Mitutoyo Corporation has released the TAGLENS series of products. Ideal for demanding inspection applications such as non-contact ultra-high speed inspection systems, the TAGLENS series reduces the need for mechanical focusing modules. Thanks to its capabilities, the TAGLENS is expected to transform the future of inspection and significantly increase productivity.

The patented technology powering the TAGLENS series of products was invented at Princeton University by a team led by Professor Craig B. Arnold, a world-renowned material scientist and laser expert. It was later developed and commercialized by TAG Optics Inc., a company co-founded by Arnold and Princeton alumnus Christian Theriault to bring the technology to market. In 2016, Mitutoyo acquired a controlling interest in TAG Optics Inc. with the intention to further develop the technology.

Mitutoyo’s TAGLENS-T1 represents a new and improved embodiment of the technology, capable of being used in demanding industrial and harsh environment while maintaining nano-second level resolution thanks to its state-of-the-art controller. Manufactured in the United States by Mitutoyo Optics Manufacturing America Corporation (Kirkland, WA), the TAGLENS is the first ultra-high speed variable focusing lens capable of operating in tough industrial environments. An optional SDK enables customers to seamlessly integrate the TAGLENS-T1 and the many benefits of the TAG Technology into their own system.

The TAGLENS-T1 has the unique ability to change focus in 70 kHz enabling productivity and cost improvement across a wide range of quality assurance processes. In fact, the TAG Technology already has been used in a large variety of markets and can benefit packaging and manufacturing sites in sectors such as electronics, molded parts manufacturing, medical, food packaging, etc.  Thanks to its focusing speed, which is much faster than mechanical systems, the TAGLENS-T1 can increase the depth-of-field of any optical system. The TAGLENS-T1 is also the first variable focus lens capable of withstanding large amount of vibrations and shock or being mounted on robotic arms while maintaining optical performance.

Also part of the TAGLENS product launch is the Mitutoyo VMU-T1: the first commercial system to incorporate the TAG technology. The unique combination embodied in the VMU-T1 results in a powerful inspection tool which, when using Mitutoyo’s M Plan Apo Series of objectives, generates world-leading imaging depth-of-field capabilities that are up to 20 times greater than other similar microscopy inspection systems. Such an increase in depth-of-field reduces the need for mechanical z-motion and thereby reduces the time needed to inspect parts with complex geometry.

With the launch of the TAGLENS series of products, Mitutoyo will be able to further address its customers’ need in the inspection market, thereby continuing to abide by its management principle: to contribute to the wellbeing of society through precision measurement technologies.