Pleora Technologies iPort Quick Start Manual
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Pleora Technologies iPort Quick Start Manual

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iPORT™

Quick Start Guide

Pleora Technologies Inc.
359 Terry Fox Drive
Suite 230
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
K2K 2E7
www.pleora.com

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Summary of Contents for Pleora Technologies iPort

  • Page 1: Quick Start Guide

    Quick Start Guide Pleora Technologies Inc. 359 Terry Fox Drive Suite 230 Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2K 2E7 www.pleora.com...
  • Page 3 High-performance imaging data and video over Ethernet...
  • Page 4 Pleora for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale. © 2006 Pleora Technologies Inc. All information provided in this manual is believed to be accurate and reliable. No responsibility is assumed by Pleora for its use. Pleora reserves the right to make changes to this information without notice.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Contents Getting Started About your iPORT Development Kit ....5 Setting up your iPORT IP Engine ..... 9 Installation Installing your software........15 Cabling your camera to your PC ....17 Installing drivers ..........25 Acquiring Images Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine..... 37 Connecting to your camera ......

  • Page 7: Getting Started

    Getting Started...

  • Page 9: About Your Iport Development Kit

    Development Kit Thank you for buying an iPORT Development Kit! This Quick Start Guide explains how to set up your iPORT IP Engine and acquire your first images. It gives you a solid understanding of the introductory concepts, but also lets you set up your system right away, if you prefer.
  • Page 10 • The proven reliability of Pleora’s GigE connectivity. What’s included Pleora offers a wide range of iPORT IP Engines to meet a variety of needs. Thus, your iPORT IP Engine may differ from the one pictured.
  • Page 11 1 iPORT IP Engine; • 1 iPORT IP Engine power supply; • 1 iPORT Software CD that contains the software development kit (SDK), drivers, software, and complete documentation (including this guide); • Connectivity for copper or fiber optic cables (see below).
  • Page 12 8 About your iPORT Development Kit...

  • Page 13: Setting Up Your Iport Ip Engine

    Setting up your iPORT IP Engine Pleora’s family of iPORT IP Engines let you connect your camera to your PC with a variety of physical configura- tions and drivers to best suit your needs. For best perfor- mance, follow the procedure described in “Recommended setup”, below.
  • Page 14 10 Setting up your iPORT IP Engine CPU usage while still offering corporate network connec- tivity through your existing NIC. The Intel PRO/1000 NIC will use the iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver. To install the iPORT IP Engine in the recommended configuration: Install software.
  • Page 15 Choose and install the driver(s). For directions and options, see “Installing drivers” on page 25. Connect to your iPORT IP Engine with the Coyote image capture application. See “Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine” on page 37. Connect to your camera. In this stage, you’ll detect your camera, connect to it, configure the camera, and begin acquiring images.
  • Page 16 12 Setting up your iPORT IP Engine...
  • Page 17 Installation...

  • Page 19: Installing Your Software

    Installing your software To interface with your camera, your PC requires iPORT software and DirectX 9.0 software. iPORT software Your iPORT Software CD contains the software development kit, Coyote image capture application, drivers, a driver installation tool, sample source code, and all the related documentation (including this guide).
  • Page 20 16 Installing your software DirectX 9.0 software For best image display performance, your system must support DirectX 9.0 or better. To confirm your system uses and supports DirectX 9.0: From the Windows Start menu, select Start > Run. The Run dialog appears. Type dxdiag and click OK.

  • Page 21: Cabling Your Camera To Your Pc

    However, if you’re cabling it for the first time, we recommend that you cable it in one of the configurations described below. If you wish to configure your iPORT IP Engine in the recommended configuration, see “Cabling your network” on page 22.
  • Page 22 18 Cabling your camera to your PC Background Pleora offers two drivers that let your PC receive large amounts of iPORT IP Engine related data with lower CPU usage than would be possible with a regular network interface card (NIC) driver.
  • Page 23 This arrangement lets you use the iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver, our recommended driver. To learn more about this driver, see “iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver (Best)” on page 28. The regular NIC gives you corporate network connectiv- ity.
  • Page 24 “Dedicated Intel PRO/1000 connection with second regular NIC (Best)” on page 18, but with two regular NICs. The iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver, which works only with the Intel PRO/1000 NIC, can’t be used.
  • Page 25 “Regular NIC driver and iPORT Universal Filter Driver (Better)” on page 27. Switches Though it’s possible to use a switch to make simultaneous connections to your iPORT IP Engine and your corporate network connection, we advise against it if you’re setting...
  • Page 26 22 Cabling your camera to your PC up your iPORT IP Engine for the first time. Such an arrangement may cause the following problems: • You may experience data loss, delay, or network slowdowns if the switch employs blocking architec- ture or insufficient packet forwarding capability.
  • Page 27 Cable your iPORT IP Engine in your preferred con- figuration. Cable the power supplies for your camera and iPORT IP Engine. Your camera and iPORT IP Engine are now cabled to your PC. Proceed to “Installing drivers” on page 25.
  • Page 28 24 Cabling your camera to your PC...

