Machine Vision Software - Dalsa Sapera

July 2007

Machine Vision software SaperaIn the previous issue, a brief introduction summarized Dalsa's intelligent machine vision software as a board level acquisition and control with image processing tools. Sapera is used for the design, development and deployment of high performance machine vision applications.
In this month's issue, some of the machine vision software's important tools and functions will be discussed as this relates to most industrial machine vision applications.
Sapera is available in 3 different packages: Sapera LT, Sapera Processing and Sapera Essential. All of which include Dalsa's Trigger-to-image reliability for securing image acquisition and error recovery.

Sapera LT - machine vision software

Sapera LT is a suite of hardware-independent C and C++ machine vision software libraries and drivers for image acquisition, display and control that supports all Coreco imaging hardware devices. It includes acquisition control, display, graphics, buffer control, diagnostic and monitoring.

The key to Sapera's strength and reliability is defined in its Trigger-to-image reliability features which ensure reliable and traceable image acquisition and recovery if errors do occur. Errors can include such events as early triggers, bus overflow and others and features such as image tagging, event triggers are some of the tools offered by Sapera.

Sapera LT also buffers image activity by necessary synchronization. In the case of image queue overflow, its buffer control helps track and record images that are discarded or overwritten. Target validation also enables incoming images to be validated uniquely in real-time machine vision inspections.

Sapera Processing - machine vision software

Sapera Processing features a full list image processing tools including, advanced Search, OCR, barcode decoding, Blob analysis and others.

Its image processing libraries include tools for filtering, geometry, measurement, morphology, point-to-point, segmentation, transform operations, and subpixel edge detection.

Search-pattern matching helps determine location and alignment quickly and accurately under poor and uneven lighting conditions. This includes the correlation-based and geometric-based algorithms achieving accuracies of up to 1/50th of a pixel. This function makes Sapera suited for most demanding alignment applications.

Optical character recognition (OCR) enables Sapera Processing to support various degraded and poorly illuminated images. These include solid and dot matrix fonts, standard and user trainable fonts and scale/aspect ratio invariants.

Sapera Processing also locates and decodes both "UNI" and 2D barcodes. The barcode tool includes rapid, robust algorithms and functions, and is fully rotational/scale invariant.

Lastly Sapera Processing does blob analysis by separating the foreground objects from the background. The blob analysis can be used to calculate more than 50 spatial and grayscale blob features. These include area, location, perimeter, elongation, roundness, convexity, bounding box and orientation.

Sapera Essential - machine vision software

Sapera Essential includes many of the common tools used for vision which are a subset of Sapera processing.

Sapera Essential comes bundled with CamExpert - a camera configuration utility. The Windows based utility provides an interactive environment used to create new or modify existing configuration files from area and line-scan applications.

CamExpert features:

  • Enhanced graphical user interface with camera-centric parameters
  • Live grab and display window for online parameter tweaking
  • Sophisticated waveform view improves understanding of signal inter-relationships
  • Interactive waveform tools allows precise timing parameter setup

Sapera Essential also features a geometric search tool for quick and accurate target pattern recognition. The search tool recognizes up to 5 instances regardless of orientation and lighting conditions. Sapera Essential also comes with ActiveX controls for rapid application development.

Sapera and all Dalsa Coreco products are represented and fully supported throughout Australia and New Zealand by a team of imaging software engineers from Adept. Phone, fax and email support are supplied to help our customers come up-to-speed quickly and efficiently with Sapera.

For more information or to purchase please contact Adept Electronic Solutions at www.adept.net.au Tel Sydney (02) 99792599 Perth (08) 92425411

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Machine Vision timing controller - Gardasoft CC320

July 2007

Now there is an easy and complete working solution for accurate timing of part-in-place sensing, camera triggering and rejection of faulty products. The new Gardasoft CC320 lighting controller will save days of engineers' effort solving time consuming problems often faced with machine vision systems. Timing can be based on precise delays or on exact conveyor belt travel using an encoder.

Gardasoft's new Machine Vision trigger timing controller the CC320 is an easy-to-use yet complete standalone working solution for machine vision applications requiring accurate timing of asynchronous events that are typically encountered with production lines. Its GigE (Ethernet) interface allows the CC320 machine vision controller to be integrated and configured easily from a web browser. The CC320 machine vision controller also retains its accessible front panel display and buttons for ease-of-use during most machine vision applications.

The problems overcome with the CC320 have traditionally been overcome with a PLC which requires programming and considerable setup and proving time. The CC320 does the same thing but is quick, easy and cost effective.

Some of the problems the CC320 controller will solve with a minimal amount of setup time include:

  • Delay from product sensor to camera trigger
  • Delay from pass/fail result to reject gates
  • Synchronizing multiple cameras to trigger at different times
  • Re-synchronize the product result to the original trigger time
  • Tracking product position on a belt that stops, reverses or has varying speed
  • Handle multiple products with overlapping results
  • Handling fast encoder pulses
  • Producing timing with microsecond accuracy

Features include:

  • microsecond-accurate event timings
  • 8 opto-isolated inputs 5V to 24V
  • 8 open collector outputs 24V
  • Status leds son all lines
  • TCP/IP and UDP
  • Flexible configuration
  • Single DC supply 12V to 24V
  • DIN Rail mounting
  • Support for 3 encoder types: distance, distance and direction or pulse direction and index
  • web server for network and internet access and control
  • user-configuration settings storage with non-volatile memory

Gardasoft Vision is a high quality manufacturer of machine vision accessories with a full range of lighting controllers and now this unique standalone timing controller that can be applied to virtually any make or model of machine vision system. They allow our customers to manage their LED lighting and timing requirements easily and quickly.

