As innocuous as it may seem, your machine vision cable is a very important consideration when designing a machine vision system. There are several critical criteria to consider ahead of time to make sure your system will be able to perform its functions and deliver the data that is needed.
Start by selecting the right interface. Each interface has capabilities, benefits, and limitations for the transmission of data that you must be aware of. Currently, there are quite a few choices, depending on your needs. You can download the Global Machine Vision Interface Standards here to get a better understanding of the differences and applications.
Next you have to evaluate what you’re connecting and the performance demands. Are you using a high resolution camera? Is your system taking high speed images? Are your applications time-critical? Are a lot cameras taking images at the same time? Then you need to calculate the size and rate of transfer of the data packet and how much bandwidth is needed. All of this information affects the cable you choose.
In addition to size of the data packet, another consideration is the distance the data packet must travel during the transfer. Are you streaming big packets of data over long distances? Or will the cable be attached to a microscope in the lab? Certain interfaces give high image quality over longer distances and others are more suited to shorter distances. There are also additional components that can be used to enhance cable performance, like a Gigabit PoE+ splitter or a cable extender.
There are quite a few criteria to consider during cable selection. And there are a lot of options too! The goal is to match your cable and interface selection to the requirements of your system and application to ensure you get the best data transfer results.
Need help configuring the right machine vision camera and component cable? Try our cable configuring tool.