Output and Digital Tracking
After Gocator has scanned and measured parts, the last step in the operation flow is to output the results and/or measurements.
One of the main functions of Gocator sensors is to produce pass/fail decisions, and then control something based on that decision. Typically, this involves rejecting a part through an eject gate, but it can also involve making decisions on good, but different, parts. This is described as “output” in Gocator. Gocator supports the following output types:
- Ethernet (which provides industry-standard protocols such as Modbus, EtherNet/IP, and ASCII, in addition to the Gocator protocol)
- Digital
- Analog
- Serial interfaces
An important concept is digital output tracking.
Production lines can place an ejection or sorting mechanism at different distances from where the sensor scans the target. For this reason, Gocator lets you schedule a delayed decision over the digital interfaces. Because the conveyor system on a typical production line will use an encoder or have a known, constant speed, targets can effectively be “tracked” or "tagged." Gocator will know when a defective part has traveled far enough and trigger a PLC to activate an ejection/sorting mechanism at the correct moment.