Machine Vision Industry Now Have More Configuration Options than Before

Design engineers in the machine vision industry now have more machine vision configuration options than before. The new 3M brand MDR Base Configuration Digital Camera Cable from the 3M Electronic Solutions Division completes 3M’s full line of cables to connect to all three performance tiers of Camera Link-style cameras: base, medium and full configurations. The digital camera cables mate to standard MDR 26-position camera connections and may also be used in other LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) applications.

Used in machine vision applications for the connection between the camera and framegrabber, the new 3M brand MDR Base Configuration Digital Camera Cables are available in three variations:

• Straight cable exit: a standard version with straight exit thumbscrew backshells (male-male cable assembly);
• Extension/bulkhead exit: an extension or bulkhead version (male-female cable assembly) that enables extension applications or connects to a bulkhead panel for feed-through;
• Right angle cable exit: an overmolded right angle cable drop for space constrained applications (male-male cable assembly), allowing for space conservation.

The base configuration cables are uni-directional and labeled on the camera side connection to help ensure proper customer use. The new digital camera cable in the base configuration allows the use of high quality 3M cable assemblies in more cost-sensitive, lower bandwidth applications. 3M is a recognized leader in Camera Link connectivity: the 3M brand MDR 26-position interface connector is the only connector approved by the Automated Imaging Association for its Camera Link Standard. The new 3M cables are value priced to leverage the high quality and connection reliability of the standard 3M MDR 26-position Camera Link connector common in machine vision applications.