High resolution lenses for machine vision — standard and custom lens design
Machine-Vision Lenses Perform Various Functions
High Resolution Lenses for machine vision, instrumentation, inspection and vibration-sensitive applications. Standard and custom hi-res lens assemblies.
Machine Vision Lenses
When it comes to the industrial imaging sector, optics are a crucial component. Optics control the image quality that is transmitted to the analyzer and the quality of the image captured can mean the difference between a high performance machine vision system and a low quality, low performance system. In some cases, the manufacturers of the integrators for the lenses consider optics as an afterthought or add on rather than an integral component in the overall machine vision process.
While cost is a consideration in this technology, using an inexpensive lens will result in overall poor performance of the machine vision technology itself. Consider the differences found in a commercially purchased camera ie one from a department store as compared to a professional camera that utilizes a high quality photographic lens, one that is specifically designed for machine vision.
Lenses carry ratings, but the balancing act between optical terms such as light loss, light fall off, focus, vibration and shallow depth of field considerations don’t always make it an easy decision on which lens is best suited for a particular type of machine vision system. Manufacturers that utilize machine vision systems need to weigh the costs and the practicality of integration into the desired final product.
Choosing a lens that produces a high quality image with good contrast at high resolutions may also be one that produces poor quality images at low resolutions.
The image selected will vary based on the type of manufacturing and machine vision system utilized and what is a “high enough quality” lens for one setting may not meet the standards of “high quality” in another. Commercial users also need to account for vibration, number of images captured and amount of available light the system will be exposed to.
Universe Optics is a manufacturer of standard and custom lens assemblies for scanners, CCTV, CCD/CMOS, medical imaging, surveillance systems, machine vision and night vision systems.