Cables, the Rodney Dangerfield of machine vision?

Cables – those plastic-coated wires that enable your vision system to do something useful – can’t get no respect. They’re bent, twisted and folded to fit in the tightest of spaces, and the connectors …. They get shoved in and pulled out like a … well I had a crude analogy in mind but I shan’t print it here. You know what I mean.

If you want your vision system to be robust and industrial, (and who doesn’t?) then you need to look after your cables, AND use industrial connectors. Thumbscrews are good, but what I really like are the M12-type connectors I’ve seen on the latest cameras from Matrox and NI.

And according to “Connectors and Cables 101” (another Vision & Sensors article, January 4^th, 2012,) I am not alone in this. Click the link to learn what Intercon 1 has to say on the subject.