Baumer has launched its new range of OC50/OC60 contrast and luminescence sensors.

The new products provide precise detection of minute and invisible print marks – even at very fast speeds.

‘Jitter’ is best described as any deviation in, or displacement of the signal pulses in a high-frequency digital signal and the amount of ‘allowable jitter’ is highly dependent on the sensing application.

The OC50 is a basic contrast sensor with the ability to detect even the smallest differences between a mark and the background with a jitter of greater than 25 micron .

It features RGB LED, single-lens optics, and PMMA lenses all contained in compact plastic housing. It also has static teach-in with LED display and is available with optical lenses for distances up to 18mm.

The OC60 is offered for higher performance contrast sensing for lower jitter measurements of 7 micron. It still uses the same RGB LED single lens optics as the OC50 although with glass lenses, static and dynamic teach-in within a metal housing.

Optical lenses for this option are available for distance up to 40mm. The OC60 also has an adjustable cable outlet in five positions along with front and side mounting options.

These features, along with a sensing beam that can leave the unit either vertically or horizontally, ensures maximum positioning flexibility.

The OC60 luminescence sensing option features UV LED single lens optics, glass lenses and is designed for effective detection of fluorescent markings. It can also be adjusted to five sensitivity levels. It provides a response time of 0.34ms and is available with optical lenses for distances up to 50mm.

The OC60D has a colour mode to detect not only the contrast, but also the actual colour. It is particularly suitable for colour detecting and sorting applications, such as those required for packaging in the food and drink processing industries.