Keyence isn’t the first name that springs to mind when shopping for a 2D code reader, but after spending some time browsing their website I can say they certainly deserve a look.
I was particularly interested in the new, “ultra-compact” SR-600 series readers. You may need to register to get details, so let me tell you why that might be worth doing.
Not only is the reader very small and therefore able to fit into compact spaces, (though curiously, I couldn’t find the actual dimensions on the Keyence web site,) but it can also read codes on parts that are moving quickly – up to 160m/sec, or so they claim. Apparently this is achieved through the use of a “reverse ernostar lens” coupled with a very bright LED light and some rather clever image acquisition and processing software. This enables them to take out blur and deal with light variation across the field of view.
I wasn’t sure what a “reverse ernostar lens” was, so I put my friend Google to work. Apparently it’s an optical design developed by one Ludwig Bertle back in the early 1920’s. Its value is in being an optically “fast” lens – meaning that it let’s more light through – which I imagine is why Keyence are employing it in this sensor.
The SR-600 seems like an excellent product for when you need to read 2D codes on anything flying down a conveyor belt, which makes me wonder why the marketing folks at Keyence decided to focus on the fact that’s very small.
Sell the sizzle folks, not the steak!
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1 comment:
Since Keyence is basically attempting to catch up with Microscan's Quadrus MINI Velocity and Cognex's Dataman 100Q they are trying to sell whatever might make them stand out. All of the wonderful new features of the SR-600 have been in the Microscan MINI product since 2005
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