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Why CoaXPress ?

Comparing different high bandwidth interfaces for industrial cameras

We receive many questions about our cameras with CoaXPress (CXP) interface and what are the differences to other interfaces available on the market. We would like to discuss the most important differences.

In addition to the table above a more detailed description of the CoaXPress interface is given.

  • Bandwidth: Since CoaXPress was published as an official standard in 2011, the interface has become established in the high-end machine vision sector. With the latest version 2.0 (CXP-12), data transfer rates of 50 Gbit/s are possible. This corresponds, for example, to a transfer of 280 images/s with 16 MPixel resolution.
  • Cable length: Lengths of 40 m and more cover most in machine vision applications. Fiber repeaters are optionally available for longer cable lengths.
  • Triggering and real-time capability: CoaXPress offers very accurate triggering capabilities over the same line as image data are transfer. Both data transmission and triggering are performed with constant delay times (latency). The trigger jitter is practically negligible. This is necessary for accurate synchronization of multiple cameras and is used for synchronization with illumination or data acquisition systems. The interface is therefore real-time capable, making it ideal for industrial automation applications.
  • Power supply: The camera can be powered directly via the CoaXPress interface. The local power supply is not necessary which simplifies installation.
  • Processor load and Grabber: The advantage of using frame grabbers is the minimal process load on the PC system; data transfer from the grabber to PC memory is direct via DMA. This means that processor is available for subsequent image processing.
  • Pre-Processing: Many frame grabbers offer the possibility to perform calculations directly on the grabber in real time (laser line extraction, blob, compression, etc.) which leads to faster results and accelerates image processing.
  • Usage: Since CoaXPress was published as an official standard in 2011, the interface has become established and is widely used in the high-end machine vision sector. There is a wide product range with many suppliers (>50) in the area of cameras, cables, frame grabbers and repeaters.
  • Costs: Prices for a CoaXPress setup are somewhat more expensive than systems that use standard interfaces available in the PC due to the additional component of the frame grabber. However, if you compare the price/Gbit/s, the overall costs is more favorable.
  • Plug and Play: The camera communicates directly with the frame grabber via the standard GeniCam, therefore no SDK or control software is required for the camera. All setting parameters can be controlled directly via the frame grabber’s GenICam explorer.
  • Multi-Camera: CoaXPress interface offers the possibility of multi-camera control. This allows using several cameras on one grabber. Either one camera with 4 channels, 2 cameras with 2 channels or 4 cameras with one channel each can be operated directly on a 4-channel frame grabber.

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