  • Page 29: Installing Drivers

    For maximum bandwidth and minimum CPU usage, we recommend installing your Intel PRO/1000 card in your PC as a second NIC and using the iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver. In this case, follow the procedure described in “Installing the iPORT High- Performance IP Device Driver”...
  • Page 30 (such as Windows). Windows removes each wrapper before passing it on to the receiving application. The iPORT data receiver must wait for Windows to completely unwrap each packet. As a result, data...
  • Page 31 The Filter Driver works in conjunction with standard NIC drivers but doesn’t replace them. The standard NIC driver controls the card while the Filter Driver inspects the packets as they pass through the NIC. The Filter Driver quickly inspects each packet. If the packet contains iPORT...
  • Page 32 This configuration lets the NIC receive large quantities of video data with minimal CPU usage, while maintaining normal network connectivity. To install this driver, see “Installing the iPORT Universal Filter Driver” on page 31. iPORT High-Performance IP Device Driver (Best)
  • Page 33 By installing the iPORT High-Performance IP Device Driver on a second NIC (the Intel PRO/1000), you can get high bandwidth and low CPU usage for iPORT IP Engine- related data while maintaining corporate network connec- tivity through the first (regular) NIC.
  • Page 34 30 Installing drivers Installing drivers Installing the iPORT High-Performance IP Device Driver To install the iPORT High-Performance IP Device Driver on your Intel PRO/1000 NIC: NOTE! During this procedure, a Windows Found New Hardware dialog may appear. If it does, close it.
  • Page 35 The Driver Installation Tool dialog appears. Click Yes. The High-Performance Driver is now installed. Proceed to “Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine” on page 37. Installing the iPORT Universal Filter Driver NOTE! During the installation, a Windows Logo testing dialog may appear. If it appears, click Continue Anyway.
  • Page 36 Click Install Filter Driver. The Driver Installation Tool dialog appears. Click Yes. Your iPORT Universal IP Filter Driver is now installed and all NICs to which it can attach are listed. For each NIC, the State column lists whether the Filter Driver is enabled or disabled.
  • Page 37 To enable or disable the iPORT Filter Driver on a specific NIC: • From the Universal IP Filter Driver tab, right click the State of a NIC and select Disable or Enable from the menu. Installing the Intel Network Driver...
  • Page 38 34 Installing drivers Performance IP Device Driver, select Install Intel Network Driver. (Dialogs may vary slightly.) The Intel Network Driver is now installed.

  • Page 39: Acquiring Images

    Acquiring Images...

  • Page 41: Connecting To Your Iport Ip Engine

    Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine Coyote is a powerful and versatile image capture application that lets you quickly configure your iPORT IP Engine and begin capturing camera images with your PC. In this chapter, you’ll: Launch Coyote. Connect to your iPORT IP Engine.
  • Page 42 IP Engine are properly connected and powered. Ensure that your NIC has the appropriate driver. To learn more, see “Setting up your iPORT IP Engine” on page 9. To launch Coyote: From the Windows Start menu, select Start > All Programs >...
  • Page 43 In the Device Actions panel, click Detect. The Network Device Finder dialog appears, listing your iPORT IP Engine. If you have more than one iPORT IP Engine on your network, the list may include multiple units. The MAC address printed on the bottom of your...
  • Page 44 Click Yes. The Set IP Address dialog appears and assigns a random IP address. If your iPORT IP Engine is connected to the rest of the network through a switch (not recommended for initial connection), consult with your office IT department to ensure your chosen IP address isn’t used by another...
  • Page 45 To avoid reconfiguring every time you restart the program, Coyote lets you save your current settings as an XML file. The XML file contains all the information for your iPORT connection, plus all the information for your camera connection (described in “Connecting to your camera” on page 43).
  • Page 46 42 Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine Type your file name and click Save. Coyote saves your configuration. To load the settings for your iPORT IP Engine and camera: Launch Coyote. See “Launching Coyote” on page 38. In the Device Actions panel, click Detect.

