Cognex Showcased a Range of Inspection Equipment at MD&M West, including its Next-Gen Barcode Reader
At MD&M West, which was held Feb. 4-7 in Anaheim, Calif., Eric Hershberger, principal applications engineer for Cognex Corporation, showed Machine Design the company’s range of inspection equipment.
He began with what he calls the “spinny demo,” which uses the latest in optical character recognition (OCR) and inspection tools to improve quality control processes for battery production and inspection. It features the DataMan 290, the company’s next-gen barcode reader that was released at the beginning of 2025. It has a user-friendly user interface (UI) as no software installation is required. Hershberger says to just plug it in, assign an address and start reading barcodes.
The next demo was for the L38 3D head laser camera combination, which is factory calibrated for precision inspection. This machine uses the company’s edge learning segment tool to detect flaws, while the cross-section tool highlights critical measurements for quality control.
Next was high-speed inspection with the 3801 camera, which was processing 777 parts per minute, but he slowed it down so we could see the process. This demo showed the inspection of vials, caps and labels, highlighting how varying LED colors assist in identifying defects.
Hershberger then showed us the 475 verification system, a tool that verifies the readability of barcodes marked on products, highlighting defects and grading them as necessary, to streamline factory processes. This helps ensure compliance with ISO standards.
Finally, we see the Cognex low-cost vision sensor designed for simple good/bad evaluations. Hershberger says its intuitive web UI is easy to set up, requires no software and displays results in real time, which makes it suitable for quick inspections in any production line.
