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Summary of Contents for kENDALL Electric Cognex DataMan 260
- Page 1 Kendall Technology Summit 2017 DataMan ID Basic and Advanced Labs Featuring the DataMan 260...
- Page 3 Table of Contents Lab 1: Connecting to the DataMan reader ..... . 1 Lab 2: Tuning the reader ........8 Lab 3: Symbology Settings .
- Page 4 Connecting to the DataMan Reader Introduction: This lab will show you how to start with a DataMan 260 reader that is at factory defaults, assign it an IP address that matches your computer’s address and connect to the reader. Start: Your computer has a static IP address already assigned to it.
- Page 5 Fig. 3 - Command Line Terminal At the cursor type the command ipconfig and press enter. You should see the window populate with information about the available NIC’s, both wired and wireless (see Fig. 4). Fig. 4 - IP Address Information The above terminal window shows this computer has two NIC’s on different subnets, one of which uses DNS and the other does not.
- Page 6 The next step in the lab is to reset the reader to factory defaults; this will be accomplished with a control code. Control codes are special codes that create a desired known state in a Cognex reader. Regardless of whether a reader is configured to read Data Matrix codes or is natively capable of reading Data Matrix codes, a control code will always be read.
- Page 7 In order to assign the reader a static IP address, first click on Repair & Support under Maintenance and if the reader is not immediately visible click the Refresh button (Fig. 7). By doing this the network will be scanned for all devices and the reader should appear (Fig. 8). Fig.
- Page 8 Fig. 9 - Current Device Settings Select the Use Static IP Address radio button and enter an IP Address and Subnet Mask consistent with your computers IP Address configuration (Fig. 10). You could create a username and password if you desire; the default is as shown here. Click Apply. Fig.
- Page 9 Fig. 11 - Properly Configured Device You can now click on the Connect tab where the reader should also appear; click on it to select it and click the Connect button in the lower right corner of the window. The software will then connect to the reader.
- Page 11 Tuning the Reader Introduction: The Tune function in the software and the Tune button on the reader allow for “optimally” setting a variety of parameters to obtain an image in which the code can be reliably read without needing to know much about the settings being made.
- Page 12 Place the PowerGrid demo card under the reader so that the aimer lights are just below and centered horizontally on the Cognex logo. Click the Live button. You should see the illumination LED’s on the reader strobe to capture images of the card and in the image on the Quick Setup tab you may see the image change from complete white (saturated) to one in which the card is reasonably contrasted and the bottom middle code is being read (Fig.
- Page 13 Next press and hold the Tune button on the reader to initiate the tuning sequence; this will take about five seconds and you will see the illumination LED’s begin to flash. In the tuning sequence the following things will be accomplished. ...
- Page 14 Now click on the Symbology Settings button in the ribbon (Fig. 18) to open the Symbology Settings dialog. Click on the Multicode tab (Fig. 19). Increase the Number of Codes to be read to five and the number of DataMatrix codes to be read to five. Fig.
- Page 15 Return to the Quick Setup pane and again trigger the reader using the Trigger hotkey. Notice now that all five codes are read (Fig. 20). Notice that on the Multicode tab that more than one type of code can be decoded in the field of view at one time. Additionally the reporting of the read codes can be sorted in different manners, including by type of code or by position (see bottom of Fig.
- Page 16 When the reader has been reset the image on the Quick Setup pane will go back to being all white. From the Quick Setup pane click on the arrow at the right side of the Tune button to open up the pane with the tuning options (Fig.
- Page 17 Each of the items that can be tuned has a link to advance settings; these are quick links to dialogs, that can also be accessed through other menus, which allow for manual adjustments to tuned settings. Items that are grayed out are properties that can’t be changed for the connected device (if no liquid lens is installed then the focus can not be optimized through the software).
- Page 18 If you click on the link that says Advanced Training Settings the Symbology Settings dialog will open with the Training tab selected. At the bottom of this dialog is a button to undo the code training. You can also just click the Untrain Code button at the left side of the Tune menu (Fig. 25 on previous page).
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Page 19: Symbology Settings
Symbology Settings Introduction: The DataMan readers have the ability to read a wide range of codes and as you saw in the previous lab not all codes, even those of the same symbology, are the same. The Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Diamonds are the same symbology but are different lengths. - Page 20 Again on the Tune menu in the Quick Setup pane you can see the current Trigger Type (Fig. 29). By default it should be Single (external); if it is not, set it to Single (external). Fig. 29 - Trigger Type Open the Symbology Settings dialog (Symbology Settings hotkey on the Settings menu) as you did in the second lab and select the General tab.
