In-Sight® Explorer 5.2.1 Release Notes

© Copyright 1999-2016 Cognex Corporation. All rights reserved.

Overview

This document describes the In-Sight® Explorer 5.2.1 release, including the following topics:

Note: Visit the In-Sight Online Support Center to download the latest release notes and documentation, including localized versions. In order to access the updated documentation from the In-Sight Explorer user interface and Windows Start menu, you will need to first log on to the PC with administrative privileges. Next, you will need to copy the downloaded documentation to the appropriate location within the installation directory; the default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Cognex\In-Sight\In-Sight Explorer 5.x.x\Documentation.

System Requirements

This section describes system requirements for the In-Sight Explorer software.

PC Hardware Requirements

Minimum

Note: The Minimum Hardware Requirements are for PCs that will be connecting to a single low resolution In-Sight vision system running at a slow production speed.
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 processor running at 2GHz (or equivalent)
  • 1GB of available RAM
  • 2GB of available hard-disk space
  • Video card capable of displaying 1024 x 768 resolution at 24-bit color depth (the DPI Display setting must be set to 96 DPI)
  • Network Interface Card (at least 100Mbps) for connecting to an In-Sight vision system

Recommended

Note: The Recommended Hardware Requirements are for PCs that will be connecting up to four In-Sight vision systems.
  • Intel Core™ i7 processor running at 2.7GHz (or equivalent)
  • 4GB of available RAM
  • 2.5GB of available hard-disk space
  • Video card capable of displaying 1920 x 1080 resolution at 32-bit color depth (the DPI Display setting must be set to 96 DPI)
  • Gigabit Network Interface Card for connecting to In-Sight vision systems

Operating System Requirements

In-Sight Explorer has been tested on the following operating systems:

  • Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional, Service Pack 1 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

Although In-Sight Explorer may function on other operating systems, systems not meeting the preceding requirements are not supported.

Supported Languages

  • English
  • Japanese
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish (European)
  • Korean
  • Chinese (Simplified)

Supported In-Sight Vision Systems/Sensors

In-Sight Firmware 5.2.1

  • In-Sight 2000 series vision sensors

In-Sight Firmware 5.2.0

  • In-Sight 5705 and 5705C vision systems
  • In-Sight 8000 series vision systems

In-Sight Firmware 4.10.1

  • In-Sight Micro 1000 series vision systems
  • In-Sight 5000 series vision systems (except In-Sight 5705 and 5705C vision systems)
  • In-Sight 7000 series vision systems

Firmware Version Support

In-Sight Explorer 5.2.1 contains three firmware versions: In-Sight 5.2.1, In-Sight 5.2.0 and In-Sight 4.10.1. In-Sight vision systems running In-Sight firmware 5.2.0 or 4.10.1 do not support any new 5.2.1 features and cannot be updated to In-Sight firmware 5.2.1.

In-Sight vision systems with firmware older than version 4.10.1 and 5.2.1 may work properly; however, some features are unsupported with older firmware versions and are not fully tested. For optimal performance, vision systems running older firmware should be updated to the most recent, supported firmware versions.

Note: For a complete list of models and supported firmware versions, refer to the Firmware Versions topic in the In-Sight® Explorer Help file.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 must be installed prior to installing the In-Sight Explorer software. The In-Sight Explorer installer will attempt to download/install .NET 4.5 prior to installation if it is not detected on the system.

Licensing

In-Sight Explorer software is distributed in two different packages: a full version and a trial version. The full version is completely functional and does not expire. The trial version runs for 30 days and then ceases to function. An Offline Programming Key is required for the full version to use In-Sight Explorer in emulator mode if no In-Sight vision systems are present on your network.

New Features

Note: The following features are only available when using In-Sight Explorer 5.2.1 with In-Sight vision sensors running firmware version 5.2.1.

In-Sight Explorer

New Feature
This release introduces support for the new In-Sight 2000 series vision sensors, including the 2000-110, 2000-120 and 2000-130 models.
Added the Repeating Trigger option to the Image menu, which allows you to acquire images continuously to help you verify that your application is working as expected against live images.

EasyBuilder View

New Feature

The following application steps display a simplified user interface when connected to the In-Sight 2000 series vision sensor.

