Q&A: Lighting for Beginners Ask Pascal Senior Applications Engineer 1-888-3-SENSORS Description: I'm often asked "Is lighting important for my vision sensing application?" Absolutely! More than any factor, lighting will determine the success or failure of your application! In this Q&A session, I'll try to address some basic questions about lighting. Q: Can I buy off-the-shelf fluorescent lighting or do I have to buy Banner lighting? A: Off-the-shelf lighting can work with Banner vision sensors, but be aware that fluorescent lights can have significant "flicker," due to the output frequency of the light. Q: How important is lighting? A: 80-90% of an application is lighting the scene properly in order to get a high-contrast image. If you start with a high-contrast image, that's less work you'll have to do on the software side of things. Q: Why is lighting important? A: Lighting is important because the vision sensor does "computerized light measurement." Lighting helps you create an image that is consistent enough for your sensor to make repeatable judgments about it. Q: My factory environment is very bright. Do I really need dedicated lighting? A: Yes. The single greatest cause of false rejects (parts that are really "good" but the vision sensor says are "bad") is variation in lighting. Using dedicated lighting can reduce or eliminate this problem, thereby making your vision application more robust. Q: How do I choose lighting? A: Lighting selection is more art than science. The key to lighting is to exploit optical differences between the part and the background to create image contrast. Lighting must be tested before it is recommended as there are many different options, and the results are very dependant on your parts! Take the tutorial on choosing lighting. Q: Can I use existing incandescent lighting? A: Existing factory lighting is not adequately controlled for most vision applications. Dedicated incandescent lighting can be used, but be aware that the light output of an incandescent bulb changes significantly during the lifetime of the bulb.

Q: Which is better, fluorescent or LED? A: LED illumination is more energy efficient, lasts a longer time, and is monochromatic. It is better in almost every situation, except over a large area where the expense of LEDs would be prohibitive. Q: Do I need mounting for my lights? A: Yes. Lighting must be mounted very rigidly because you don't want your lights moving during an inspection. Q: How do I mount the lighting? A: Lighting can be mounted using the holes provided on the housing of the light. See the datasheet for the hole pattern and hardware required. Alternatively, many Banner lights have mounting brackets available that are compatible with our “Column Mounting” hardware kits. Q: What are my lighting options? A: There are literally hundreds of lights. A Banner applications engineer or Banner sales rep can help you choose and test lighting options appropriate for your application. Q: How do I know what mode my vision sensor is? A: Unlike a photoelectric sensor, vision sensors don't have a light source and therefore aren't built in a specific "mode" like photoelectric sensors. The lighting you choose will determine the mode. Here are more details. Q: How far away should I mount my light? A: This depends on your application and light source. It's best to test different lighting sources before installing one permanently. Related Links: Learn more about sensing modes in photoelectric sensors. Learn more about how lighting works in a vision sensor. Learn more about choosing lighting. Download this training note on using color filters. Download this chart on lighting techniques. .