Low-cost high-performance line scan camera range extended

Well suited to postal and parcel inspection, materials grading, food and web inspection, transportation safety and pharmaceutical inspection, as well sorting applications in the recycling and postal industries, Linea cameras utilise DALSA's single line CMOS technology to provide high sensitivity with low noise in both the visible and NIR regions of the spectrum. This opens up possibilities for applications that make use of subsurface imaging using NIR wavelengths.

Linea cameras are compact, lightweight and robust, with a range of features normally found only in Teledyne DALSA's high-end line scan cameras, bringing impressive versatility. The choice of resolutions and data transmission interfaces offers flexibility to end users, OEMs and systems integrators alike.

Fully fledged flat-field correction ensures that the high-sensitivity performance is uniform across the entire sensor for accurate image intensity measurements. Multiple Regions of Interest allow a reduction in data transfer and processing load. This both boosts performance and reduces system costs. The cameras can also accommodate multiple user configuration sets for a variety of different inspection requirements, and they can be set up with different calibration coefficients for various lighting conditions, again meaning that it is easy to change between different inspections.

The introduction of the 16k Linea extends the range of camera resolutions available from 2k right up to 16k. Designed to bring high levels of performance to higher-resolution cost-sensitive applications requiring high throughput, the 16k mono CameraLink model can run at line rates up to 48kHz. This new camera matches well with Teledyne DALSA's range of Xtium frame grabbers to allow transmission of data over distances up to 10m.

The 8k GigE version of Linea allows inspection applications demanding higher resolution to be accommodated using traditional Ethernet networks, with data transmission possible over distances up to 100m. Like all GigE Linea cameras, the 8k model benefits from DALSA's patent pending TurboDrive technology which allows data transmission at rates greater than standard GigE, with no change to the network, yet still benefit from the long transmission distances. TurboDrive can boost the maximum line rate of 13kHz for the 8k model up to 45kHz, depending on the image itself. For very fast processes, the camera's "burst' mode maximises system data throughput, by capturing images in high-speed bursts and buffering them for transfer during times when the system is not capturing images.

The "cycling' mode of the GigE Linea cameras brings an excellent level of flexibility, potentially making the camera five cameras in one. Users can choose up to five different user-controlled line configurations. This enables each line to be set for different operating conditions such as a different light source, lighting angle, exposure time, gain, and more. For example, alternating long and short exposure times on successive lines extends the camera's dynamic range. By obtaining more information from a single pass with a single camera, Linea can replace more expensive and multiple camera sets, or camera and frame grabber combinations, reducing overall system cost and complexity.

To learn more about the Linea range of mono line scan cameras please visit www.stemmer-imaging.co.uk.