  • Page 47: Connecting To Your Camera

    Connecting to your camera Now that you’ve connected your iPORT IP Engine, you can connect to your camera and begin acquiring images. In general, the camera manufacturer’s software will let you get the most out of your camera’s features. However, how you connect to your camera depends on the type of software that came with it.
  • Page 48 Engine and doesn’t require additional setup from you. The camera manufacturer’s software is designed to work with the full library of iPORT DLLs. (Knowing how the software connects to the camera isn’t critical now, but will be useful as you move toward developing your own appli- cations.)
  • Page 49 (or at all) if Coyote receives an image with an unexpected image width/height/ depth or an incorrect number of taps. Although Coyote uses the full library of iPORT DLLs, the camera manufacturer’s software communicates only with the Camera Link Serial family of DLLs (clser*.dll).
  • Page 50 46 Connecting to your camera For many cameras, Pleora created a DLL that lets you access the camera-specific features and commands. While the DLLs were fully tested and worked well when they were first created, camera manufacturers gradually change their hardware specifications and firmware over time. Thus, the once-valid configurations may no longer be up- to-date or may not work at all.
  • Page 51 Work carefully and patiently. To acquire images: Load the configurations for your iPORT IP Engine and camera. See “Saving your settings” on page 41. Select the Acquisition tab. In the Acquisition Control pane, select Grab - Continuous from the dropdown menu.
  • Page 52 Thus, having a full understanding of your camera is essential. Coyote communicates directly with CyComLib.dll to tell the iPORT IP Engine the parameters it should expect from the camera. To manually configure your camera: Ensure you have properly connected to your iPORT IP Engine.
  • Page 53 From the main page of Coyote, click Select Camera. The Select Camera dialog appears. Expand the Pleora Technologies Inc. entry. NOTE! Don’t select your specific camera from the list (i.e. don’t select your camera manufacturer’s name). Doing so activates a camera-specific DLL that will conflict with the camera manufacturer’s...
  • Page 54 50 Connecting to your camera to have a good working understanding of your camera’s documentation and functionality. Closely examine the Image Settings tab and the Pixel Type tab. Set your configuration values as required. When you have made the necessary changes, click Your changes take effect.
  • Page 55 begin acquiring images, or for performing low-level diagnosis and setup. If your camera supports it, you can use Coyote’s built-in prompt to send commands to the camera. To control your camera with command line instructions: From the main page of Coyote, click Configure. The Configuration - Advanced dialog appears.
  • Page 56 52 Connecting to your camera Type your command line camera instruction in the space provided in the Send pane and click Send. The command appears in the Receive pane. If your camera replies (and not all do), the results also appear in the Receive pane.
  • Page 57 Incorrect image size If Coyote expects to receive a larger image than your camera sends, Coyote may discard the image as bad. To test for incorrect image size settings: • Set the width and height settings to a value equal to or lower than your camera image size.
  • Page 58 54 Connecting to your camera...

  • Page 59: Developing Software

    Developing Software...

