Aiming to drive machine vision beyond the visible spectrum, Chromasens today launched its first Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) line scan camera, the allPIXA SWIR. Capable of picking out defects not visible to the human eye in the 950 to 1700 nm spectral range, the allPIXA SWIR addresses quality control concerns in high-volume solar panel manufacturing, semiconductor fabrication, and packaging inspection. It also meets the growing need for accurate sorting of raw minerals, foods, and recycling products on fast moving conveyor belts with its 1024 x 1 resolution and 12.5μm x 12.5μm square pixels.
"Chromasens continues to accelerate the pace of innovation with our newest SWIR line scan camera," said Martin Hund, CEO, Chromasens GmbH. "The allPIXA SWIR ideally meets the increased demand by our global customers in the inspection of products like glass, food, medical devices, semiconductors and more, to ensure they are built to the standardized specifications for optimal performance and safety."
Featuring an uncooled 1K InGaAs sensor in a compact yet rugged IP40 housing, the allPIXA SWIR camera is a step beyond traditional visible light cameras. For example, its sensor can identify water and fat within foods, detect fill levels through non-transparent containers, monitor plant moisture to prevent over/under watering, identify chemicals, and aid in anti-counterfeiting efforts. And because speed is critical to the success of line scan imaging, the camera's use of either GenICam compliant GigE Vision or CameraLink interfaces enables fast, reliable data transfer up to 40 kHz (40,000 lines per second) of 12-bit images. The interfaces also ensure simple integration with standard industrial software suites in existing systems.
On the front end, the allPIXA SWIR features a C-mount lens interface that allows customers to select from a myriad of commercial-off-the-shelf lens options, along with offering custom lens adapters on request. Both the CameraLink and GigE Vision versions of the camera have an internal Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that can be customized for pre-processing.