Although Automate 2024 is in the books, we still have some exclusive content to bring you from the immensely successful four-day event, which took place from 6-9 May in Chicago.
While in attendance, we visited Advanced Illumination. The LED lighting experts now work under the Exaktera umbrella, along with ProPhotonix and Z-Laser. There, we met John Thrailkill, Marketing Manager at Advanced Illumination.
He told us that the partnership has been highly beneficial to the company, stating:
“We’re discovering many great synergies between our companies. For instance, Advanced Illumination is known for our comprehensive range of standard, ready-to-build products for all lighting geometries.
“ProPhotonix complements this perfectly with their expertise in highly customized LED solutions, and they also fill in some of our gaps with their hyperspectral and multispectral line lights. This combined strength allows Exaktera to be the single source for LED solutions, from the simplest to the most complex.”
Advanced Illumination displayed its array of LED solutions, including an LED pattern projector, which has been out for a few years. As it is LED-based, it doesn’t require lasers, meaning there are no laser speckles that can cause inspection problems.
We were also introduced to their BL2 series of high-intensity backlights, which are built-to-order, scalable in size from 1 x 1 in to 46 x 46 in and available with collimated edge-enhancing film, and their UltraSeal Bar Light.
John revealed what makes their UltraSeal series unique:
“It is IP69K-rated, ensuring complete protection against dust ingress and high-pressure steam. What sets this series apart is its patented crevice-free design, allowing for easy cleaning and reducing the chance of particulate buildup on its surfaces. This series is a great solution for the most demanding washdown applications.”
We were then treated to a demonstration of their new product, the HCS-150 Light Hub series, which they have developed firstly for Zebra cameras. The goal of the series is to simplify control and vision system integration.
John explained how this system works:
“This hub simplifies vision system setup by consolidating connections for power, I/O accessories, lighting, and cameras. It facilitates back and forth communication and provides pass-through power, streamlining integration and cable management for a truly plug-and-play experience.”
