National Instruments IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

TM

IMAQ

IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

High-Quality Monochrome Image Acquisition Device for
PCI Chassis

IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

January 2005
373793B-01

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Important Information

Warranty

The IMAQ PCI-1410 is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as
evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective
during the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.

The media on which you receive National Instruments software are warranted not to fail to execute programming instructions, due to defects
in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National
Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace software media that do not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives
notice of such defects during the warranty period. National Instruments does not warrant that the operation of the software shall be
uninterrupted or error free.

A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside of the package before
any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will pay the shipping costs of returning to the owner parts which are
covered by warranty.

National Instruments believes that the information in this document is accurate. The document has been carefully reviewed for technical
accuracy. In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National Instruments reserves the right to make changes to subsequent
editions of this document without prior notice to holders of this edition. The reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected.
In no event shall National Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or related to this document or the information contained in it.

E

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Compliance

Compliance with FCC/Canada Radio Frequency Interference
Regulations

Determining FCC Class

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rules to protect wireless communications from interference. The FCC
places digital electronics into two classes. These classes are known as Class A (for use in industrial-commercial locations only)
or Class B (for use in residential or commercial locations). All National Instruments (NI) products are FCC Class A products.

Depending on where it is operated, this Class A product could be subject to restrictions in the FCC rules. (In Canada, the
Department of Communications (DOC), of Industry Canada, regulates wireless interference in much the same way.) Digital
electronics emit weak signals during normal operation that can affect radio, television, or other wireless products.

All Class A products display a simple warning statement of one paragraph in length regarding interference and undesired
operation. The FCC rules have restrictions regarding the locations where FCC Class A products can be operated.

Consult the FCC Web site at

FCC/DOC Warnings

This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in strict accordance with the instructions
in this manual and the CE marking Declaration of Conformity*, may cause interference to radio and television reception.
Classification requirements are the same for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Canadian Department
of Communications (DOC).

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by NI could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the
FCC Rules.

Class A

Federal Communications Commission

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated
in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user is required to correct the interference
at their own expense.

www.fcc.gov for more information.

Canadian Department of Communications

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe A respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.

Compliance with EU Directives

Users in the European Union (EU) should refer to the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for information* pertaining to the
CE marking. Refer to the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for this product for any additional regulatory compliance
information. To obtain the DoC for this product, visit
and click the appropriate link in the Certification column.

* The CE marking Declaration of Conformity contains important supplementary information and instructions for the user or

installer.

ni.com/certification, search by model number or product line,

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

<> Angle brackets that contain numbers separated by an ellipsis represent a

range of values associated with a bit or signal name—for example,
DIO<3..0>.

» The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options

to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs you to
pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options
from the last dialog box.

This icon denotes a note, which alerts you to important information.

This icon denotes a caution, which advises you of precautions to take to
avoid injury, data loss, or a system crash.

bold Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software, such

as menu items and dialog box options. Bold text also denotes parameter
names.

italic Italic text denotes variables, emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction

to a key concept. This font also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word
or value that you must supply.

monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the

keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax examples.
This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories,
programs, subprograms, subroutines, device names, functions, operations,
variables, filenames, and extensions.

Contents

Chapter 1
Introduction

About the IMAQ 1410 Device.......................................................................................1-1

Software Overview ........................................................................................................1-2

NI-IMAQ Driver Software ..............................................................................1-3

National Instruments Application Software ....................................................1-3

Integration with DAQ......................................................................................1-4

Vision and Motion...........................................................................................1-5

Chapter 2
Installation

Necessary Items .............................................................................................................2-1

Optional Equipment.......................................................................................................2-2

Unpacking......................................................................................................................2-2

Safety Information .........................................................................................................2-2

Installation .....................................................................................................................2-5

IMAQ 1410 Device .........................................................................................2-5

Vision Builder for Automated Inspection.........................................1-3

Vision Development Module ............................................................1-4

Chapter 3
Hardware Overview

Functional Overview......................................................................................................3-1

Video Multiplexer ...........................................................................................3-2

Programmable Gain and Offset.......................................................................3-2

Analog Bandwidth Control Circuitry ..............................................................3-2

10-Bit ADC .....................................................................................................3-3

