KEYENCE SR-1000 Series: Setting the New Standard for Code Reading

Challenges Code Readers Face

Traditional code readers often encounter difficulties such as:

1. Reader Cannot Be Mounted at Desired Distance: Selecting the right reader and lens combination for specific distances can be frustrating, requiring systems to be designed around reader specifications.
2. Optimal Settings Are Unknown: Setup can be time-consuming, with initial success not always translating to stable operation, leading to errors.
3. Reading Fails Due to Glare: Glare from surfaces can impede reading, necessitating specific mounting angles or external lighting solutions.

The SR-1000 Solution: Just Press the Button

The SR-1000 Series simplifies code reading with its intuitive, automated functions:

1. Autofocus: The reader can be mounted at any distance and maintain a clear image up to 1000 mm, offering significant mounting flexibility.
2. Automatic Tuning: It automatically determines optimal settings for exposure time, image processing filters, and other parameters, considering approximately 750,000 combinations.
3. Automatic Polarization: Glare is eliminated without the need for manual angle adjustment or external lighting, thanks to its automatic polarization control function.

This combination of features results in a 'Setting Complete' status, simplifying deployment.

World's First Automatic Polarization Control: The reader utilizes both polarized and direct light sources. Its automatic polarizing filter selection effectively eliminates glare, allowing for highly flexible mounting configurations.

Autofocus: One Reader for Many Applications

The autofocus capability enhances flexibility in machine designs for production lines and jigs. A single SR-1000 reader can detect codes on targets of varying heights, secure robot movement ranges, and read extremely small codes.

Key Autofocus Benefits:

• Detecting targets with differing heights.
• Securing a robot's movement range.
• Reading extremely small codes.

The SR-1000 Series offers a field of view 4x wider than conventional models, with a range of 290 mm x 220 mm. It can read codes at distances up to 1000 mm, which is 1.6x longer than conventional models, even if the code's position or distance changes.

Automatic Tuning: Optimal Settings for Stable Reading

The code reader automatically optimizes exposure time, image processing filters, and other parameters based on the target and mounting distance, ensuring clear image capture.

Correction Items and Examples of Affected Codes:

• Capture Brightness Correction: Automatically adjusts exposure time, dynamic range, and gain for optimal brightness.
• Contrast Threshold Correction: Optimizes contrast by correcting black/white thresholds, effective for various materials like black resin, PCB, metal, and ceramic.
• Filter Correction: Selects the best filter and intensity to correct the captured image, useful for thin printing or to reduce bleeding.
• Geometric Correction: Corrects distorted codes, such as those on cylinders or when the reader is mounted at an angle, addressing parallel or trapezoidal distortion.
• Image Reduction & Correction: Reduces image size to minimize background noise or missing spaces, helping with stray dots or primary noise.

Latest Technologies Providing Stable Reading:

• High-Speed Search (2D Code Search in Captured Images): Binary processing enables immediate detection of 2D codes even when non-code patterns are present in the field of view.
• Defective Code Positioning Program: Identifies the four corners of a 2D code, significantly improving detection performance.
• High-Level Decoding (Contrast Algorithm for Local Concentration - CALC): Divides codes into smaller sections for binary processing, enabling accurate classification even with uneven print density.

Automatic Polarization Control: Ensuring Flexible Mounting

The automatic polarization control function eliminates glare, removing the need for mounting angle adjustments or external lighting. Combined with autofocus, this allows for highly flexible mounting.

Examples of Glare Elimination:

• Black Resin Cylinder: Reading is successful with a polarizing filter, while it fails without.
• Metal Hairline: Glare is managed effectively with the polarizing filter.
• Metal DPM on Cast Surface: Stable reading is achieved even on challenging reflective surfaces.

New Optical Design for Stable Reading: CPC (Compound Parabolic Concentrator) Illumination

A specially shaped reflector creates high-efficiency illumination by reducing light intensity loss from high-intensity LEDs. Gold plating maximizes reflectance, achieving brightness exceeding conventional levels by 400% for uniform illumination even at long ranges.

Two Modes for Application Flexibility

The SR-1000 Series offers modes adaptable to various applications:

• Smart Mode (NEW): Unaffected by changing conditions, this mode predicts code condition fluctuations and automatically generates expanded reading settings for consistent performance, eliminating the need for reconfiguration. It predicts up to 43 patterns of change in printing conditions.
• Custom Mode: Enables detection of changes in code conditions for code quality management. This feature allows for judgments on code quality, detecting degradation before reading errors occur, facilitating predictive maintenance of printing processes.

The reader provides code quality comparison and verification based on supported standards including ISO/IEC 15415, ISO/IEC TR 29158, SAE AS9132, and SEMI T10-0701.

Advanced Setup Software

The AUTOID NETWORK NAVIGATOR SR-H4W software simplifies setup and reduces man-hours for preliminary tests. It allows connection via USB and provides advanced functionality.

Key Software Features:

• Monitor: View the field of view to adjust code position.
• Autofocus: Focus is adjusted automatically.
• Tuning: Automatically selects from approximately 750,000 parameter combinations and polarization filter settings.

Advanced Settings include:

• Image Capture Range (selectable resolutions like 1280x1024 or 800x600).
• Target Bank (custom mode).
• Polarization Filter (selectable enabled/disabled).
• Tuning History.
• No. of Codes for Reading.

Ethernet Communication Wizard: A user-friendly, four-step wizard guides users through setup (Timing Input, Output Destination, Communication, Detailed Settings), eliminating the need for deep technical knowledge.

Sophisticated Measurement Modes

The SR-1000 Series offers pre-verification and measurement capabilities for optimizing line operation:

• Reading Rate Measurement: Measures the reading success rate without needing actual production line tests.
• Reading Tact Measurement: Determines the reading cycle time (tact) without production line tests.
• Reading Depth Measurement (NEW): Determines the depth of field based on mounting distance and code used for tuning.
• Line Speed Measurement (NEW): Checks allowable line speed before installation, reducing setup time for production lines.

First-in-its-Class, Built-in Organic LED (OLED) Display

Check Operation On-Site Without a PC: The intuitive built-in display allows for checking code position adjustment and operating conditions directly on the unit, eliminating the need for an external computer or monitor.

Easy Setup Without a PC: Optimal reading parameters can be set by simply pressing the ENTER button after adjusting code position, completing fully automatic tuning.

Master/Slave Function for Multiple Readers: This function efficiently manages multiple readers, reducing host computer programming load. Two modes are available: Multi-Drop Link Mode and Multi-Head Mode.

Automatic Selection of Optimal Reading Conditions (Parameter Bank Function): The reader automatically alternates between up to 16 registered parameter banks to find the best reading conditions.

System Configuration Diagram

The SR-1000 Series offers flexible system integration. It supports various connection types including USB, Ethernet, and RS-232C, and is compatible with common industrial communication protocols like Ethernet/IP and PROFINET. The system includes standard and wide-field type readers, mounting brackets, and various cable options.

Reading Range Characteristics [Typical]

Detailed tables provide typical reading range characteristics, including minimum resolution and field of view for both the SR-1000 (standard type) and SR-1000W (wide-field type) models across different distances and capture ranges.

Specifications and Dimensions

The SR-1000 Series offers comprehensive specifications:

* The focal position can be adjusted automatically during installation.