  • Set Up Image
  • Locate Part (Pattern Tool)
  • Inspect Part (Brightness, Contrast, Pattern and Pixel Count Presence/Absence tools and Logic Math & Logic tool)

Changes & Fixes

Notes:

  • This section describes changes and fixes to In-Sight Explorer 5.2.1 with In-Sight vision sensors running firmware version 5.2.1. Please see past In-Sight Explorer Release Notes for changes and fixes in previous releases.
  • Change Request numbers (CR#) have been included (where applicable) to improve tracking of Known Issues reported via Cognex Technical Support.
Change/Fix

Several changes were made to the Live Video feature:

  • Added the Live Video option to the Image menu and the Job Display toolbar in the EasyBuilder view, which allows you to enable Live Video mode in all EasyBuilder application steps. Previously, the Live Video option was only available in the Set Up Image application step.
  • The image acquisition settings in the Set Up Image application step can now be modified when in Live Video mode. Previously, all the image acquisition settings were disabled when in Live Video mode.
  • The Live Video icon (Image menu and Job Display toolbar) has been changed.
Added the Startup option to the Sensor menu in the EasyBuilder view, which allows you to configure the Startup settings in all EasyBuilder application steps except the Locate Part and Inspect Part application steps. Previously, the Startup option was only available in the Save Job application step.
A point graphic is no longer displayed in the image area when the EasyBuilder Logic or Math inspection tool is added. Previously, a point graphic was displayed in addition to the tool name (for example, Logic_1), and to move the tool name in the image area, the point graphic was needed to be dragged.
The Filter search box in the Locate Part and Inspect Part application steps has been renamed to the Tool search box.

Known Issues

Note: Change Request numbers (CR#) have been included (where applicable) to improve tracking of Known Issues reported via Cognex Technical Support.
CR# Issue Affected Firmware Version
37985 When a Pixel Count tool is using a polygon region, the min/max range limit handles on the Pixel Count Meter and Pass Range slider bar will shift left and right after each inspection. The min/max limit values themselves are not changed, and the result of the inspection is not affected. 5.2.1
35848 & 36340 Under some circumstances, the SLMP Scanner Setting dialog may incorrectly display the status message “Connection has not been established” or “ERR String index: -1” even when a connection has been successfully established. 5.2.1
32542 EasyBuilder sample jobs are not supported on vision systems or vision sensors running firmware version 5.1.0 and later, however jobs with compatible tools may still load properly. 5.2.1 & 5.2.0
31638

After renaming the Host Name of an In-Sight vision system or vision sensor configured for PROFINET using the Add Sensor/Device to Network dialog, when attempting to re-connect the vision system or vision sensor to PROFINET, the connection is not established.

Workaround: Restart the vision system or vision sensor after renaming the Host Name. Alternatively, use the Network Settings dialog to rename the Host Name of the vision system or vision sensor, which prompts the user to restart the vision system or vision sensor to make configuration changes to take effect.

 5.2.1 & 5.2.0
31905 The ability to specify the Link Speed network setting is not available for the In-Sight 2000 series vision sensor and the In-Sight 8000 series vision system. Even if another option is chosen, the vision system always uses the Auto-Negotiate option to determine the fastest Ethernet speed and duplex modes supported by the network device. 5.2.1 & 5.2.0
35828 If the vision system is triggered via an industrial Ethernet communication protocol, the JobPass signal is only sent if the job contains a WriteResultsBuffer function. This is not an issue for EasyBuilder applications. 5.2.0
31717 The In-Sight 8405 vision system only supports the Normal Orientation setting when acquiring images, and the Orientation parameter in the AcquireImage Property Sheet is disabled. 5.2.0
32781 The FindPatMaxRedLine function’s XY Overlap setting may be ignored. For example, when searching for two targets which overlap by a very small amount, only one match may be found, regardless of the XY Overlap setting. 5.2.0
32751

The FindPatMaxRedLine function's Ignore Polarity setting can produce unexpected results when the search image has the inverse polarity from the training image. For example, false matches may be found on a blank background having the inverse polarity from the training image.

Workaround: If Ignore Polarity is necessary in the application, it is recommended to set the Fine Granularity setting to 1 or widen the Angle/Scale Find Tolerances.