  • Page 61: Controlling Other Machines With The Plc

    Controlling other machines with the PLC Most iPORT IP Engines include a powerful PLC that lets you control other machines, react to sensor input, or acquire images at the push of a button. The PLC lets you create a sophisticated, reliable machine vision system.
  • Page 62 Available functions depend on the model of your iPORT IP Engine, but typically include a counter (with a built-in compare function), a delayer, a rescaler, several pulse generators, and more.
  • Page 63 The Enhanced Function Block lets you perform complex functions like signal delaying, counter value comparison, pulse generation, and more. A diagram of a simplified connection might look like this: Lookup Table Input Signal (8-to-18) Routing Matrix Enhanced Function Block Input Signal Routing Matrix The Input Signal Routing Matrix directs PLC inputs and feedback inputs to signals I0 through I7.
  • Page 64 60 Controlling other machines with the PLC Lookup Table The Lookup Table lets you connect any input signal I0-I7 to any Lookup Table output. The outputs connect to the physical PLC output, the Enhanced Function Block, and feedback inputs for the Input Signal Routing Matrix. The Lookup Table lets you create complex Boolean expressions or connect a single input signal to multiple output signals.
  • Page 65 Function Block For the detailed functionality in the Enhanced Function Block, see the PLC section of the iPORT Shared Features in IP Engines guide. To configure the Enhanced Function Block in Coyote, see “Configuring the Enhanced Function Block” on page 72.
  • Page 66 This example features an inspection system for separating good parts from bad parts. The system will start with a conveyor, an (area scan) camera, an iPORT IP Engine, and a PC. We’ll add an encoder for determining conveyor belt position, a light-interrupt sensor for triggering the camera,...
  • Page 67 Some encoders use two signals to indicate direction, but this simple system presumes the conveyor only moves forward. The iPORT IP Engine counts the encoder’s pulses, but does so internally. The count gives the relative position of the conveyor belt; we also assume that we...
  • Page 68 64 Controlling other machines with the PLC know the number of pulses per meter (or foot) of conveyor belt movement. To connect the encoder, we wire the encoder output to a PLC input. In the PLC, we must tie OPT_IN to (arbi- trarily) I3 and I3 to Q17, the “up”...
  • Page 69 To send only meaningful images, we add a light-interrupt sensor. When the sensor detects a part, it notifies the iPORT IP Engine. In turn, the IP Engine requests a camera image. The camera acquires an image and sends it to the IP Engine.
  • Page 70 The functionality in the PLC lets us easily adjust for unforeseeable problems without having to add hardware. By default, the iPORT IP Engine appends the internal timer value to the image. This would be useful if we were sure that the conveyor moved at a precise and constant rate.
  • Page 71 TimeStamp Trigger Generator. Now, the iPORT IP Engine appends the encoder count to every image. Input Signal Lookup Table Routing Matrix (8-to-18) Enhanced Function Block Counter 0 gp_cnt[31:0] TimeStamp Trigger Generator count Our system will react to the rising edge of the light- interrupt sensor.
  • Page 72 68 Controlling other machines with the PLC Removing bad parts with a pusher To remove unacceptable parts, we add a pusher. Determining the acceptability of parts is CPU intensive. The pusher must be located far enough from the camera that, even in the worst case scenario, the PC will always have enough time to determine the part’s viability before it reaches the pusher.
  • Page 73 CPU-intensive thread at the moment the bad part travels past the pusher. When the iPORT IP Engine detects that the conveyor belt is at the proper position, it triggers the pusher. The PC isn’t needed for this to happen.
  • Page 74 70 Controlling other machines with the PLC Moments later (depending on the delay for the pusher), the pusher removes the bad part. To enable the pusher, the PC sends a 32-bit register value (CY_COUNTER_PARAM_COMPARE_VALUE) containing the conveyor belt position (kick). In the Enhanced Function Block, Counter 0 compares this value with the current count.
  • Page 75 Before configuring any part of the PLC, you must first access the PLC configuration dialog. To access the PLC configurations: From Coyote, connect to an iPORT IP Engine. See “Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine” on page 37. From the main page, click Configure.
  • Page 76 Generator 0, Rescaler 0, Timestamp Counter, etc.) Change the dropdowns, check boxes, and input values as required. To learn more about the options, see the PLC section of the iPORT Shared Features in IP Engines guide. When your selections are complete, click Apply.

  • Page 77: Hardware Guide

    The PLC diagram shown on the following pages is a sample; the inputs, outputs, and capabilities of the Enhanced Function Block vary. For the specific pinouts and capabilities of your iPORT IP Engine, consult your Hardware Guide. Input Signal Lookup Table...
  • Page 78 74 Controlling other machines with the PLC Counter 0 includes a comparator and the pulse generators let you precisely configure and delay a pulse. Enhanced Function Block Pulse_Gen0 trigger pg_out[0] Pulse_Gen1 trigger pg_out[1] Pulse_Gen2 trigger pg_out[2] Pulse_Gen3 trigger pg_out[3] Rescaler 0 (16-Bit Multiplier) Q3,Q7-11,Q16,Q17 rsl_out...

  • Page 79: Using The Sdk

    We encourage you to use the samples as a framework for creating your own application. As you become familiar with the SDK, we’re confident that you’ll find it a flexible tool for harnessing the power of your iPORT IP Engine. To access the samples: •...
  • Page 80 76 Using the SDK...

  • Page 81: Technical Support

    If you’re having any problems using the iPORT Development Kit, the first place to look is in the documen- tation that came with your iPORT Development Kit and your camera. You can also find additional information on the Pleora website.
  • Page 82 Email support If the above options don’t solve your issue, contact Pleora. To better help you, your iPORT Development Kit includes an Information Gathering Tool that automagically summarizes your system configuration and saves it as a text file.
  • Page 83 From the Windows Start menu, select Start > All Programs > Pleora Technologies Inc > iPORT Software > Launch Information Gathering Tool. The Information Gathering Tool dialog appears. If your setup includes an XML configuration file, click Yes and select the file. (The XML configuration file is the file you normally load in Coyote.)
  • Page 84 • A brief description of your application and how you’re using your iPORT IP Engine. To contact Pleora by phone: Ensure you have the information described above. NOTE! The Information Gathering Tool automagically gathers almost all the information you need into a text file that can be easily sent by email.

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