Cognex Corporation receives purchase order for $1 million from Irvine Optical Corporation.

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 1996-- Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, has entered into an OEM agreement with Irvine Optical Corporation, a Burbank, CA-based manufacturer of wafer handling and sorting equipment for the semiconductor industry.

Under the agreement, Irvine Optical expects to purchase approximately $1 million of Cognex's acuReader Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems and lighting units. This is the largest single purchase order ever received for a product by the Acumen division of Cognex.

The Irvine Optical equipment is used to automatically handle and sort silicon wafers at various stages of the semiconductor fabrication process. The Cognex acuReader machine vision system is integrated with the Irvine Optical equipment to identify wafers by using OCR technology to quickly and accurately read a serial number from each one.

"Irvine Optical has had a strong business relationship with Cognex for several years, and we have been pleased with the company's service and support. We selected the acuReader systems based on their ability to meet or exceed not only our internal expectations, but, more importantly, the expectations of our customers," said Ron McIntyre, President and CEO of Irvine Optical Corporation.

Irvine Optical Corporation was founded in 1975, and has been a pioneer in the automated wafer sorting process. From South Korea to the Silicon Valley, Irvine Optical solves wafer handling problems by working directly with companies to develop effective system solutions.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see," which are used to automate a wide range of manufacturing processes where vision is required. Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped to date more than 40,000 machine vision systems valued in excess of $350 million. In addition to its headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, the company has remote offices located throughout the United States, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In addition, Cognex has two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Acumen, based in Portland, Oregon, which specializes in machine vision systems for automated product identification, and Isys Controls, based in Alameda, California, which specializes in automated, high-speed surface inspection.

CONTACT: Kathy Bedrosian

Corporate Communications Manager

Cognex Corporation

[phone], ext. 3352