“The quality of a machine vision system strongly depends on the quality of lighting,” says Stephan Küpper-Brennberger, Business Manager of Machine Vision Systems for the SCHOTT Business Unit Lighting and Imaging, and adds: “Together with Moritex Corporation, we have combined cutting-edge fiber optic technologies with highly efficient LED elements and an intelligent system control.” The “LLS 2” LED light source is the first common product development to be sold under the new MORITEX SCHOTT brand which has replaced the former brand Moritex. It is an important extension of the existing portfolio, especially designed to meet the needs of the Japanese market.
The two companies MORITEX and SCHOTT are cooperating in order to further extend their position as the world’s leading manufacturers of specific types of imaging and lighting solutions. SCHOTT, headquartered in Germany, is the largest international manufacturer of fiber optic light and image guides. MORITEX is Japan’s leading manufacturer of lighting systems based on LED and fiber optic technology, as well as optical imaging systems for industrial image processing (“Machine Vision”).
High brightness LEDs are increasingly replacing conventional halogen solutions in applications with fiber optic light guides. The new generation of LEDs offers brighter illumination, a longer lifetime, lower heat generation and reduced power consumption (35 W max.). Most of the applications with
150 Watt halogen light sources can now be realized with the “LLS 2” LED light source. However, unless diffused, even the smallest LEDs can appear as individual points in a reflective application. Fiber optic light guides still offer the highest light homogeneity.
For process control and inspection in machine vision applications, specific lighting techniques, such as bright field and dark field, rear or back lighting, as well as directional or diffuse lighting, are key elements of successful analysis. By combining LED and fiber optic technologies, the “LLS 2” LED light source offers an optimized system even for reflective applications. The new LED light source not only improves the performance of machine vision systems, but also significantly reduces both the time and costs for service and maintenance.