5.2.0
31706

In the TCPDevice, UDPDevice, WriteFTP, WriteImageFTP, ImportData, ExportData and List Property Sheet, the Host Name drop-down menu does not list Host Names of In-Sight vision systems and/or emulators on the network.

Workaround: Manually enter the host name or the IP address of the target vision system/emulator in the Host Name field.

 5.2.0
30814

In-Sight Explorer may recognize a valid symbolic tag name as invalid when the symbolic tag name is in the form of a cell name with the value greater than 32766. For example, when the Extended Native Mode command EV SetCellName(B3,"A32767") is issued, the command will be executed successfully and the symbolic tag name "A32767" will be inserted in cell B3. However, when the Symbolic Tag Editor dialog is opened from In-Sight Explorer, a symbolic tag name error is displayed in cell B3.

Workaround: Do not use a cell name or the form of a cell name for a symbolic tag name.

 5.2.0
28320

If a SurfaceFlaw function is configured with an angled or curved region, and the Straighten Images parameter is enabled and the Show parameter is set to the "input and results graphics" option, the only output that will be displayed will be the red overlay graphics.

Workaround: In this type of application scenario, set the Show parameter to the "results graphics" option to view the straightened image and graphics.

 5.2.0 & 4.10.1
28114

If the In-Sight Explorer application is left running for several days with multiple Spreadsheet View connections open, the Spreadsheet View toolbars may be drawn in the wrong location, regardless of user interaction (i.e. turning the toolbars on or off, or attempting to move them to the correct location). The toolbars and menus still function, but they cannot be repositioned.

Workaround: To re-enable the repositioning of the toolbars, close and restart the In-Sight Explorer application (it may be necessary to use the Windows Task Manager to force the application to exit).

 5.2.0 & 4.10.1
27205

In high-precision applications, differences of less than a pixel may be reported if a FindPatMaxPatterns function is constructed to find the patterns returned by a TrainPatMaxPattern function, and the two functions use different external regions for their search and training, respectively. However, if either of the two functions reference an external region that is angled and/or curved, the pixel differences may be much larger.

Workaround: When constructing the job, ensure that the FindPatMaxPatterns and TrainPatMaxPattern function reference the same external region for both searching and training, or use the internal regions of both functions for the searching and training.

 5.2.0 & 4.10.1
32479

Updating the firmware of an In-Sight vision system while connected to a POWERLINK network will result in a code 13710, with the vision system needing to be power cycled and the files restored (the firmware will be successfully updated, however).

Workaround: Before updating the vision system's firmware, follow these steps:

  1. Remove the vision system from the POWERLINK network, and connect the vision system to a network port on the same subnet as the computer running In-Sight Explorer.
  2. Power cycle the vision system.
  3. Update the firmware while the vision system in Ethernet mode.
  4. Place the vision system back onto the POWERLINK network.
  5. Power cycle the vision system.
 4.10.1
27377

If a PLC project created in the English version of GXWorks2 is downloaded to the PLC, and then uploaded to a Japanese version of GXWorks2, In-Sight 5000 and In-Sight 7000 series vision systems will be missing their icons and descriptive information. This issue also occurs if the process is reversed, i.e. the PLC project is created in the Japanese version of GXWorks2 and then uploaded to an English version of GXWorks2.

Workaround: Keep PLC projects within the same language of GXWorks2.

 4.10.1
27483

While editing the SLMP Scanner protocol in the EasyBuilder View Communications Application Step, if changes are made in the Format Output Data and/or Format Input Data tabs, and the user leaves the Communications Application Step and then selects Undo Communications Changes from the Edit menu, the slmpoutaddressmap file will be corrupted.

Workaround: Do not use the Undo Communications Changes option from the Edit menu; manually edit the necessary changes instead.

 4.10.1
26990

While connected to a Mitsubishi iQ Sensor Solution and an In-Sight vision system, if an attempt is made to change parameter settings (such as Set Parameter or Set IP) while the vision system is Online, a failure code (C05C) is not properly issued.

Workaround: Do not attempt to change parameter settings of the vision system while it is Online. If attempting to change settings while Online, a C05C code, which indicates that write processing has been aborted, should be issued.

 4.10.1