Pay Attention to Temperature in Machine Vision Color Applications

Many people trying to solve inspection and defect detection applications using color machine vision fail to consider the affects of temperature variations on the process. A color application may be 100% successful in a test environment but may become unreliable with changes in temperature while in actual service.

In a color machine vision application, thermal drift of the image sensor and other electronics within the camera will change the amount of charge contained in each charge-coupled device (CCD). This may affect how color is perceived by the camera.

Intrusive light in the production environment can throw off color detection and measurements by changing the temperature of the target object. As the target object heats up the color properties can shift. When color detection is critical to your machine vision application, you need to provide a consistent environment to run your inspections and minimize temperature variations as much as possible.

To learn more about color applications, download the expert guide When to Choose a Color Vision System for Your Application. If you have specific questions about a color application that you are trying to solve, contact a Cognex Sales Engineer and get a quick evaluation of your application.