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Gardasoft Vision Ltd was founded in 1999 by Peter Bhagat, to provide turnkey machine vision systems for industry and image processing software consultancy. The market need for lighting controllers was quickly identified and Gardasoft's first controller, the PP101, was released in 2000.
The company's core business is the design, development and supply of high performance LED lighting controllers. The company no longer undertakes machine vision or consultancy projects. However the knowledge gained from producing systems means that detailed and knowledgeable applications advice on the use of controllers in machine vision systems can always be provided.
The company benefits from the "Cambridge Effect" - this region has a highly skilled workforce and has invented and developed many leading technologies in use worldwide today. There is a high concentration of advanced technology companies in Cambridge.
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LED Lighting Controllers
The PP520 LED Lighting controller has all the features of Gardasoftís LED Lighting controllers with the addition of an Ethernet connection. Commands can be sent from an application program using TCP/IP or UDP.
The PP520 also acts as a miniature web server and can be controlled by image processing software on a remote PC.
With the introduction of GigE cameras, the machine vision market is moving towards Ethernet. The advantage of Ethernet is that it is fast, long distance, standardised worldwide and implementation is inexpensive.
The PP520 provides the power regulation, intensity control, timing and triggering functions required for machine vision systems.
Three modes of operation are provided separately for each channel:
- Continuous: Output is a continuous current.
- Pulsed: Output is pulsed once per trigger.
- Switched: Output switched on or off by a digital input.
PP520 Data Sheet (352KB-PDF file)
PP520 Demo Program (2.4MB file)
The PPP600 controller range provides repeatable intensity control of LED lighting for machine vision applications.
It includes all the intensity control, timing and triggering functions required for machine vision systems.
The PP100 can be configured to provide constant or pulsed output, with control over the delay, intensity and duration. Intensity and pulsing can be triggered by digital inputs.
Three modes of operation are provided separately for each channel:
Continuous: Output is a continuous current.
Strobed: Output is pulsed once per trigger
Selected: Output changes according to digital inputs.
In selected mode the output can be selected from up to four values using one or both digital inputs. In pulsed mode one input is used as a trigger; the delay and pulse duration can range from 20us to 1 second in 20us or 2ms steps.
The PP600 is set up using four push buttons and a four digit display. The setup is saved in non-volatile memory so that the PP600 will resume operation after a power cycle.
Applications include lighting systems requiring brightness changes, easy and repeatable set up of lighting levels, strobe control of lighting and synchronising lighting switching to camera syncs.
PP610 - PC Controlled Lighting
The PP610 has all the features of the PP600 with the addition of an RS232 serial port. The unit can be configured, and all the functionality controlled using commands sent on the serial port.
PP600 Data Sheet (864KB-PDF file)
PP600F Data Sheet (528KB-PDF file)
PP610 Data Sheet (964KB-PDF file)
The PP111 real time IO controller range provides repeatable intensity control of LED lighting for machine vision applications.
It includes all the intensity control, timing and triggering functions required for machine vision systems.
The PP111 can be configured to provide constant or pulsed output, with control over the delay, intensity and duration. Configuration is very generalised to allow a vast range of real time operations to be set up to run off digital input triggers.
Four modes of operation are provided:
Static: Outputs are constant or pulsed and can be controlled externally using the serial port.
Triggered: Each of eight triggers can cause a different sequence of outputs.
Programmed: One trigger causes one of eight sequences of operations, selected by digital input.
Sequenced: Up to eight sequences of operations are set up to be executed in rotation, one per trigger.
Configurations can be saved in non-volatile memory so that the PP100 will run standalone. Configuration can be performed using a straightforward setup program running on a PC, using an RS232 connection.
Applications include lighting systems requiring brightness changes, easy and repeatable set up of lighting levels, strobe control of lighting and synchronising lighting switching to camera syncs.
PP111 Data Sheet (492KB-PDF file)
The PP810 Lighting controller provides repeatable intensity control of LED lighting for machine vision applications. In addition it is design for high current applications and stores energy internally so that high current pulsing can be achieved.
It includes all the intensity control, timing and triggering functions required for machine vision systems.
The PP810 can be configured to provide constant or pulsed output, with control over the delay, intensity and duration. Intensity and pulsing can be triggered by digital inputs.
Three modes of operation are provided separately for each channel:
Continuous: Output is a continuous current.
Strobed: Output is pulsed once per trigger
Selected: Output changes according to digital inputs.
In selected mode the output can be selected from up to four values using one or both digital inputs. In pulsed mode one input is used as a trigger; the delay and pulse duration can range from 20us to 1 second in 20us or 2ms steps.
The PP810 is set up using four push buttons and a four digit display. The setup is saved in non-volatile memory so that the PP810 will resume operation after a power cycle.
Applications include lighting systems requiring brightness changes, easy and repeatable set up of lighting levels, strobe control of lighting and synchronising lighting switching to camera syncs.PC Controlled Lighting
The PP810 has an RS232 serial port. The unit can be configured, and all the functionality controlled using commands sent on the serial port. See the downloadable User Manual for details.
PP810 Data Sheet (548KB-PDF file)
The PP860 LED lighting controller range provides very fast accurate large current pulses for high end applications. With new generation LEDs the PP860 can provide high intensity pulses which can exceed the useful brightness of xenon strobes.
The PP861 is a 2A version of the PP860, but is otherwise identical.
Two modes of operation are provided independently for each channel:
Continuous: Output is a continuous current, with configurable intensity
Pulsed: Output is pulsed once per trigger, with configurable delay, pulse width and intensity
The PP860 is configured using an RS232 connection to a PC. The configuration is saved in non-volatile memory so that the PP860 will resume operation after a power cycle.
PP860/PP861 Data Sheet (260KB-PDF file)
The PP900 real time LED lighting controller follows on from the very successful PP600 range. It incorprates advanced and novel features that are covered by patent applications filed by Gardasoft Vision.
The controller provides repeatable very stable intensity control of LED lighting and includes all the intensity control, timing and triggering functions required for machine vision systems.Advanced Features of the PP900 give reliable fool-proof operation with closed loop control.
When used with CCS Lights Gardasoft Vision's patented Safe Sense technology identifies the characteristics of the light and automatically detects the voltage and current rating. This gives total protection from overloading or damaging the lighting unit.
A Light Depandant Resistor can be connected to the unit providing closed-loop feedback control of the light intensity. Should the current vary beyond predefined limits the unit is switched off and an error reported.
Operation Modes and Setup
The PP900 can be configured to provide constant or pulsed output, with control over the delay, intensity and duration. Configuration is very generalised to allow a vast range of real time operations to be set up to run off digital input triggers.
Three modes of operation are provided:
Continuous: Output is a constant current
Pulsed: Output is pulsed onec per trigger
Constant Light: Output is a coninuous brightness
PP900 Data Sheet (608KB-PDF file)
Now there is an easy and complete working solution for accurate timing of component sensing, camera triggering and reject gates. Timing can be based on precise delays or on exact conveyor belt travel using an encoder. This controller will save days of engineers' effort, solving all the following time consuming problems often faced with machine vision systems:
- Delay from product sensor to camera trigger
- Delay from pass/fail result to reject gate
- Synchronising multiple cameras to trigger at different times
- Resynchronise the product result to the original trigger time
- Tracking product position on a belt that stops, reverses or has varying speed
- Handle multiple products with overlapping results
- Handling fast encoder pulses
- Producing timing with microsecond accuracy
CC320 Data Sheet (328KB-PDF file)
CC320 Demo Program (2.5MB file)
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