SICK (www.sickusa.com), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, and automatic identification products for factory and logistics automation, today announced it has launched the Inspector P30 Positioning Sensor. The Inspector P series offers a flexible method for part location and provides a precise positioning point of a known target. The Inspector P series also adds functions for giving position information of irregular shaped objects, known as blob detection. The Inspector P-series’ part positioning tool set provides a precise positioning point of a known target. The P30 reports the X, Y and rotation angle of the taught part over TCP/IP Ethernet communication or via 4 digital switching outputs. When working with known objects, the user can add in “grip regions” to verify that part is unobstructed and can easily be picked by an automated picking system (robot).
The Inspector P30 also has a “blob tool.” This allows users to work with objects that are less repeatable in shape, such as food picked from a belt. The user defines the criteria of the blob, including pixel intensity, area, number of blobs (min/max) and rotation angle. The P30 can then report the details of the blob to the user via TCP/IP. It is also possible to set a “pass region,” meaning that a digital I/O signal can be triggered when a blob is in the correct position.
Features include:
• High-speed positioning and guidance
• Flexible method for part location (object locator or blob locator tools)
• Additional digital output for directional output
• Precise pixel position via Ethernet
• Lower-cost, vision-based solution
The Inspector P30 has integrated lighting, interchangeable lenses, and offers an efficient solution for a wide range of objects. For more complex applications, accessories like a dome light and color filters make it easier for difficult to inspect objects (metallic or shiny). While the color filters make it easier to enhance parts of the object users want to inspect. Because it is a sensor, the Inspector P30 provides a more cost-effective solution for vision applications that would otherwise require more complicated vision systems.