- Page 21 The only changeable property for Code 128 is code length (Fig. 31). The default is for any code length to be read. Uncheck the Any selection and enter a value of “8” for the minimum length and “9” for the maximum length (use the slider controls or enter values into the boxes on the right side). These settings will allow codes whose length is between eight and nine characters long to be read;...
- Page 22 Open the Symbology Settings dialog if it isn’t already open and click on the General tab. Make sure that at least the DataMatrix and Code 128 symbologies are selected. Click on the Multicode tab. Set the Number of Codes to “2”, the number of DataMatrix codes to “1” and the number of 1D/ Stacked/Postal codes to “1”...
- Page 23 Trigger the reader; both codes should now be read. If they are not you may need to reposition them slightly. You should see something like the image below (Fig. 34). Additionally if you look at the results pane you will notice that the result for this read has a plus sign in front of it and the decoded information from both codes is displayed (Fig.
- Page 24 Return to the Multicode tab of the Symbology Settings dialog. In the top section where you set the total number of codes you wanted to read is a checkbox labeled Allow Partial Results (Fig. 37). Check this checkbox and trigger the reader. Can you read both codes when both are in the field of view? Can you cover up one code and still read the other? How about covering the other code and reading the first one? Allowing partial results enables the reader to report the data from the readable codes and ignore those that can not be read or are missing.
- Page 25 Read Setups Introduction: Not all applications read the same code on the same part all the time. Sometimes parts change color, or the symbology changes, or one code is much closer to the reader than another code. These are things that can affect exposure time, gain setting, focus, which lights are enabled and other properties of the reader setup.
- Page 26 Click on the Symbology Settings hotkey in the Settings menu. Verify you are on the General tab; select it if you are not. Right click within the tab to select disabling of all symbologies (Fig. 40) and then select only Code 128. Trigger the reader again to verify that the code can be read. Fig.
- Page 27 From the Read Setups menu click the Add Setup hotkey (Fig. 42). Another dialog box will appear for general configuration of the setup (Fig. 43). You can either use default settings or copy settings from another setup; keep the default settings and leave the name as Setup 1 and click OK. A second setup will be added with default settings (Fig.
- Page 28 On the Read Setups menu in the group named Starting Setup (see Fig. 42 on previous page) you can choose which setup will be used first to attempt to read the code. Alternately you can choose to use the Last Successful Decode. In a given application this would be set according to how parts are presented to the system.
- Page 29 Fig. 46 - Data Formatting Hotkey When you click on this the Data Formatting dialog will open (Fig 47). As can be seen from this image there are two types of basic formatting and a script formatting based on JavaScript. In the script based formatting there are a library of objects, properties and methods that can be accessed to create very custom output strings and can even affect the I/O.
- Page 30 Fig. 48 - Standard Formatting Universal Tab On the General tab under Data is a list of predefined values and delimiters. To create a formatted string, select the desired value from the list by clicking on it and then click the Add button. For this lab select <Full string>...
- Page 31 Conclusion: This lab introduced the functionality of Read Setups and how they might be used to account for differing conditions such as distance to the reader. You also saw how to configure standard formatting of the output string.
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Page 33: Data Validation
Data Validation Introduction: In addition to simply reading codes the DataMan readers are also capable of validating that the correct string is read or that the code contains a specified string, or that the code meets a validation standard. In this lab you will learn about how to use match string validation, pattern match validation and what happens when a code is not compliant with a validation standard. - Page 34 In the Settings menu click on the Data Validation hotkey (Fig. 52). Fig. 52 - Data Validation Hotkey The Data Validation dialog will open (Fig. 53) and it defaults to the tab for 1D/Stacked/Postal codes. There are several types of validation from which to choose; at this point click the radio button next to Match String Validation.
- Page 35 With the Ace of Clubs still in the field of view trigger the reader again. In the Result History pane you should see something like the image below (Fig. 54); click on the plus signs in front of both lines to see all of the information available.
- Page 36 The Match String Validation is used if you want to match the entire string, but what if you only want to look for a certain sequence of characters? Return to the Data Validation pane and click the radio button next to Pattern Matching Validation. In the text entry box for Pattern type CLUBS. You should have something like the image below (Fig.
