High-speed contact image sensors

Distributed under the name Mitsubishi Electric Line Scan Bar, the new high speed CIS CX models offer a choice of resolutions depending on the application. This allows scan speeds of 138m/min at 600 dpi, up to 450m/min at 300 dpi and 1000m/min at 150 dpi to be achieved. The huge data amounts resulting from these high speeds can be transferred via one or two CoaxPress interfaces depending on the sensor length. The previously available CIS AX and MX versions provided CameraLink interfaces.

Stemmer Imaging says a major benefit of CIS compared with line scan cameras is their compact and easy-to-install format, which was slightly modified in the new CIS generation and adapted to the requirements of the printing industry. They are held in place directly above the surface of interest at a fixed height of 12mm, with all LED illumination and optics built-in. The CIS can be installed in just a few minutes. 

The new CX models are available in scan widths of 367, 587 and 807mm. For seamless scanning of larger material widths, several sensors can be arranged next to one another. By being close to the material instead of mounted high above, the CIS helps to reduce the overall footprint, and therefore the costs and complexity of the machine. 

Ease of installation and removal means maintenance and support requirements are also reduced. This benefits not only machine builders but end users who now no longer need to have specialist engineers on standby and can be assured of minimal downtime in the event of a problem. 

Typical application areas for the Contact Image Sensors include the print and thin film production industries, where it can be used to detect surface defects on paper, plastics, fabrics, banknotes and even holograms. In addition, the CIS can also be used for the surface inspection of wood, glass and other materials and can form the heart of an automated optical inspection system for printed circuit board