Specifications
Product Family
Basler microEnable 5 marathon frame grabber series
Camera Interfaces
Camera Link and CoaXPress (CXP-6)
Board Type
FPGA-based image acquisition and preprocessing card
Sensor Support
Monochrome, colour, area-scan and line-scan sensors
Model Range
marathon V CL, marathon V CXP and marathon VCX-QP quad-interface variants
Deep Learning Model
Dedicated deepVCL model with wide processing bandwidth for AI pipelines
Preprocessing
Real-time Bayer filter conversion, lookup tables and white balance on the FPGA
Trigger and I/O
Onboard and front trigger inputs with numerous GPIO options
Multi-Camera
Supports easy setup of multi-camera systems and integration of external control devices
CPU Offload
Intelligent preprocessing offloads the host CPU and GPU so compute stays free for AI algorithms
Configuration
VisualApplets graphical FPGA development environment for custom pipelines
Accessories
Matching framegrabber trigger boards for acquisition, peripheral and exposure control
Camera Pairing
Designed to pair with Basler boost CoaXPress 2.0 area-scan cameras
Typical Use Cases
AOI electronics inspection, TDI line-scan inspection, MLCC stacking alignment
Additional Applications
Photometric stereo, image-based autofocus and lens-distortion correction on the FPGA
Packaging
Supplied with commissioning software for quick setup
Integration
Supported by the Silicon Software runtime and third-party vision libraries
Overview
The Basler microEnable 5 marathon family is a line of FPGA-based frame grabbers that acquire images from Camera Link and CoaXPress CXP-6 cameras and preprocess them in real time on the board. Because the FPGA handles tasks such as Bayer conversion, lookup tables and white balance, the host CPU and GPU stay available for downstream algorithms, which is exactly the headroom AI-based vision pipelines need.
The series spans Camera Link and CXP-6 models, including quad-interface variants for high-channel-count systems, plus a dedicated deepVCL model built with wide processing bandwidth for deep-learning workloads. Onboard and front trigger inputs with flexible GPIO let a grabber control lighting, strobes and peripheral devices in tight synchronization, and the platform supports straightforward multi-camera system configuration.
Pipelines can be customised without writing FPGA code using Basler's VisualApplets environment, and matching trigger boards extend acquisition and exposure control. The marathon cards are commonly deployed alongside Basler boost CoaXPress cameras in automated optical inspection, TDI line-scan inspection, MLCC stacking alignment and photometric-stereo setups. QS Compute supplies the marathon frame grabber family and matching trigger boards.
Key Benefits
Real-time FPGA preprocessing: Bayer, LUT and white-balance operations run on the card, freeing CPU and GPU for AI inference. Deep-learning-ready variant: the deepVCL model provides wide processing bandwidth for AI pipelines. Custom pipelines without FPGA coding: VisualApplets enables graphical pipeline design. Precise multi-device synchronisation: onboard and front triggers with rich GPIO control lighting, peripherals and exposure.
Applications
Automated optical inspection on electronics lines, semiconductor and TDI line-scan inspection, MLCC stacking and alignment, photometric stereo at production rates, high-speed multi-camera machine vision, and any Camera Link or CoaXPress system that needs FPGA-side image preprocessing ahead of AI inference.
Request a Quote — BASLER MICROENABLE 5 MARATHON — CAMERA LINK AND COAXPRESS FPGA FRAME GRABBERS
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