# Profile Settings

The Profile tab of the Acquisition panel allows you to configure the following profile settings:

Parameter | Description
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Exposure (ms) | Sets the exposure time for every profile acquisition (in ms), which is the time that the imager of the vision system uses to acquire each raw image to find a laser profile. The value range is between 0.011 – 25, and the default value is 0.1. Tip: Higher values let the vision system collect more information about the laser line reflected from the surface of the object under inspection. Therefore, use those values for surfaces that are less reflective. Use the acquired raw image to help set an Exposure value that prevents saturation in the acquired profile, and keeps the grayscale value of the laser line between 200-800. Click the Auto button to let the sensor automatically set the Exposure value (or multiple exposure values, if any of the HDR exposure sliders are enabled), based on the detected light conditions. If only the Exposure property is used, the Auto setting returns one optimal value. If the HDR settings are also enabled, it returns multiple optimal values. This parameter affects the Max Profile Rate (that is the acquisition rate), with lower exposure values resulting in faster profile rates. Typically, configuring the Exposure value correctly is enough for most acquisitions. However, if the resulting acquisitions return under- or oversaturated surfaces regardless of the Exposure and Sensitivity settings, configure HDR exposure as well to fine-tune acquisition.
HDR Low Exposure [ms] | The HDR Low Exposure [ms] checkbox enables a slider that allows you to configure an additional HDR exposure (in ms) lower than the regular Exposure setting. If the value of this slider is set higher than the Exposure slider or the HDR High Exposure slider (if enabled), they will be automatically adjusted to a higher value. The HDR Low and High Exposure sliders allow you to configure multiple exposures to generate peak data if the target surface has varying reflectance, and using only the Exposure setting results in under- or oversaturated areas. Enabling both HDR Low and High Exposure lets you acquire image data with three different exposure settings.
HDR High Exposure (ms) | The HDR High Exposure [ms] checkbox enables a slider that allows you to configure an additional HDR exposure (in ms) higher than the regular Exposure setting. If the value of this slider is set lower than the Exposure slider or the HDR Low Exposure slider (if enabled), they will be automatically adjusted to a lower value. The HDR Low and High Exposure sliders allow you to configure multiple exposures to generate peak data if the target surface has varying reflectance, and using only the Exposure setting results in under- or oversaturated areas. Enabling both HDR Low and High Exposure lets you acquire image data with three different exposure settings. Note: The acquisition rate (indicated with Max Profile Rate) is affected by the number of exposures and their configured values as well. Therefore, enable HDR only if the results of a single exposure are insufficient.
Detection Zone | Sets the lower and upper bounds for the measurement range of the vision system (in mm) in which shapes and surfaces are detected, and image data is generated. Use the sliders to manually adjust the size, or enter a specific value. The Z min value (specifying the lower bound of the working section) cannot be higher than the Z max value, and likewise, the Z max value (specifying the upper bound of the working section) cannot be lower than the Z min value. Tip: Decreasing the Detection Zone interval (that is, using Z min and Z max values that are closer to each other) speeds up acquisition, and increases the Max Profile Rate. Configure the detection zone by: Acquiring a Raw 2D image and roughly adjusting the detection zone there. Acquiring a full 3D point cloud, and finalizing the detection zone in the advanced acquisition settings. Otherwise, you have to acquire the full Point Cloud with the entire working area of the device set, which negatively impacts the Max Profile Rate. If 3D mode is selected, you can also modify the detection zone in the advanced acquisition settings. Simply click the (Configure the Detection Zone) button to toggle showing the working space (1) of the vision system, then click and hold either the top or bottom Z-plane of the detection zone (shown in blue) to drag it to the desired position (2).
Binning | Enables 2x2 binning that treats 2x2 pixel data as one pixel on the raw image. If this setting is enabled, it halves the resolution of the acquired profiles, resulting in a coarser point cloud, but in faster Exposure values and a higher Max Profile Rate.
Profile Filter Settings
Median Filter | Enables a median filter that replaces existing data point values with their median, calculated within a pre-defined window around the data point. The effects of the filter are immediately visible in the preview display. The median filter has the following options: None: no median filter is applied. Along X: a median filter is applied along a single profile on the X-axis. You can use this option with point clouds that have a high anisotropy, meaning that the Y-axis resolution, or the distance between acquired profiles, is bigger than the X-axis resolution, or the distance between the nearest points in the same profile. Along XY: a median filter is applied along the X and Y axes. You can use this option to remove random spike noises and smooth the point cloud by applying a 5x5 median filter. Note: The Along XY mode is only recommended for point clouds with height continuity along the motion direction (steps along the Y-axis), and with similar resolution along the X and Y axes. In case of height discontinuity along the motion direction, some artifacts can appear in the point cloud.
Peak Width Threshold | When enabled, it specifies an upper width threshold (in pixels) for laser line detection. As such, this setting can reduce the chance of detecting false peaks by removing spikes that are commonly characterized by wide laser lines due to multiple reflections. The value range is 1 – 100, and the default value is 5. Note: Peak data generated out of a laser line with a width higher than the specified value is filtered out. All other peak data is kept.
Advanced Settings
Selected Peak | Defines how the vision system selects the peak data for height calculation: Strongest: Selects the peak with the maximum intensity. This is the default setting. Top: Selects the peak that is closest to the vision system. Bottom: Selects the peak that is farthest from the vision system. Tip: Set the Top or Bottom settings to reduce possible false peaks if you are sure that the nearest or farthest peak in the intensity image column is the correct surface to use. This is useful if the profile contains strong but false peaks. For example, if you are measuring the height of a semi-transparent cover on top of an opaque object, the acquisition would contain a weak peak from the cover and a stronger peak from the object beneath the cover. However, since you want to measure the cover, and not the object under it, you must use the Top setting.
Sensitivity | Sets the laser detection sensitivity, that is a lower threshold for laser line intensity detection. The value range is 0 – 1, and the default value is 0.95. Tip: Lower values prevent mistaking noise for the laser line in areas where the laser is obscured. Higher values make the laser line easier to detect without setting higher Exposure values, improving performance and allowing a higher Max Profile Rate.