Interfacing Machine Vision with Factory Controls
Posted by Jeff Schmitz on Fri, Oct 29, 2010 @ 11:14 AM
Consistently, well-lit smart camera applications all need to transmit decisions, and sometimes statistical data and images, to machine process hardware and software consistently.
The simplest way for smart cameras to communicate is through discrete outputs---and inputs requesting an output. Outputs to a PLC or to a relay connected directly to an actuator can be either NPN or PNP to comply with the PLC input specification. The discrete outputs are configured with smart camera software to respond according to the calculated judgment results.
I/O wiring can be simplified further using a smart camera’s Ethernet output. Ethernet can be used to communicate following a number of industry standards such as Ethernet I/P and Modbus TCP. The calculated smart camera output results can then be communicated directly from the smart camera’s Ethernet port. This not only saves input wiring on the machine, it also saves purchasing and wiring a “break out” I/O board from the camera.
The Ethernet I/O port can also be used to communicate words—data bytes rather than data bits—and images. Useful information about the production process and results is collected by the smart camera and can be communicated through its Ethernet port to machine controls, across the factory software system and throughout the overall manufacturing enterprise. Smart camera information and images can be archived and used for process improvement and for customer compliance. Information and images collected from smart cameras can allow executives and engineers throughout a manufacturing enterprise to see production results in real-time.
All these connectivity specifications are available in PPT VISION’s new IMPACT M-Series platform. Information can be viewed here. To learn more about getting the most from data collected from smarter cameras, go here and get in touch with a knowledgeable vision applications engineer.