Adept Electronic Solutions distributes Gardasoft's products in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information or to purchase please contact Adept Electronic Solutions at www.adept.net.au Tel Sydney (02) 99792599 Perth (08) 92425411

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New 2 Mega pixel HDTV Wide GigE camera - JAI TM-2030GE

July 2007

JAI's new TM-2030GE boasts 2 Megapixels resolution at up to 32fps. This camera uses the high performance TM-2030CL cameralink design and adds popular GigE Vision (Gigabit Ethernet) interface. It features a wide-screen field of view HDTV format at 1920x1080 pixel resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:9.

The TM-2030GE is available in monochrome or colour models. The colour version TMC-2030GE produces raw Bayer CFA output for host-based interpolation.

The high performing TM-2030GE has a software-selectable option that enables users to choose between a dual-tap mode at 32fps (with automatic channel balancing) or a single tap mode operating at 16fps. Its multiple selectable modes of operation include continuous, synchronous and asynchronous trigger modes that can be operated with pre-selected or no-delay pulse width controlled electronic shuttering. The camera's user friendly GUI enables shutter speeds to be set easily by the user to any speed from 1/32 to 1/16,000 second in increments of 27.5 microseconds. Other high performance features include a PIV mode (particle imaging velocimetry) able to capture pairs of images a few microseconds apart for advanced studies of movement in fluids or gases. And a defective pixel compensation feature that uses neighboring pixels help adjust for bad ones.

JAI's TM-2030GE has a 1" progressive scan IT CCD sensor (Kodak KAI-2093) built to produce low noise images with a typical signal-to-noise ratio of greater than 57dB. The camera outputs 12-bit linear images or 10-bit/8-bit images that are modifiable by a user-defined look-up table (LUT) enabling users to optimize the camera's dynamic range for particular applications. Camera parameters can also be uploaded from the PC to the camera. Once these parameters are stored in EEPROMs, an instantaneous change from one setting to another can be done with a delay of a few frames in between.

The TM-2030GE naturally offers all the standard benefits of the GigE vision serial interface; including up to 100m cable lengths, data rates to 100 MBps, and cost savings/flexibility arising from the use of standard Cat 5E or Cat 6 cabling and standard networking hardware Network Interface Cards and hubs.

With its wide field-of-view, the TM-2030 series is targeted at applications where a wide format is advantageous. Examples include military surveillance applications (aerial or ground), traffic or cargo inspection applications (multiple lanes covered by a single camera) and machine vision inspection of objects that are long and narrow in shape.

The high performing GigE version of the JAI 2030 series takes centre focus as a compact yet high resolution 2 mega pixel HDTV camera with a wide-eye for machine vision applications.

For more information or to purchase please contact Adept Electronic Solutions at www.adept.net.au Tel Sydney (02) 99792599 Perth (08) 92425411

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High-speed compact Gige cameras - Dalsa Genie Series

July 2007

Dalsa's new Genie HM series GigE cameras offer high-speed, flexibility and affordability in a ruggedised compact body for all industrial applications. Dalsa's Genie series boasts 15 different camera GigE models and the most comprehensive range of GigE cameras on the market. You can choose a Genie GigE camera for almost any application.

Dalsa's high speed Genie HM GigE cameras use Dalsa exclusive sensor technology to provide unprecedented image acquisition quality. Dalsa manufactures its own sensors for the Genie GigE cameras and so offer unique quality and capabilities. Building its own sensors enables Dalsa to manufacture these leading edge cameras at a very aggressive price for its customers.

Genie GigE Vision cameras with Dalsa's advanced design are packed with functionality in a package that is no bigger than 45mm x 29mm x 67mm. This allows the camera to be used in tight spaces and in situations where weight is of concern and so makes them very flexible.

Genie GigE cameras are easy to use because they are supported by Dalsa's Sapera software. Sapera is a fully comprehensive machine vision software development package with hardware drivers for cameras and grabbers. It has become an industry standard with many years of development. It offers fast, simple setup with unique data reliability features and is available as a driver package with Genie GigE cameras.

The Genie HM series offers monochrome camera models with resolutions from VGA to 1600x1200. The HM640 runs at a maximum frame rate of 295fps at full 640x480 pixel resolution while the HM1600 boasts 12.5fps at full 1600x1200 pixel resolution. The Genie HM cameras also offer high dynamic range, opto-isolated I/O for triggers and strobes, a C-mount and are available as ROHS and CE compliant products.

Genie high speed cameras transmit digital images over a Gigabit-Ethernet interface with the use of standard CAT-5e and CAT-6 cables for up to 100m distance. This new GigE interface benefits the machine vision user with faster data transfer rates, cost reductions and interchangeability. The Genie cameras comply with the international GigE interface standard called GigE Vision released by the AIA (Automated Imaging Association) and therefore are plug and play replaceable with other GigE Vision cameras.

Dalsa has provided the Machine vision user with a complete range of high speed GigE digital cameras with winning flexibility and affordability for today's industrial applications.

Adept Electronic Solution (AES) is a specialist Australian/New Zealand distributor of machine vision systems and image analysis software. To find out more about the Genie high-speed GigE cameras feel free to contact one of our expert vision engineers.

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- July 2007
  • Imaging power and functionality caters for most machine vision applications - Sapera LT, Sapera Processing and Sapera Essential
  • Machine Vision timing controller - Gardasoft CC320
  • New 2 Mega pixel HDTV Wide GigE camera - JAI TM2030GE
  • High-speed compact GigE cameras from Dalsa- Genie Series
  • Contact
    info@adeptturnkey.com.au

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    (08) 9242 5411

    Sydney:
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    Melbourne:
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