Teledyne Line Scan Camera Technology Made Lite
Teledyne releases their newest line scan camera technology. Nearly half as compact as the original Linea, the Linea Lite provides low-cost, easy-to-install, compact visual inspection for manufacturers.
Teledyne’s technologies include digital vision systems designed for automation processes. Image used courtesy of Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies
Established in 1980, Teledyne has been developing, manufacturing, and marketing digital imagery solutions. Teledyne is known in the automation world as a provider of high-quality, high-resolution, digital vision systems. Teledyne’s product line includes 3D sensors, frame grabbers, software, embedded vision systems, line scan cameras, and much more.
CMOS chips are used in line scan cameras to capture images of long products. Image used courtesy of Teledyne
Line Scan Camera
A line scan camera is very similar to a standard digital camera. A CMOS chip is still used to capture images. The difference is the number of pixels that are exposed to the image.
A line scan camera has only one row of pixels to capture images similar to how a copy machine works. This means if a line scan camera is 8000 pixels then it will have one row of 8000 pixels. Not the greatest camera for taking selfies but great for doing visual inspections on very long or continuous products.
If a line scan camera is combined with an encoder and the camera is moved along the part triggering at a high rate of speed, these images can be stitched together and generate high-quality photos. These images will not be subject to distortion that occurs with area cameras.
Visual Inspection
A common use for line scan cameras is for high-resolution visual inspection of continuously producing products or large components. An example application would be scanning the top of an engine block to measure the bore size where the piston is contained. Using a line scan camera, the entire surface can be scanned, the images stitched together, and the bores measured with standard vision inspection tools.
Another example would be scanning fabric after it has been woven together. A single line scan camera can be used to detect defects in the fabric, and, when combined with an encoder, the exact position of the defect can be determined. With area scan cameras, a special lens is needed to flatten the image, and image distortion may still occur.
Teledyne adds Linea Lite (on the left) to their product family, a compact version of their original Linea line camera release (on the right). Image courtesy of Teledyne
Linea Lite
Teledyne already has an extensive product line of line scan cameras under the Linea product family. Recently, Teledyne added to this product family with a more compact version. The Linea Lite is 45% smaller than other Linea products. The Linea Lite comes in a color version or the standard monochrome. Power over Ethernet comes standard and is a great way at reducing cabling in the field. The resolution of the Linea Lite comes in 2 K and 4 K which allows the user to produce high-quality images when combined with an encoder and Teledyne vision software to stitch the images together.
When using a line scan camera with an encoder, it is necessary to ensure that the camera can accept the high-speed triggering. The Linea Lite has the capability of being triggered up to 50 kHz. When the Linea Lite is combined with Teledyne’s free Sapera LT SDK, the TurboDrive technology can be unlocked which allows the camera to be triggered up to 64 kHz and transmit pixel information in excess of 125 MB/s. By having the capability of triggering the camera faster, inspection can be speeded up or even higher quality images can be produced.
