Navitar, part of the Ametek family for two years, has a reputation for high-performance, modular systems and advanced technologies. At the VISION 2024 show in Stuttgart, Germany, visitors to its booth saw this in action. The Resolv4k is a lens that has been designed to maximise the usage of larger camera sensors with higher pixel densities. Its configuration is a motorised zoom with a coaxial light and a motorised focusing stage, augmented by smart Pixelink software. It captures real-time, high-resolution images and a range of features, including frame rate, exposure, gain and colour with market-defining ease-of-use GUI.
“What customers typically need is to look at something at different focus levels – they want to go up and down and then zoom here and focus there,” says Patrick Buve, European Sales Manager. “This software allows them to take multiple steps and then look at different levels. Stacking images to create a single focused image is possible.”
Pixelink’s launch is a camera with a 1” sensor that is controlling a liquid lens, focussing at different distances is done in a few milliseconds. A lot of products end up in markets such as the semiconductor sector, where there’s often a limited depth of field, but the need for rapid realignment remains. “It’s the kind of application we are increasingly looking to cover,” he says. “The Resolv zoom has been on the market for quite some time, but we've never really presented it with this focusing capability.”
The company’s production is solely based in the US, however, Navitar has a global presence. “In Europe and Asia, we sell to customers within the life science, metrology, semiconductor markets, to name a few.”
The PL-X 10-GigE camera series remains a strong seller – these cameras are best suited to applications that require high-resolution images with fast data transfer rates. They have a high-speed 10 GigE interface, clock synchronisation across multiple devices and can service cable lengths up to 100 metres. Alongside the reliable Pixelink software, it’s a powerful combination that – despite interesting adaptation, as demonstrated at VISION 2024 – requires little enhancement in some cases, it’s powerful enough as it stands.
Pixelink, part of Navitar since 2017, manufactures, optimises and integrates industrial cameras for machine vision applications and microscope cameras for life science and digital microscopy applications. Products include CMOS sensors, coupled with state-of-the-art high speed digital technologies such as USB 3.0, FireWire (IEEE 1394), USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet (GigE). Its latest camera models are equipped with the 12.3 MPixel Sony Pregius IMX253 (1.1”) and 8.9MPixel IMX255 (1”) sensors that support 4K Ultra HD video.
Earlier this year, Navitar’s ZOOM 7000-2 was redesigned, refined, and optimised for applications in machine vision, industrial imaging, life science and research. This versatile, close-focusing lens delivers terrific image quality across various magnification ranges, with a robust construction ensuring reliability in challenging environments. It’s a sign of just how flexible product development is becoming at the firm.
Buve maintains the power of a trade show is special. “We always enjoy exhibiting at shows like VISION. Personal conversations and offering hands-on demonstrations are the ideal way to show our capabilities and product offerings. It’s a powerful platform and we’re already thinking about what to demonstrate next year at Laser World of Photonics 2025 in Munich.”
