Things To Consider When Investing In Vision Equipment
Vision systems are a significant investment. With that being said, it is essential that you consider exactly what you need from it. You should ensure that you have clarity on the following:
Ergonomics
Ensuring that your vision system is ergonomic safeguards the health and increases the productivity of the operator. Eye strain, head movement, comfort and co-ordination all need to be taken into account. Analyse the amount of time required to be working on your desired system, and balance that against the ergonomic protection that this will provide.
Working Distance
Often this consideration is a more crucial consideration if you wish to use a stereo microscope. The working distance will be the space that is between the objective lens and the specimen that you are viewing under the microscope. If you need to work with tools under magnification, then you will require adequate space to operate the tools. This poses the question of whether you require the finer detail in your magnification, or the space to operate tools. The other alternative would be to look into a digital vision system over a stereo.
Eyestrain & Fatigue
Operators throughout their day will frequently be switching from a magnified view to that of the actual object. This requires the eyes to refocus on every occasion. One thing to consider then will be the frequency within which the vision system will be used in your setting. For prolonged use, equipment without an eyepiece would be more beneficial (see mantis or Lynx EVO). If the main operators require glasses, then this is another factor to consider.
Types Of Vision Systems & Accessories Available
Stereo – A stereo microscope uses eyepieces for optical viewing. Each of these eyepieces provides a different angle of the viewed image. It must be said that Vision Engineering has developed 2 series of microscope (Mantis & Lynx EVO) which are in fact eyepiece less. Read more about this below.
Digital – Digital microscopes provide an optical view through the use of a camera rather than an eyepiece. The Digital vision system is then also hooked up to a PC monitor, displaying real-time results. The EVO CAM II is a good illustration of such a system.
Objectives & Eyepieces – Both of these are, simply put, high-powered magnification tools that allow the specimen under the microscope to be seen in varying forms of zoom.
Magnifiers – These provide the perfect balance of both premium optics and supreme flexibility. They provide magnification and lighting solutions that are space efficient.