Kendall Electric has partnered with Cognex to provide machine vision systems that can "see" which are used to automate a wide range of manufacturing processes where vision is required.

Cognex's vision systems automatically identify products, inspect for defects, gauge part dimensions, and guide robotic equipment -- at up to thousands of parts per minute.  For example the Cognex vision systems are used to track semiconductor wafers through manufacturing processes, to guide the placement of surface mount devices (SMDs) onto circuit boards, to inspect light bulbs, and to assess the quality of printing on the face of a watch.

In a typical application, a Cognex machine vision system captures an image of the part to be inspected through a video camera.  The system then analyzes the image and generates an answer about it, such as whether a part is defective.  This information then can be sent to other equipment in the manufacturing line, including a robotic arm that will remove a bad part from the process. 

The Checker is a simple to use and inexpensive sensor that can visually detect the presence of items during the manufacturing process.  Unlike multi-purpose vision systems tha can be programmed to perform a wide variety of tasks, each model in the Checker family will do only one thing, but it will do it extraordinarily fast and well. 

The Checker 101 was designed from the ground up to be far simpler to use than any vision system.... so simple that even first-time users will have it up and running in a matter of minutes.

The Checker's compact design provides illumination, optics, sensor, processor, memory and I/O, all fully integrated in a single industrial-grade package about the size of a cell phone.  In addition, unique, patent pending technology enables Checker to automatically detect when a product is ready to be inspected.  It doesn't require an external trigger, even for products in continuous motion at high speed, as do other vision sensors and systems.

For more information about Cognex, call your Kendall Electric Account Manager.

SMC-Flex: The New Smart Compact Soft Starter

Soft Starters are solid state devices that can be used in place of across the line motor starters to reduce the inrush current surge caused by large loads. This can minimize mechanical damage to belts, gears, and chains. The Soft Starter can also prevent the jarring of valuable products being conveyed in materials handling applications.

Other benefits of SMC-Flex are the limiting of line disturbances from in rush current, multiple start and stop modes, and diagnostic monitoring. The SMC-Flex offers all the features found in previous soft start controllers like the STC, SMC-2, SMC Plus, and SMC Dialog, but has added several new standard features.