Just imagine that you could have your inspection camera operational in your production process with a few simple mouse clicks.What was previously mere fiction is now possible with the new content cameras that Philips Applied Technologies has recently brought on to the market. With the increasing complexity of inspection cameras, it has become increasingly more difficult to implement these applications during the past years. But this has now changed.

Considering the developments of the past decades, the arrival of the content camera was unavoidable. The device is based on the advanced CMOS sensor technology. Its small size makes the camera very suited for a wide range of applications within industrial machine vision applications, like pick-and-place assembly, measurement, product validation, identification, and 2-D dimension verification. During the past years, the various revolutionary technological developments increased the application possibilities of cameras in the inspection process more and more. The unfortunate, unavoidable side to this progress is that it forces the user to program software for his or her specific application. This often takes several weeks to complete and requires specialist knowledge. The process also regularly raises questions with users.

Here, the camera with content offers a solution. The camera is fully preprogrammed and only needs to be set to the right application. The simple steps that the user is required to take have had all forms of technical jargon removed, so that the interface and the user’s natural intuition are all that is required. “This is exactly what our customers have been waiting for, as experience has taught us,” says René Pluta, Marketing Manager of Industrial Vision at Philips Applied Technologies.

“Moreover, this new camera offers us the possibility of expanding our Figs. 1+2: User-friendly design Just imagine that you could have your inspection camera operational in your production process with a few simple mouse clicks.What was previously mere fiction is now possible with the new content cameras that Philips Applied Technologies has recently brought on to the market. With the increasing complexity of inspection cameras, it has become increasingly more difficult to implement these applications during the past years. But this has now changed. market; a simple solution has a greater potential in many different organisations.”

Concept

Up to the end of the previous century, vision inspection systems consisted of separate hardware modules. Consequently, with this hardware, an application had to be programmed for each application. This programming was mostly done in C/C++ and could therefore only be done by experienced programmers. Since 2003, Philips Applied Technologies has combined the separate hardware in the intelligent camera: the Dica. With the Dica, a graphical environment is developed so that even a person who cannot program can realise a vision solution for the Dica. Now, the department integrates both hardware and software in an offthe- shelf solution. The customer only needs to select a content camera that is pre-programmed for his or her specific technical application.

René Pluta explains the configuration process of the newest ‘baby’ in the series of intelligent cameras: “First of all, the customer analyses the situation to see which problem he needs a solution for. Secondly, he selects the suitable content camera from the types that we offer. The next step is to determine which optics and illumination are required, after which the camera is installed in the production line. This is followed by the onceonly configuration, whereby the camera takes pictures of the object that it must inspect. During this phase it is important to define in detail the object characteristics that are to be verified and the criteria for pass/fail.

Next, the user selects which information must be made available for statistical process control and which reject limits must be used. After this, the physical interface is defined. When this is done, the PC can be disconnected and the camera is ready for use.” The camera works autonomously in the production process. The mechanical and electronic interface, supported with actual standards like FireWire and Ethernet, is set for the challenges of today’s industrial world. Together with support in several languages, this device is fully focused on the end user.

Users

It is exactly the end users, from OEMs to system integrators to maintenance technicians and process engineers, that Philips Applied Technologies is focused on with its newest camera. Because they are involved in the production of large numbers, they have the greatest need for the simple implementation of inspection possibilities. System integrators will probably find their solution more easily in the more variable solutions that are realised with clicks and promise that Philips Applied Technologies offers. However, with a view on costs reduction, the content camera can also offer advantages for them. With the unique content camera, an end now appears to have come to the time-consuming trajectory of software development. ‘Plug-and-play’ has now also been introduced into the industrial world.

René Pluta Marketing Manager Philips Applied Technologies Industrial Vision, NL Tel. +31 40 2733627 apptech.industrial.vision@philips.com www.apptech.philips.com/industrialvision