Acquisition Panel

Defines the type of trigger signal that begins an image acquisition.

The following options are available:

• Single: An external trigger event triggers the start of an acquisition and an inspection.

• Self: Acquisitions and inspections occur periodically.

Defines the time in milliseconds between acquisitions when Self trigger type is selected.

The available values are 0–10000.

Defines the trigger source for the acquisition.

The following trigger sources are available:

• Trigger Input Line: Trigger acquisition when the trigger input of the vision system line goes high.

• Manual Trigger: Trigger acquisition manually. The acquisition can be triggered manually through one of the following methods: pressing the trigger button on the vision system, using the SetEvent functionFunctions are tools that are available in Spreadsheet for processing and analyzing acquisitions or other results. You can add functions to your Spreadsheet job to create tool chains and produce results for specific applications., or pressing the trigger button in the UI.

• Native Mode: Trigger acquisition by sending a Native Mode command to the vision system.

• Network (UDP): Trigger acquisition when the vision system receives a specifically formatted UDP package.

• Factory Protocols: Trigger acquisition by toggling a bit with the configured industrial protocol.

• WebHMIThe operator interface through which the operator interacts with the vision system. Trigger Button: Trigger acquisition by pressing the trigger button in the WebHMI.

Defines the time in milliseconds that a trigger has to last to trigger an acquisition.

The available values are 0–10.

Defines the exposure time. When the vision system receives an image acquisition trigger signal, light is integrated into the image sensor array for the specified duration.

The minimum value is 0. The maximum value depends on the capabilities of the connected integrated lighting accessory. If no integrated lighting accessory is connected, the limit defaults to the capabilities of the imager.

Allows setting the exposure time to values greater than the recommended maximum. When enabled, if the exposure time exceeds the capability of the illumination accessory, the illumination accessory does not remain on during the entire exposure.

The following options are available:

• Enabled

• Disabled

Brightens the image additively. Enhances dark areas but loses detail on bright spots. Most useful when combined with Gain Factor.

The available values are 0–255.

Brightens the image multiplicatively. Enhances dark areas but reduces detail in bright regions and increases image noise. For best results, combine this setting with Offset.

The available values are 1–251.18.

To adjust the value, use the following methods:

• Click the arrows to increase or decrease the values by one.

• Enter a valid value directly into the input box. You can enter a floating-point number.

Defines the orientation at which the vision system processes the acquired image.

The following options are available:

• Normal

• Flipped vertically

• Mirrored horizontally

• Rotated 180 degrees

Defines the type of encoder.

The following options are available:

• Software Encoder: The software encoder emulates a hardware encoder and acquires lines at a rate defined by the Line Period parameter.

• Hardware Encoder: An external hardware encoder drives the line triggers at the resolution defined by the Steps Per Line parameter.

Defines the time for each image line in microseconds.

The available values are 0–1000000.

Line Period Setting Recommendations

Cognex recommends the following line period settings to avoid line overrun, depending on the resolution mode:

Resolution Mode	Line Period
1K	0.5 μs greater than exposure or 11.4 μs, whichever is greater.
2K	0.5 μs greater than exposure or 5.9 μs, whichever is greater.
4K	0.5 μs greater than exposure or 11.9 μs, whichever is greater.

Note: If you select a value that exceeds the maximum line period for a given exposure, the line period is automatically set to the fastest possible value.

Defines the number of encoder steps for each image line. A step is a complete cycle of the encoder signal or signals, depending on the encoder you use.

For a single-line hardware encoder, a complete cycle is equivalent to two signal transitions.

For a quadrature hardware encoder, a complete cycle is equivalent to four signal transitions.

The following image shows how steps per line correlate to signal transition for different encoders:

The available values are 0.25–4000000.

Defines the type of hardware encoder used to trigger line acquisitions.

The following options are available:

• Single (default): when using a single-line encoder, you must wire it to the first encoder input. Connecting the line to the second input has no effect.

• Quadrature: Quadrature encoders provide direction information and require two high-speed inputs.

Defines the forward direction of the quadrature encoder. The vision system uses the Direction to determine the correct operating direction.

The following options are available:

• Positive (default): Positive direction indicates a part moving from right to left, from the perspective of the vision system.

• Negative

Reversing the direction during image acquisitionAcquisition is the process or result of the vision system acquiring a new image. stops the acquisition. You can continue the acquisition when the vision system reaches the saturation boundary by advancing forward back to the original position.

Specifies an action if an image acquisition trigger is received, but the specified number of lines have not yet been acquired.

The following options are available:

• No Clipping (default)

  Specifies that the image trigger is ignored and an "Acquisition error" event generated.

