Specifications
| Type | 2D color area scan camera |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 5MP (2448 × 2048 pixels) |
| Sensor | Sony IMX264 Gen2, 2/3" CMOS, global shutter |
| Pixel size | 3.45 × 3.45 µm |
| Frame rate | 35 fps (full resolution) |
| Interface | USB 3.0 (5 Gbit/s), Micro B connector |
| Inputs / outputs | M8 8-pin: 1 input, 1 output, 2 general-purpose lines |
| Lens mount | C-mount |
| Dimensions | 29 × 29 × 38 mm, 90 g max. |
| Power supply | 5 VDC over USB 3.0, approx. 2.4 W |
| Operating temperature | 0 to +65 °C |
| Protection rating | IP 40 (with lens and cable fitted) |
Why a 5MP global-shutter camera to inspect packaging at the end of the line?
On a packaging line, the product does not stop in front of the camera: it moves past. A rolling shutter stretches it and distorts its edges, whereas inspection is decided to within a tenth of a millimeter on a seal or a cap. A global shutter freezes the entire surface at the same instant, and the 5MP of the Sony IMX264 sensor leave enough pixels on a fine defect for a vision model to separate it from a mere variation in glossiness.
- Global shutter: the moving product is frozen with no motion blur or edge distortion.
- Exposure adjustable from 1 µs, for very high-speed lines.
- Color: a product trace or residue stands out from the packaging by its hue, not its shape.
- Wired trigger input (M8): image capture is synchronized with the line's presence sensor.
- USB 3.0: no frame grabber needed, but a limited cable length that constrains the layout.
Psycle does not simply distribute this camera: it integrates it into high-value vision applications. The sensor provides the image; what is extracted from it depends on the vision software running behind it, the model trained on the line's real defects and the lighting scheme that makes them stand out. The same VCXU.2-51C does not see the same things depending on whether it works with low-angle lighting, backlighting or dome lighting.
This is the setup used in the packaging inspection cells at the end of packaging lines: seal integrity, cap placement, code legibility, and ejection of non-compliant products before case packing. Inspections cover 100% of products, at line speed, with no manual sorting station downstream.
Before installing
Three points that determine everything else
USB 3.0 does away with the frame grabber, but it imposes its own distance: beyond a few meters of passive cable, you need an active cable or a fiber extension. The position of the control cabinet is therefore decided at the same time as that of the camera, not afterwards.
The housing is rated IP 40 with lens and cable fitted: nothing that will withstand a food line washdown. In wet areas, the camera goes into an enclosure, and it is the enclosure window (its cleanliness, its reflections, its condensation) that becomes the weak point of the inspection.
The sensor is 2/3": a C-mount lens designed for a smaller format vignettes the corners, and the defect that slips through is precisely the one that comes in from the edge of the image. Check the lens image circle before the focal length, and the focal length before the mount.
Stand-up pouch inspection
explained in detail.
The component is only one part. Camera, lighting, vision software, ejection and line interfacing: the complete solution, with all the settings it requires.
see the solution