Problem(s)

There is a variety of issues that regularly confront the machine vision application engineer. Here’s a summary of the most common:

1.       Signal delay with part presence: some action to be taken (event) after detecting the presence of the part. Example: Part presence for camera,  then another part presence for reject mechanism.

2.       Signal delay with time: some action to be taken (event) after a certain time has elapsed from part detection. Example: Part presence then time delay prior to image acquisition.

3.       Signal delay with distance: some action to be taken (event) after detecting the presence of the part and it has traveled a certain distance. Example: Part presence then a certain number of pulses to image acquisition and or reject mechanism.

4.       Gated pulse: a certain pulse rate is required after part detection. Example: A sequence of images must be taken as long as the part is present (e.g. camera dynamic range enhancement)

5.       Pulse Burst: a number of pulses must be sent after detecting the part. Example, multiple lights from different angles.

6.       First In First Out (FIFO): A part is detected and its results are stored through a number of processes to a reject mechanism. Example: part is inspected and if defective, no additional value is added at subsequent steps and then the defective part is rejected downstream.

Timer/ Controller Highlights ·         Integrates encoders, cameras, lighting, proximity sensors, reject gates ·         Fast and simple set up – no complicated programming routines ·         Ethernet enabled for remote interfacing ·         Fast and accurate timing functions ·         Small compact size ·         A true single component solution for machine vision integration applications ·         Camera trigger timing ·         Reject gate timing ·         Remote digital input and output

Solution

When combining lighting, cameras, proximity sensors and encoders to generate an automated solution, the Timing Controller is one single component that provides fast affordable integration. With 8 independent input channels, the controller can accept a range of signals from a variety of components and then trigger events on any of the 8 independent output channels.

Each of the 8 output channels can be individually programmed with complete control over pulse delay and pulse width, as well as a trigger delay to enable filtering of noisy trigger signals. For applications with encoder pulses as the input triggers, outputs can be configured as encoder pulses as well, rather than absolute time values, for a very versatile solution.

With a standard Ethernet connection, the Timer Controller can be quickly configured using free software or even with simple browser access (Simply type in the IP address for the controller for full access to all of the parameters). If you are using a third party software package the CC320 has a simple command set that is detailed in the manual allowing easy communication. As will all Gardasoft products, all the settings are stored in non-volatile memory, and it will retain these settings even when the Ethernet connection is disconnected. The different ways the CC320 can be configured is endless. To give you an idea of how the CC320 can be utilized, please take a look at application note 937 which can be found from the downloaded link opposite. This application note highlights just some of the ways in which the CC320 has been utilized within machine vision applications.