Powerful colour vision sensors keep an eye out for production line anomalies

Citation

(2007), "Powerful colour vision sensors keep an eye out for production line anomalies", Sensor Review, Vol. 27 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2007.08727aad.007

Powerful colour vision sensors keep an eye out for production line anomalies

Powerful colour vision sensors keep an eye out for production line anomalies

The CVS range of colour vision sensors from SICK (UK) Ltd offers process and manufacturing engineers a powerful tool in their constant battle to enhance quality and lower reject rates while ensuring that production systems are running to their optimal capabilities and capacity.

The CVS1 colour vision sensor with its large field of view, up to 100 × 115mm, can be positioned up to 270mm away from a target object a feat – previously not possible with conventional colour sensors – that ensures simplified installation and eliminates the need for accurate guidance and positioning of target objects. Applications that require products to be differentiated and sorted by their colour, over long distances and without the need for consistent presentation, can now be successfully undertaken.

The CVS 1 colour vision sensor does not normally require any additional accessories. Features including internal lighting, a keypad for programming and a colour monitor – allowing the user to view the target object throughout the teach-in process – are all integrated into the compact 95 x 42 x 34mm, IP67- rated plastic housing (Figure 7).

The basic teach-in procedure is a simple push button action, but it is also possible to edit each single parameter after teaching. All this makes it ideal for use in many industrial environments, but it is particularly suited to the food and beverage industry and automotive applications. Using pixel sum evaluation, even coloured objects with uneven surfaces or of inconsistent colour can be reliably detected. The CVS compares the pixel sum count of every object, with those stored in its memory and provides an NPN or PNP switched output as required.

Figure 7 The CVS 1 colour vision sensor from SICK (UK)

In addition to the capabilities offered by the CVS1, the CVS2 also allows users to detect two-coloured objects – enabling the detection of defined colour combinations. At the same time, its serial interface allows sorting and detection of up to 15 colours with further sorting of a maximum of three colours made possible using its two digital outputs. The serial interface can also be used to both upload and download the parameter settings to or from a number of other sensing units.

A number of options are available from SICK (UK) Ltd these include an external lighting ring, an external monitor/keypad and a selection of extension cords depending on the model being used. Working in harmony with your production control architecture, the CVS range from SICK (UK) Ltd will go along way towards ensuring higher quality levels, lower reject rates and more efficient processes.

For more information, please contact: Ann Attridge or Andrea Hornby, SICK (UK) Ltd, Waldkirch House, 39 Hedley Road, ST ALBANS, Hertfordshire AL1 5BN, Tel: 01727 831121, web site: www.sick.co.uk, E-mail: info@sick.co.uk