The applications team that designs, commissions and validates Relling's workcells, and the machine vision inside them.
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.
Corrections and topic requests are welcome through the contact page. For the long-form reference material, start with the machine vision library.
Buyer's guide
Cost by tier, cited list prices, and the parts of a station that never show up on the camera quote.
23 October 2026↗
Economics
A payback model with every number on the page, and the false-reject term most business cases leave out.
23 October 2026↗
Explainer
Same math, different job: why factory vision is built around lighting, cycle time and the PLC.
23 October 2026↗
Explainer
What a 2D camera cannot measure, how the 3D methods compare, and when depth is worth the cost.
23 October 2026↗
Comparison
Nine options, from Omron and Zebra to HALCON and AI-first startups, with a decision chain.
23 October 2026↗
Reality check
What deep learning does well on a real line, where it still fails, and a pilot that predicts production.
23 October 2026↗
Troubleshooting
Lighting drift, dirty optics, presentation and thin thresholds: how to find the cause and fix it.
23 October 2026↗
Quality
IQ, OQ and PQ for an inspection station, attribute agreement, and when a change means revalidating.
23 October 2026↗
Head-to-head
The smart cameras themselves, model by model: setup, AI training, optics, I/O and what support looks like.
23 October 2026↗
Head-to-head
Fixed and handheld readers compared on hard direct part marks, read rates, setup and verification.
23 October 2026↗
Explainer
Why more megapixels is often the wrong fix, and how to size a camera from the defect you need to see.
23 October 2026↗
How-to
Mounts, focal length, working distance and the lens mistakes that quietly cap your resolution.
23 October 2026↗
Comparison
VisionPro, HALCON, Aurora, Sherlock, pylon vTools and OpenCV, and which one fits your team.
23 October 2026↗
Explainer
What the research says about human inspectors, where cameras win, and where people still should.
23 October 2026↗
How-to
Pick the right first station, write a one-page spec, and get through feasibility without surprises.
23 October 2026↗
Checklist
Daily to annual checks that keep a station honest: golden samples, optics, lights, backups and change control.
23 October 2026↗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.