  Image Trigger Number Description 1 Trigger 2 Missed Acquisition 3 Trigger 4 Missed Acquisition 5 Image 1, 2048 Lines 6 Image 2, 2048 Lines

  Acquired Images   1024 2048 Image 1 Image 2

• Overlap

  Specifies that the system services the incoming trigger before completing the specified number of lines in the current image. Every line acquired after the incoming trigger repeats at the beginning of the next image.

  Image Trigger Number Description 1 Trigger Image 1 2 Trigger Image 2 3 End of Image 1 4 End of Image 2 5 Image 1 6 Overlap 7 Image 2

  Acquired Images 750 Lines   750       3346 750 Lines 4096   Image 1 Image 2

• Fill Black

  Specifies that the remaining lines are filled with black pixels, and a new image is immediately started. An "Acquisition error" event is not generated.

  Image Trigger Number Description 1 Trigger 2 Clip 3 Clip 4 Clip 5 Image 1, 1134 Lines 6 Image 2, 1658 Lines 7 Image 3, 960 Lines 8 Image 4 Note: To avoid missing triggers with the overlap option, limit the overlap to about 50% of the total image size. The Fill Black option requires roughly: 9.5 µsec per line of fill in 4k mode 5.0 µsec per line of fill in 2k mode 3.2 µsec per line of fill in 1k mode

  Acquired Images   1024 2048 Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

• Reduce Image

  Specifies that the current image is reduced to the size of the number of rows currently acquired, and a new image is immediately started.

  Note: You can only use the Reduce Image clip mode if you have a hardware encoder configured. Reduce Image clip mode can only be used with End of Trigger mode.

  Image Trigger Number Description 1 Trigger 2 Clip 3 Clip 4 Clip 5 Image 1, 1134 Lines 6 Image 2, 1658 Lines 7 Image 3, 960 Lines 8 Image 4

  Acquired Images   1024 2048 Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

Specifies when to end image acquisition if the Clip Mode is set to Fill Black or Reduce Image.

The following options are available:

• Next Trigger (default): Image acquisition begins at the leading edge of the trigger pulse and ends at the beginning of the next trigger signal.

• End of Trigger: Image acquisition begins at the leading edge of the trigger pulse and ends at the trailing edge of the trigger pulse. Image acquisition is complete when one of the following occurs:

  • The specified Number of Lines have been acquired, even if the trailing edge of the trigger pulse has not yet arrived.

  • The trailing edge of the pulse arrives and terminates acquisition before the specified Number of Lines have been acquired.

Specifies a delay to the trigger in encoder steps. Up to 18 triggers can be queued within the delay.

Defines the first row to transfer from the image sensor into the memory of the vision system.

The available values depend on the configured resolution of the vision system.

Defines the number of image sensor rows to transfer into the memory of the vision system.

The available values depend on the configured resolution of the vision system.

Defines the number of lines to acquire to create the full line scan image.

The available values are 8–16376, but not all values are valid. The spreadsheet user interface marks invalid values with a red exclamation point.

Determining Valid Values

To determine valid values, do the following calculation:

1. Choose a value.

2. Add 4 to your chosen value.

3. Divide the sum by 12.

   If the result is an integer, the setting is valid.

The smallest practical value is 8, so 8, 20, 32, ..., 16376 are valid values.

Defines the first column to transfer from the image sensor into the memory of the vision system.

The available values depend on the resolution of the connected vision system and the Number of Columns value. The value must be divisible by 4.

Click Update Firmware to update the firmware on the connected Cognex Ecosystem Light.

This option is only available if the update firmware is newer than the firmware of the vision system or vision controller.

Specifies the intensity of the illumination LED banks as a percentage.

The available values are 0–300.

The setting behaves the following way depending on the values and other settings:

• 0 turns the light off, regardless of the Always On setting.

• 1–100 corresponds to the non-overdrive intensities of the attached light. The values are mapped to the physical range of the hardware.

  For example, if the attached light specifies a minimum intensity of 39%, the value 1 corresponds to 39% intensity.

• 101–300 corresponds to the overdrive intensities of the attached light. The maximum allowed value depends on the attached light.

  For example, if the attached light specifies a maximum overdrive limit of 290%, then the maximum allowed value becomes 290 in the user interface.

• If the attached light has the Always On setting Enabled, the maximum allowed value is 100.

Focus distance in millimeters.

The available values are 65–4043.

Defines the size and position of lens focus region. Click on the Edit button to set.

Defines the red white balance gain value.

The available values are 1–255.

Defines the green white balance gain value.

The available values are 1–255.

Defines the blue white balance gain value.

The available values are 1–255.

Defines the size and position of lens focus region. Click on the Edit button to set.