- Page 37 Fig. 57 - ISO 15434 Data Validation The code below is ISO 15434 compliant. Return to the Quick Setup pane, place the code on this page in the field of view and trigger the reader. You should see something like the image below in the Result History pane (Fig.
- Page 38 Conclusion: In this lab you have seen how to use Data Validation, how it works and about different types of validation such as Match String, Pattern Match, and ISO (validating to a standard).
- Page 39 Buffering and Transferring Images Introduction: When you are setting up a new system or troubleshooting an existing one, it is often helpful to save images of codes that have been read and those that were not read. These can help to better understand what is causing problems and what works well within your process.
- Page 40 Click on the Light and Imager Settings hotkey in the System menu (Fig. 61). This will open the Light and Imager Settings dialog. In this dialog you can change trigger settings on the Trigger tab, exposure and gain settings on the Imager Settings tab and control illumination on the Light Settings tab.
- Page 41 Click on the Buffering and Transfer hotkey in the System menu (Fig. 63). This will open the Buffering and Transfer dialog (Fig. 64 on next page). Select the Image Buffering tab if it is not selected by default. Fig. 63 - Buffering and Transfer Hotkey Notice at the bottom of this dialog (Buffered Image Settings section) that buffered images will be full resolution and will be in the bitmap format.
- Page 42 Fig. 64 - Buffering and Transfer Dialog...
- Page 43 Select the Image PC Transfer tab of the Buffering and Transfer dialog (Fig. 65). On this tab you can specify the folder where the buffered images can be transferred. You can use the default folder, a new folder as shown in the image below or any other folder you wish to use. To specify a new folder click the drop arrow at the right side of the control and select <Browse…>...
- Page 44 Fig. 66 - Playback Controls Return to the Image PC Transfer tab of the Buffering and Transfer dialog; click the Clear Transfer Folder. The images will be cleared from the folder and the Number of Buffered Images box will be set to zero. Turn the card over so that no code is present.
- Page 45 DataMan Trigger Modes Introduction: Not all code reading applications are the same; if they were, flexibility in a reader (hardware and software) would be pointless. Because each application is a bit different not only does the hardware need to be configurable (lens, light) so does the software/firmware of the unit. You have seen some of the capabilities and flexibility of the software in previous labs.
- Page 46 There are two ways to trigger the reader from the DataMan Setup Tool. The first is to use the Trigger hotkey as you have been instructed multiple times in this manual. You can also use CTRL+T from the keyboard (the DataMan Setup Tool must be the active window). You may notice that the various types are followed by either external or internal in parentheses.
- Page 47 Trigger the reader by any method mentioned and notice that only one image is captured per trigger signal. Set the Delay Type to Time and the Start Delay Time (ms) to 1000 and trigger the reader again; notice that the image capture and read attempt occur one second after the trigger signal was sent.
- Page 48 This type has the following attributes. Acquires multiple images first and then decodes in sequence. Burst Length specifies the number of images to acquire. Interval (µs) specifies the time between acquisitions. Timeout specifies the time allotted to decoding each image. If no readable code is found within this time a No Read result is delivered.
- Page 49 The Displayed Image Settings dialog will open. This dialog is used to affect the appearance of the images displayed in the DataMan Setup Tool only. It does not affect the resolution or file format of images that are buffered or transferred via FTP. The purpose of sending lower resolution images is to reduce the time taken to send images to the software so that read speed can be increased;...
- Page 50 Switch back to the Quick Setup pane. Move the card out of the field of view, trigger the reader again and after the first trigger move the card into the field of view so that the second read attempt will read the code.
- Page 51 Place the Ace of Clubs into the field of view and press the Trig button on the reader; though you need to hold the button in until the code is read with this trigger type you should notice that the code is read fairly quickly so it seems that pressing the button is sufficient.
- Page 52 Notice that there are no additional properties that can be set with this type. Place a card in the field of view and notice that it reads the code continuously. Click the Clear hotkey at the top right of the Result History pane and try moving the card through the field of view as quickly as you can.
- Page 53 Fig. 81 - System Settings - Outputs...
- Page 54 Place the Ace of Clubs in the reader field of view. You should see the Result History quickly updating and the beeper sounding at a fairly quick rate. Also take note of the decode times. In the Image Panel controls there is a hotkey (Fig. 82) to enable and disable the image transfer to the reader.
- Page 55 Fig. 84 - Decode Settings Dialog You should find that by alternately placing the two cards in the field of view that each code is read once. This feature keeps the reader from reading the same code twice in successive read attempts. It works for all trigger types.