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illunis EPIX Embedded — An Ultra Compact Camera Link Solution

Improving an Old Standard

Camera Link, a high-speed serial communication interface, is a reliable and well-proven machine vision standard.

With the advent of new ultra-light capture cards such as EPIX’s PIXCI mf2280 line, it is possible to shrink Camera Link imaging systems to extremely small sizes.

illunis EMC-103 global shutter CMOS camera

Unfortunately, Camera Link cables using standard MDR or SDR connectors are typically quite bulky, making them challenging to use in certain applications. This problem is further exacerbated when higher-performance configurations requiring multiple cables are used.

Because of this, we at illunis are now offering an alternative non-standard cable solution using the Camera Link protocol for our EMC family of cameras.

Enter illunis’s EMC EPIX Embedded

These camera variants, i.e. EMC EPIX Embedded, can run Camera Link Base, Medium, and Full over a single Samtec HLCD micro coax ribbon cable, as opposed to two MDR or SDR cables.

illunis EMC EPIX Embedded camera

The cable can be directly connected to one of EPIX’s PIXCI mf2280 M.2 capture cards, with variants supporting up to two cameras.

The mf2280 M.2 capture card can be either inserted into an open M.2 slot or an appropriate M.2 NVMe enclosure that supports USB 4.0 or Thunderbolt 3/4/5, effectively transforming it into a Thunderbolt/USB frame grabber.

illunis EMC camera with EPIX PIXCI mf2280 capture card

This results in a capture system that can weigh as little as 50 grams, even with 40-inch (~1m) cables.

Beyond the Standard

Select EMC cameras also support an additional non-standard Camera Link mode known as Dual Medium.

This mode requires an additional HLCD cable but works just like regular Medium mode with twice the data rate. It can be used with EPIX’s mf2280d M.2 dual Camera Link frame grabber and custom software.

EPIX PIXCI mf2280d dual Camera Link frame grabber

Explore the EMC Family Today!

The following cameras from the EMC series offer the EPIX Embedded option:

EMC-51

  • Global Shutter CMOS: 51 Megapixel (4.6 µm pitch)
  • X FPS

EMC-65

  • Global Shutter CMOS: 65 Megapixel (3.2 µm pitch)
  • X FPS: Features Dual Medium Mode

EMC-103

  • Global Shutter CMOS: 103 Megapixel (3.2 µm pitch)
  • 6 FPS in Full Mode

EMC-128

  • Global Shutter CMOS: 128 Megapixel (3.45 µm pitch)
  • 4.2 FPS: Features Dual Medium Mode

EMC-152

  • Global Shutter CMOS: 152 Megapixel (3.2 µm pitch)
  • 4 FPS

EMC-250

  • Rolling Shutter CMOS: 250 Megapixel (1.5 µm pitch)
  • 2.4 FPS

EMC-271

  • Rolling Shutter CMOS: 271 Megapixel (1.5 µm pitch)
  • 2.4 FPS

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