3M Supports New Camera Link HS Standard at Automate 2011

3M today announced at Automate 2011 its support for the new Camera Link® HS (CLHS) standard, and will demonstrate how the new 3M™ Twin Axial Ribbon Cable can be utilized in support of the new standard. 3M Twin Axial Cable is the first known flat, foldable and longitudinally shielded high performance twin axial ribbon cable.

3M’s long history and support of the Camera Link® standard began with the adoption of the 3M Mini Delta Ribbon (MDR) connector, the primary interface for the original standard, and continued with the use of 3M Shrunk Delta Ribbon (SDR) connector for MiniCL and PoCL-Lite. Today’s 3M Twin Axial Cable is designed for high data rate applications like CLHS, and its construction allows for sharp bends and folds with little or no impact on electrical performance. The 3M Twin Axial Cable outperforms typical cable constructions in bend radius, signal integrity and overall routability, which is important for CLHS as the connectors necessary to support the standard become longer off the back of the camera.

In addition to copper assemblies using the 3M™ Twin Axial Ribbon Cable, 3M will also support portions of the standard requiring longer transmission distances with fiber optic assemblies, such as ruggedized LC fiber optic patch cords and 3M™ CX4 Active Optical Cable assemblies. 3M can provide LC patch cords with a variety of fibers and jackets, including GGP fiber, which has a polymer coating to help resist breaking during routing through infrastructure. These are often used with an optical converter module or board.

The 3M CX4 Active Optical Cable assembly will help to reduce bulk and cost by converting the signal from electrical to optical inside the assembly itself, and then converting back to electrical at the other assembly end. This eliminates the need for a separate converter and fiber patch cords.

"As data demands in automated inspection continue to increase, the Camera Link HS standard continues the Camera Link tradition of enabling the fastest transmission rates of machine vision images with real time triggering.” said Dan Cronch, 3M product development specialist, Electronic Solutions Division, and Chair of the CLHS Electrical Interface subcommittee. "3M looks forward to continued support of the Camera Link standards, and driving innovation through automation.”

For more information on 3M’s support of the CLHS standard, supported cables and assemblies, visit 3M at Automate 2011 in Chicago, March 21-24, 2011, at Booth #1021. Additionally, 3M Twin Axial Ribbon Cable will be featured in a CX4 assembly produced by Meritec at the CLHS interoperability demonstration at the International Vision Standards booth, #1060. To learn more about 3M and all of its cable and assembly solutions, visit www.3M.com/MachineVision/.

About 3M Electronic Solutions Division
The 3M Electronic Solutions Division offers innovative solutions to the global electronics market, such as static control products; copper interconnect systems; cables and cable assemblies; carrier and cover tapes and trays; flexible circuits; embedded capacitor materials, and Textool brand test and burn-in sockets. For more information on the solutions available from the 3M Electronic Solutions Division, visit www.3mconnector.com.

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Camera Link is a trademark of the Automated Imaging Association.