be routed through the instruments. An alternative to the classic fiber cables is a “wired” fiber with precision micro-optics and extremely flexible cables with essentially no minimum bending radius and no significant coupling losses. Similar to a conventional fiber optic sensor, an external amplifier is required to provide a wide variety of functionalities to solve the demanding applications.

These sensors can be used in applications such as:

  • Precise detection of liquid levels using either attenuation or refraction with a small footprint
  • Reliable detection of transparent objects such as microscope slides or coverslips having various edge shapes
  • Detection of transparent liquids in micro-channels or capillaries
  • Reliable detection of individual droplets
  • Recognition of free-floating micro-bubbles in a tube that are smaller than the tube diameter and that cannot be seen by the human eye
  • Recognition of macro-bubbles that are the diameter of small tubes

For more information on photoelectric sensors that have the capability to meet the demands of today’s life science applications visit www.balluff.com.