🚀 Beckhoff Vision Unit Illuminated Series Expands: Higher Resolution, More Functionality!

[Alper Aktaş]

Beckhoff, a pioneer in industrial automation, has strengthened its machine vision portfolio by adding 16 new models to its Vision Unit Illuminated (VUI) series. This expansion significantly simplifies installation and commissioning processes by integrating the camera, illumination, and liquid lens into a single compact unit.

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💡 Sensor Integration and Application Profiles​

The VUI series is designed to withstand the demanding conditions of machine manufacturing and production environments. With its robust and compact structure, it can be directly integrated into machine control networks. The newly added 16 models are equipped with Sony Pregius S™ global shutter image sensors to meet different measurement and detection sensitivity levels.

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  []5.1 MP Resolution: Optimized for high-speed assembly lines and rapid production cycles.
  
  []8.1 MP Resolution: Ideal for standard industrial inspection and part tracking.
  
• 12.4 MP Resolution: Developed for high-precision quality control applications requiring detailed feature identification.
  

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🔍 Optical Filtering and Reflection Suppression​

To enhance the operational versatility of the hardware, the new VUI models are offered with integrated cross-polarized filters. This optical configuration selectively suppresses specular surface reflections originating from internal illumination elements, solving complex vision tasks. By filtering out non-polarized glare, the camera captures target features with higher contrast. This feature ensures consistent image acquisition even through highly reflective or transparent barriers, including polished sheet metal, glass sheets, plastic packaging films, and liquid surfaces like water.

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⚙️ Integration with Beckhoff Vision Portfolio​

The VUI family is an integral part of the modular Beckhoff Vision portfolio, which unifies industrial machine vision hardware and software layers with EtherCAT industrial communication networks. This integration allows the vision subsystem to synchronize directly with active machine motion control axes. All vision algorithms, machine logic, and motion tasks are executed on a unified PC-based control platform using industrial PCs and TwinCAT automation software, minimizing inter-system communication delays and increasing overall production throughput.

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🔬 Technical Deep Dive: Polarization and Liquid Lenses​

In industrial machine vision inspections, glare and specular reflections caused by light rays reflecting off shiny, non-metallic surfaces often lead to image distortions. When non-polarized light from an integrated LED ring strikes a shiny target, such as a plastic blister pack or a glass container, the reflected light becomes partially or fully polarized parallel to the surface plane. When this reflected light reaches the image sensor directly, it saturates pixels, creating bright white blind spots that obscure structural defects or barcodes.

Cross-polarization directs incoming light waves in a single plane by placing a linear polarizing filter over the internal LED illumination source. A second linear polarizing filter (analyzer) is placed in front of the camera lens at a 90-degree angle. Light undergoing specular reflection retains its polarization angle and is completely blocked by the vertical analyzer. In contrast, light emitted or scattered from the true details of the underlying part undergoes depolarization and passes through the analyzer to reach the sensor matrix, thus providing a high-contrast, glare-free image.

The integration of liquid lens focusable optics further enhances the flexibility of combined vision sensors during dynamic production changes. Traditional motorized lenses rely on miniature mechanical gears and stepper motors to physically adjust the distance between glass lens elements to change the focal plane; this process causes mechanical wear and requires several hundred milliseconds to settle.

A liquid lens contains a sealed cell resting on a hydrophobic coating, filled with two immiscible liquids with different refractive indices (typically an aqueous conductive solution and an insulating oil layer). When TwinCAT control software sends an electrical voltage command to the lens via EtherCAT, it induces an electro-wetting effect that changes the curvature of the spherical meniscus interface between the liquids. This shape change alters the focal length of the optical system within milliseconds, allowing the VUI camera to instantly focus between successive product batches at different heights without physically moving the camera assembly.

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This new expansion by Beckhoff represents a significant step forward in the field of industrial automation and machine vision. Thanks to advanced sensor technologies, optical filtering capabilities, and liquid lens integration, it promises higher precision, efficiency, and flexibility in production lines.