Instruction manual

Dalsa Cameras M-Series Processor and Camera Guide
Datalogic Automation, Inc. 3-42
If the part is moving from the bottom of the camera towards the top of the camera, Input 2 should be high (or encoder
Phase A should lead Phase B).
Dalsa Frequency Converter
The Dalsa camera has a frequency converter for the Line Trigger input. It has a multiplier and a divider, but not a pre-
divider. The multiplier value is fixed at 256. The divider value can be adjusted to any value between 1 and 65535, so it
allows for 0.25% accuracy in setting the pixel height.
Dalsa Acquisition Modes
Dalsa cameras support four frame trigger modes: Single Frame Edge Triggered, Continuous While Frame Trigger High,
Continuous While Frame Trigger Low, and Continuous While Online.
In the Continuous While Frame Trigger High and Continuous While Frame Trigger Low modes, the Dalsa camera
acquires images of the normal image height while the frame trigger is active. These cameras have a maximum image
height of 16,383 lines.
The Top Edge value is always 1 and the Bottom Edge is the number of lines to acquire. You can adjust the maximum
image height and width in VPM in Settings - Camera - Partial Scan tab.
When the frame trigger goes inactive, the camera immediately sends the current image to the vision program with the
number of lines that have been acquired. It is up to the vision program to discard or attempt to process the partial height
image. The height of the current image can be accessed programmatically in the image’s Height property in VPM.
The M5xx cameras do not work this way. The M5xx cameras pause acquisition when the frame trigger is inactive and then
continue acquisition when the frame trigger goes active again, so that all images are the full height. The top of the image
does not necessarily correspond to the beginning of the frame trigger.
Dalsa Shutter / Exposure
The Dalsa camera is automatically configured for timed shutter mode. The shutter time, which can be adjusted in VPM in
Settings - Camera - General tab, is the exposure time PER LINE, just like the M5xx cameras.
When the system is Online, the Line Trigger starts the exposure for each line, so it is very important that the line trigger
period be longer than the shutter time. If the line trigger rate is too fast, then some triggers will be ignored.
When the system is Offline and you are using the Snap, Live, or Trigger buttons, the line triggers are internally generated
by the camera at the rate of the shutter time. This allows you to acquire images without wiring any inputs, although the
images will be distorted because the line trigger rate is different. You can only see accurate images when the system is
Online.
Camera Setup and Calibration
Use the Impact programs to setup and calibrate cameras with an M-Series processor. (Refer to the Camera Setup Tab sec-
tion of the Impact Software Reference Guide.) For more detailed information about third-party cameras, consult the man-
ufacturer’s documentation for those cameras.
Calibration insures that measurements shown in Impact software tools accurately indicate the inspected object's measure-
ments. A camera requires calibration when it is first connected to the vision device, when the camera-to-subject distance
changes, and when the lens is changed. A calibration target with 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm dot pitches is available from us (Part
number 381-1177). Contact us for printed versions of targets with larger pitches.