Machine Vision
CIMTEC Automation is your trusted partner when it comes to implementing cutting-edge machine vision solutions. With years of experience and expertise in the field of industrial automation, CIMTEC offers comprehensive services that cater to a wide range of industries. Whether you're looking to improve quality control, streamline manufacturing processes, or enhance automation, CIMTEC's team of specialists can guide you in selecting and integrating the most suitable machine vision systems for your needs. By offering top-tier products, customized solutions, and ongoing support, CIMTEC ensures that your vision systems are optimized for maximum performance and efficiency, helping you stay ahead in a competitive marketplace.
Solutions
- Gauging and Measurement
- Robot Guidance
- Read and Verify
- Detection and Identification
Imaging Technologies
- Area Line Scan Cameras
- IR Thermal Imaging
- Laser Line Profilers
- Structured Light
- Stereo
- Confocal
Support
- Vision Application Engineers
- In-house Support Hotline and Email
- Engineering Services
- Customer Training
We Help You Automate Manual Processes
Gauging and Measurement
- Gauging is commonly used to provide a go/no-go check or other qualitative assessment of whether the size or position of a product meets specifications.
- Calibrated measurement tools allow a machine vision system to provide the precise dimensions or locations of products in real-world units such as millimeters, inches and degrees.
Robotic Guidance
- Vision systems can detect the precise location and orientation of products and transmit this data to a robot. This capability is essential to automating pick-and-place and assembly processes.
- Examples range from locating products on a conveyor to transferring unsorted goods from a bin to an infeed location.
- Pick points can be positioned at precise locations, such as the end of a pipe fitting, to facilitate reliable material handling.
Read/Verify Text & Barcodes
- Text of all types can be read through a process called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Machine learning software can reliably extract text from an image, even in cases where the appearance varies widely.
- Specialized vision products and tools exist to read all standard types of barcodes.
- Verification can be performed by the vision system to compare extracted text and barcodes content with reference data and confirm a valid match.
Detect – Recognize – Identify
- Detection is used to tell whether an object is present in the expected location. An example is a presence/absence check to tell whether a gear has been installed in a transaxle during assembly.
- Recognition enables classification of products or features, such as the ability to tell whether an object is a gear or a bearing.
- Identification capabilities ascertain which specific instance of a product is present. An example is the ability to distinguish between multiple types of similarly sized gears to prevent improper assembly.
Compare 2D & 3D Imaging Technologies
2D
Area Scan Cameras
- Captures a 2D image (width and height data) in a single exposure of fixed resolution.
- CMOS sensors used in these cameras are available to detect visible light, SWIR, and near-UV in monochrome and color.
- Most common and familiar sensor type.
Line Scan Cameras
- Captures a single line (width data) per exposure using a CMOS sensor, and multiple exposures are then stitched together to produce an image of fixed width and variable height.
- Useful for high-speed motion or elongated products.
- Advantageous when highly uniform lighting and perspective are needed for accuracy or reliability.
Infrared Thermal Cameras
- Sensors called microbolometers produce a 2D image (width and height data) where the value of each pixel represents temperature instead of reflected light.
- Less common but opens the door to new possibilities in industrial applications involving meaningful temperature differentials.
3D
Laser Line Profilers
- A purpose-built product combining an area scan camera and laser light source into a single enclosure to captures a 2D image (width and depth data) in a single exposure.
- Multiple exposures can optionally be stitched together to produce a 3D image of fixed width, fixed depth and variable height.
- Single point models also available.
- Pre-calibrated from the factory for high accuracy and reliability.
Structured Light
- Often called snapshot sensors, these devices captures a 3D image (width, height, and depth data) in a single exposure of fixed resolution.
- Utilizes light projected at high intensity from an internal source.
- Pre-calibrated from the factory for high accuracy and reliability.
- Typical measurement ranges on the order of centimeters.
Stereo
- Captures a 3D image (width, height, and depth data) in a single exposure of fixed resolution.
- Uses dual cameras offset from one another to measure depth via triangulation.
- Relies on ambient or external lighting, sometimes combined with an internal IR light and/or TOF sensor.
- Less precise than structured light sensors but with much larger possible measurement ranges on the order of meters.
Confocal
- Requires motion like a laser line profiler but uses an internal white light source and analyzes reflected photons of multiple wavelengths within the visible spectrum (i.e., red, green & blue) for extreme precision.
- Produces microscopic-scale images at multiple layers of depth.
- Ideal for micron-level measurement of challenging surface types, including optically clear materials.
Support Capabilities
CIMTEC Application Engineers
- We’re engineered to put our customers and sellers first!
- We train continually to expand our skillset so we can provide customers and sellers with the best possible assistance.
- We build relationships between our AE team and the engineers at key vendors to gain direct access to the most qualified experts.
Engineering Services
- Pre-sale visits to customers.
- Lab evaluations and feasibility studies.
- On-site evaluations.
- Startup assistance, both remotely and in person.
- Warranty support.
Customer Training
- We are excited to share our knowledge with expertise with our customers and teammates whenever possible.
- We have factory certified trainers and offer both formal and informal instruction in-person and remotely.
We Rely on Products and Solutions from Key Vendors
