STEMMER IMAGING

Line scan bars (aka contact image sensors - CIS)

Line scan bars (aka contact image sensors - CIS) are an attractive alternative to common line scan cameras. They’re much easier and faster to set up, offer high sensitivity and extremely fast data rates.

This page covers how the technology works with some examples of applications it’s well suited to.

 

The technology has been around for a while and there's a very good chance you've already used it.

Here’s how the technology, that’s perfectly suited to high speed inspection of flat surfaces, works (and the other ways you can use it).

 

... the Line Scan Bar is compact and self-contained.

The sensor, lens and light are all packed into a single unit. So there's no need for any adjustments once the system is mounted.

 

It's length (or width) ...

 

... covers the width of the object

 

(So the field of view is a lot of easier to determine than it would be with a line scan system)

Every CIS is dispatched with precalibrated register holes, to enable accurate mounting on alignment pins, for:

• Swift deployment on new installations. As the unit is completely self contained, all the components (sensor, lens and light) are in the right place. So once its mounted, there's no more adjustments required.
• No risk of decalibration during maintenance. The unit can be removed and easily remounted once the maintenance procedures have been carried out.
• Simple replacement (and replication) procedures. If the unit is replaced, it will be an identical fit to it's predecessor. With the register holes ensuring it is aligned correctly. This makes for easy replication onto other machines as well.

"With just four screws and four cables, the CIS can be installed in just a few minutes" - Mitsubishi Electric

 

At 29 x 33 Microns, the pixels in the line scan bar are very large. Each of which is mapped 1:1 to the object. This is achieved with the Rod Lens configuration which provides a telecentric view of large objects (with very little optical distortion).

ROD LENSES & THE SELFOC^TM LENS ARRAY

No, it’s not the name of the latest pop group. Rod lenses are cylindrical lenses with very flat surfaces at either end

 

The Rod lenses used in the CIS are GRIN (Gradient Index) lenses. The index of refraction in these lenses (ie how much they bend the light) changes with position

 

As you move out, radially, from the center of lens, the index of refraction changes. The distances of all of these refraction changes have been taken into account in the geometry of the lens, so that it acts an image relay device - producing an almost identical image of the product.

 

 

As the CIS system collimates the light, it results in equal magnification of the object, right across the sensor

ie, its mapped 1:1

 

This makes it very suitable for metrology or high accuracy inspections

 

The short working distance of the lenses make the whole set up a lot more compact. Making it a perfect fit in applications where space is very limited.

 

Infographic download

We've created a large, high resolution, infographic that you can download as an easy reference guide

• Download a high resolution version of the full infographic

Ask the expert

I’m Jan Friedrich, one of the sales specialists on Line Scan Bars at STEMMER IMAGING.

Get in touch if you've got any questions and we'll try our best to help you out.

Product information

The Mitsubishi Electric Line Scan Bar series offers the perfect solution for the inspection of flat or nearly flat surfaces and objects.

• Learn more about Mitsubishi Electric Line Scan Bar

Kontakt

Poland

STEMMER IMAGING Sp.z o.o.
Ul. 3-go Maja 6A
99-400 Łowicz
Poland

+48 664 921 922
pl.info@stemmer-imaging.com

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Learn more:

• Line Scan Technology
• Line scan applications
• Technical details of line scan cameras
• Exposure control and Binning of line scan cameras
• FPN - Fixed Pattern Noise
• Flat-Field Correction
• TDI line scan
• Dual-line monochrome line scan cameras
• Colour line scan cameras
• Cameras