6 Tips That Can Help Achieve Optimal Machine Vision Lighting

Machine vision systems or visual inspection machines provide precise inspection of parts using high quality images. An ideal way to achieve this precision is to optimize the lighting of the room you wish to inspect.

With proper lighting, it's easier to maximize contrast, making it easier for the camera to identify a specific surface, mark, or shape. On the other hand, poor lighting does not illuminate the entire room, which adds to the total processing time. Read on to find out more.

1: bright lights

Another role of a machine vision system is to identify the missing material in the inspected part. In addition, the system can also determine if the amount of material in the mold is insufficient, which is called a short shot.

For better detection of short shots, manufacturers today use a special illuminator called Nerlite DOAL.

2: the wavelength

Often, manufacturers use this technology to ensure the correct orientation of components on the printed circuit board, especially an integrated circuit board.

If the chip is oriented correctly, its copper side will be down for proper connection. Additionally, the chips are turned over during the assembly process, which can lead to assembly failure.

3: unscattered light

It is difficult to see tiny cracks in transparent materials like glass. In hundreds of glass containers, it is even more difficult to detect tiny cracks.

Therefore, non-scattered light is used for better crack detection. This helps reduce waste and customer complaints.

4: diffused light

Detecting inaccurate, damaged, or missing content can help drug manufacturers improve drug quality. But using bright light and avoiding glare at the same time is difficult.

If the light sources are mono-plane or unidirectional, they can cause shadows and reflections. But with diffused light, it is possible to illuminate the object from different sides and avoid reflections.

5: Color for contrast

Regardless of the type of application, there is no denying the importance of high contrast images. An easy way to accomplish this goal is to use colored light. The wavelength of the light can make the room characteristics dark or bright for the camera, especially for the monochrome camera.

If you want to make the features dark, you can go for the opposite color. However, if you go for the same light color, the functionality looks clearer.

6: strobe light

For precise inspection of fast moving parts, a strobe light is used. With non-strobe light, it is not possible to capture images without noise. In this case, it is better to go for a strobe light only.

In addition, the strobe light must have an appropriate pulse width to produce high quality images. Typically, the pulse duration is equal to the time it takes for the image of the part to travel a distance.

In short, if you want the best machine vision performance, we suggest you follow the tips given above. This will help manufacturers get the most out of their visual inspection machines.