Sitting under the hood of every new car—and many older cars made since 1990—is the engine control module (ECM). Often referred to as “the car’s computer,” it usually employs the most powerful and expensive microcontroller in the vehi-cle.
Regardless of their location or industry, manufacturers are demanding more from leak test equipment than ever before. Tough economic times and increased competition require companies to use equipment that not only provides accuracy and repeatability, but accommodates a wider variety of parts.
Recently introduced USB3 Vision joins several other established standards, all of which increase component selection, simplify setup and expand the market for vision systems.
Component interoperability for PC-based vision systems has come a long way in a short time. The main reason for this quick evolution is interface standards, which the AIA, a machine vision trade group, began introducing in 2000.
After writing this column for six years, I understand the need for brevity. With that in mind, I thought it would be useful to summarize some of the key points that I’ve raised in the past.
I have included the issue in which each column appeared so you can delve into the topic in more detail if desired. As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments or observations.