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Relling Engineering.

The applications team that designs, commissions and validates Relling's workcells, and the machine vision inside them.

About the team

Posts under this byline are written by Relling's applications engineers as a group: the people who choose the camera, light the part, write the inspection, and stand next to the line when the quality team asks why a part was rejected. We work with Cognex, Keyence, Basler, Zivid, Photoneo and others, and no camera vendor pays us.

We try to keep every post checkable. Sourced numbers carry a numbered citation, worked examples show their arithmetic, and anything that comes from our own experience rather than a study is labeled that way. If you find something wrong, tell us and we will fix it on the page and note the change.

What we write about

  • Machine vision buying decisions: cost, vendors, architecture and ROI.
  • Making inspection work on a real line: lighting, thresholds, false rejects and drift.
  • Validating and maintaining vision stations in regulated and unregulated plants.

Get in touch

Corrections and topic requests are welcome through the contact page. For the long-form reference material, start with the machine vision library.

Posts by Relling Engineering

A machine vision inspection station Buyer's guide

Machine vision system cost in 2026, and why the camera is the cheap part

Cost by tier, cited list prices, and the parts of a station that never show up on the camera quote.

23 October 2026↗
An integrated robotic production cell Economics

How to calculate machine vision ROI, with every number shown

A payback model with every number on the page, and the false-reject term most business cases leave out.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Explainer

Machine vision vs computer vision: same math, different job

Same math, different job: why factory vision is built around lighting, cycle time and the PLC.

23 October 2026↗
A robot picking parts from a bin using 3D vision Explainer

2D vs 3D machine vision: when you actually need depth

What a 2D camera cannot measure, how the 3D methods compare, and when depth is worth the cost.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Comparison

Cognex and Keyence alternatives: nine options, and when each one actually wins

Nine options, from Omron and Zebra to HALCON and AI-first startups, with a decision chain.

23 October 2026↗
An on-premise AI compute cabinet Reality check

AI visual inspection in 2026: what works on a real line, and what still doesn't

What deep learning does well on a real line, where it still fails, and a pilot that predicts production.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Troubleshooting

Vision system false rejects: why your camera fails good parts, and how to stop it

Lighting drift, dirty optics, presentation and thin thresholds: how to find the cause and fix it.

23 October 2026↗
A precision assembly cell Quality

Vision system validation: how to qualify an inspection station with IQ, OQ, PQ and gage R&R

IQ, OQ and PQ for an inspection station, attribute agreement, and when a change means revalidating.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Head-to-head

Cognex In-Sight vs Keyence: the smart cameras, model by model

The smart cameras themselves, model by model: setup, AI training, optics, I/O and what support looks like.

23 October 2026↗
A labeling and marking station Head-to-head

Cognex DataMan vs Keyence SR: which barcode reader for which job

Fixed and handheld readers compared on hard direct part marks, read rates, setup and verification.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Explainer

Machine vision camera resolution: how many megapixels you need, and when more hurts

Why more megapixels is often the wrong fix, and how to size a camera from the defect you need to see.

23 October 2026↗
A precision assembly cell How-to

How to choose a machine vision lens without wasting the camera you paid for

Mounts, focal length, working distance and the lens mistakes that quietly cap your resolution.

23 October 2026↗
An on-premise AI compute cabinet Comparison

Machine vision software compared: pick the platform your team can still edit in year two

VisionPro, HALCON, Aurora, Sherlock, pylon vTools and OpenCV, and which one fits your team.

23 October 2026↗
A precision assembly cell Explainer

Manual vs automated visual inspection: what the research says about people, and when cameras win

What the research says about human inspectors, where cameras win, and where people still should.

23 October 2026↗
An integrated robotic production cell How-to

How to start a machine vision project, from the first pick to a station your team owns

Pick the right first station, write a one-page spec, and get through feasibility without surprises.

23 October 2026↗
A machine vision inspection station Checklist

Machine vision maintenance: a daily-to-annual checklist that catches drift before your customer does

Daily to annual checks that keep a station honest: golden samples, optics, lights, backups and change control.

23 October 2026↗

Talk to the engineers who write this.Bring Relling to your shop floor.

We started Relling to help American manufacturers make more of what this country needs. Tell us about the part and we'll scope a cell to it.