Keyence IV4-G120 Image Recognition Sensor — Keyence IV4 Series Vision Sensor

KEYENCE · IV4 Series · Compact Vision Sensor · 12.4mm / 120mm FOV · In stock

The IV4-G120 is a compact, all-in-one image recognition sensor from Keyence’s IV4 series, purpose-built for high-speed presence / absence, orientation, position, color and code verification on factory automation lines. The G120 variant pairs a 12.4 mm focal length with a 120 mm field of view, integrated LED ring illumination, and an IP67 housing — delivering a true “controller + lens + light + I/O” vision block in a single M12-connected module.

Keyence ranks among the nine brands KOEED actively stocks (alongside Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Omron, Fanuc, Schneider, Yaskawa and Panasonic), so the IV4-G120 integrates naturally with PLCs from the same control cabinet.

Key Technical Specifications & Overview

The IV4-G120 condenses a complete 1.6 MP-class imaging pipeline — sensor, lens, ring light, controller and I/O logic — into a footprint small enough to drop onto a conveyor frame or a robot end-effector bracket. The “G” in the suffix denotes the standard (general-purpose) housing, while “120” specifies the 120 mm working-distance field of view at the 12.4 mm focal setting.

Application Scenarios & Where It Fits

The IV4-G120 is the “middle ground” of the IV4 family — a wider field of view than the G050/G060 short-range heads, yet still compact enough for tight fixture mounting. It is widely used in industries that demand traceability and zero-defect handoff between manual assembly cells and automated packaging. Typical scenarios include:

• Part presence / absence checks on conveyor-fed assembly lines (verify a part is seated before the next weld, fastener, or label is applied).
• Orientation and position verification for incoming components in electronics and connector manufacturing.
• Color verification for wire harness, label, and cap assembly in automotive tier-1 plants.
• OCR & 2D code reading on pharmaceutical blister packs, food cartons, and serialized consumer-goods packaging.
• Defect detection in food, beverage, and cosmetics (missing label, wrong cap color, scratched surface).
• Robot pick-and-place guidance on Fanuc, Yaskawa, and KEYENCE robotics cells where the vision block sits on the fixture, not the gripper.
• End-of-line QA handoff in plants running mixed Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, Siemens S7-1500, and Mitsubishi iQ-R fleets.
• Pharmaceutical and medical-device assembly where IP67 wash-down and audit-traceable inspection logs are mandatory.

For cross-platform cell integration, the IV4-G120 typically talks to a host PLC — either directly via discrete I/O for pass/fail, or via EtherNet/IP / PROFINET for full result data. See KOEED’s PLC error code database when commissioning against multi-vendor racks.

Integration & Wiring Notes

The IV4-G120 ships as a head-only device; all power, I/O, and fieldbus land on two M12 connectors at the back. Plan the cable set before the sensor is on the bench — mismatched pre-wired cable lengths are the most common cause of late-stage commissioning delays.

Need to size analog thresholds or scale 4–20 mA loops for a related station? Use KOEED’s PLC Analog Calculator before you finalize the cabinet drawing.

Installation & Commissioning Tips

A vision sensor only earns its keep if it is repeatable after every shift change. Treat the IV4-G120 installation as a fixture, not a sensor — lock the working distance, lock the lighting, and document both in the SOP.

• Working distance first. The 120 mm field-of-view is nominal — measure the actual distance from lens to target once the fixture is in place. A 5 mm shift at the lens edge can move the image plane more than 1 mm at the target.
• Use the integrated LED ring before adding external lighting. The switchable red/green/blue/white ring covers 80 % of typical targets. External lights are justified only for high-gloss metal or transparent parts.
• Run AutoTeach on a representative sample of ≥ 10 parts per inspection program. AutoTeach reduces hand-tuning time on the IV4 editor and stabilizes the OK/NG threshold against normal production variation.
• Lock the lens focus ring with a thread-locking compound after focus — vibration on conveyors can drift focus and silently degrade inspection accuracy over a week.
• Keep the LED window clean. Add a scheduled wipe-down to the PM plan; fingerprints and oil mist on the lens cap are the single most common cause of false NG calls.
• Mount on vibration-isolated brackets near presses or stamping stations. The IV4 housing is IP67 but not vibration-rated; pair with rubber isolators if the host machine has high-cycle motion.
• Save the program to both the sensor and a backup file on the engineering PC. Keyence IV4 backup files are small and let you recover from a sensor swap in under 10 minutes.
• Validate the IO mapping with a host PLC simulator before connecting to the live rack. The KOEED Modbus CRC Calculator helps verify frame integrity on RS-232C integrations.

Procurement, Warranty & Lead Time

KOEED sources the Keyence IV4-G120 as part of its Keyence vision-sensor catalog, paired with IV4-CP50 / IV4-CP70 controllers, Keyence laser sensors (LV-N11N, FS-N18N), and the wider CV-5000 / XG-8000 vision-system family. For multi-line projects, KOEED can bundle the IV4-G120 with Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, Siemens S7-1500, or Mitsubishi iQ-R controllers, plus Mitsubishi MR-J4-100A or Yaskawa SGDV servo amplifiers — all on one BOM, one invoice, one shipment.