Pulsed LED Lights Suited for Stroboscopic Inspection

Published: September 17, 2009

SADDLE Brook, NJ | Unilox will introduce an entire family of pulsed LED inspection lights at LabelExpo Europe 2009, September 23—26, at the Brussels Exhibition Ctr. The company says it will unveil LED versions of its most widely used stroboscopic inspection lights for label printers at Stand 5D95.

The pulsed LED inspection lights include the LED 1XF, equivalent in illumination to the Cricket model; the LED 1XS matches the Scout; LED 5X2, 46 cm (18 in.) long, is similar to the LOL-20 with the capability to expand to 3 m; and LED 1X3, similar to the Tracker, and the Pocket Pixel. Also on display will be the LOL-5, LOL-20, LOL-40, Guardian, Cricket, Tracker and Miti-Lite.

The company’s president Michael P. Simonis explains LEDs “are not for every printing or labeling application. Their softer light makes them best suited for inspecting labels and packaging with highly reflective coatings, foils or metalized substrates or on high-speed lines. Pulsed LED lights can replace strobe lights with Xenon lamps, where inspectors sometimes need to dial down the intensity or use frosted glass to avoid harsh reflections. When combining the light with our unique reflector designs, Unilux can provide even illumination across the entire surface.”

LEDs are claimed to have a better light output than Xenon lamps with a flash rate greater than 15,000 flashes/sec. Costs are said about the same over a 3—5 year operating period, with the cost savings on the LED units being better after that. Operators can spot defects at full production speeds that can exceed 750 mpm (2,200 fpm).