Precision sensor manufacturer Micro-Epsilon has extended its scanCONTROL range of laser profile sensors (laser scanners) with two new versions that offer even better performance and improved software integration capabilities to meet the growing demands of automation, robotics, quality control, production and process monitoring applications.
The scanCONTROL 30xx sensor is among the highest performing laser scanners in terms of its size, accuracy and measuring rate. The sensor has a compact housing with integrated controller, allowing fast integration into confined spaces. Available with either red or blue laser technology and with measuring ranges of 25mm and 50mm, the sensor provides calibrated 2D profile data with up to 5.5 million points per second. A maximum profile frequency of 10kHz and innovative exposure control enable precise profile measurements in high speed, dynamic processes. A high resolution sensor matrix offers a resolution of 2,048 points per profile with an ultimate point distance spacing of just 12µm, allowing measurements of extremely fine surface/geometrical details.
The user can choose from three predefined operating modes to suit each measurement task. The ‘High Resolution’ mode is for maximum precision measurements. The ‘High Dynamic Range’ (HDR) mode is for optimal profile detection on difficult/inhomogeneous surfaces and the ‘High Speed’ mode is for ultra-fast measurements on rapidly moving objects. Target markets for the scanCONTROL 30xx include almost all industry sectors, from automotive manufacturing to electronics production and machine building.
Also new to the scanCONTROL range is the scanCONTROL 25xx, which is designed for high volume OEM industrial measurement applications. With its compact design, versatility and high signal stability, the sensor offers users an excellent price-performance ratio and good all-round capabilities. Measurement speed is up to 300Hz and measuring rate 192,00 points per second. Three measuring ranges are available, as well as a range of accessories that include protective housings, different cable types and interface adapters, making the sensor ideal for high volume integration in production lines and OEM/machine building.
New software features
The latest version of Micro-Epsilon’s scanCONTROL Configuration Tools (v6.3) includes the following new features for the scanCONTROL 30xx laser scanner:
- Circle measurements – for radius, centre point and vertex measurements.
- Display sensor matrix (reduced or full resolution) – the resolution of the transmitted sensor matrix can be set to ‘reduced’. This means a 100 Mbit-Ethernet connection is sufficient to display the sensor matrix image. For full resolution, the scanCONTROL 30xx requires a Gigabit-Ethernet connection.
- Multiple measurement field selection – rather than choosing a single measuring field in the sensor matrix, two measuring fields and a region of “no interest” can now be selected to hide defined areas.
- Selection of operating modes – three operating modes (high resolution, high speed and high contrast (HDR).
- Improved auto exposure – limits can now be set within which the exposure time should regulate itself.
- More digital inputs with higher flexibility – the scanCONTROL 30xx has four rather than three inputs, allowing for more different functions to be used or combined.
- Writing measurement values into the profile data – activating this function attaches the measurement results to the transferred profile data, which means these can be read out directly using an SDK function in customer-specific software. Selection of the transferred measurement results is independent of the values transferred.