Digital Filter and LUT.....................................................................................3-3

Onboard Memory ............................................................................................3-3

Scatter-Gather DMA Controllers ....................................................................3-3

PCI Interface....................................................................................................3-3

Genlock Circuit and SYNC Mux ....................................................................3-3

Acquisition and Region-of-Interest Control....................................................3-4

RTSI Bus .........................................................................................................3-4

Digital Input/Output Circuitry.........................................................................3-4

© National Instruments Corporation vii IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

Contents

Acquisition Modes......................................................................................................... 3-4

Analog Front End Considerations ................................................................................. 3-5

10-Bit/8-Bit Mode........................................................................................... 3-5

Clamping......................................................................................................... 3-6

Chapter 4
Signal Connections

Video Input Channels .................................................................................................... 4-1

BNC Connector ............................................................................................................. 4-1

Digital I/O Connector .................................................................................................... 4-2

Digital I/O Connector Signal Connection Descriptions.................................. 4-3

Appendix A
Specifications

Appendix B
Custom Cables

Appendix C
Technical Support and Professional Services

Glossary

Index

IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual viii ni.com

Introduction

This chapter describes the IMAQ PCI-1410 device and its software
programming options.

About the IMAQ 1410 Device

The IMAQ 1410 is a high-accuracy, monochrome image acquisition
(IMAQ) device for PCI that supports RS-170, CCIR, NTSC, and PAL
video standards, as well as nonstandard cameras from any of four input
sources. The IMAQ 1410 features a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) that converts video signals to digital formats. The IMAQ 1410
acquires images in real time and stores them in onboard frame memory or
transfers them directly to system memory.

The IMAQ 1410 is easy to install and configure. It ships with NI-IMAQ,
the National Instruments driver software you can use to directly control the
IMAQ 1410 and other National Instruments IMAQ devices. With
NI-IMAQ, you can quickly and easily start the applications without having
to program the device at the register level.

1

As a stand-alone device, the IMAQ 1410 supports four general-purpose
control lines that are configurable to generate precise timing signals for
controlling camera acquisition. The IMAQ 1410 also supports four video
sources and four external I/O lines to use as triggers or digital I/O lines.

Easily synchronizing several functions to a common trigger or timing event
is a common challenge with image acquisition devices. The IMAQ 1410
uses its Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) bus to solve this problem.
The RTSI bus uses the National Instruments RTSI bus interface and ribbon
cable to route additional timing and trigger signals between the IMAQ 1410
and National Instruments DAQ, Motion Control, or other IMAQ devices.
The RTSI bus can even synchronize multiple IMAQ hardware captures.

For detailed IMAQ 1410 specifications, refer to Appendix A,

Specifications.

Refer to Figure 1-1 for the location of the IMAQ 1410 W1 jumper and the
connectors discussed in this manual.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

3

2

1

4

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

COPYRIGHT 2004

©

IMAQ PCI-1410

1 68-Pin VHDCI Connector
2 BNC Connector

Software Overview

Programming the IMAQ 1410 requires the NI-IMAQ driver software for
controlling the hardware. National Instruments also offers the following
application software packages for analyzing and processing your acquired
images.

• Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI)—Allows you to

configure solutions to common inspection tasks.

• National Instruments Vision Development Module—Provides

customized control over hardware and algorithms.

The following sections provide an overview of the driver software and the
application software. For detailed information about individual software
packages, refer to the documentation specific to each package.

3 W1 Jumper
4 RTSI Bus Connector

Figure 1-1. IMAQ PCI-1410 Parts Locator Diagram

IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual 1-2 ni.com

NI-IMAQ Driver Software

The NI-IMAQ driver software ships with the IMAQ 1410. NI-IMAQ has
an extensive library of functions—such as routines for video configuration,
continuous and single shot image acquisition, memory buffer allocation,
trigger control, and device configuration—you can call from the
application development environment (ADE). NI-IMAQ handles many of
the complex issues between the computer and the IMAQ device, such as
programming interrupts and camera control.

NI-IMAQ performs all functions required for acquiring and saving images
but does not perform image analysis. For image analysis functionality, refer
to the National Instruments Application Software section of this chapter.

Chapter 1 Introduction

NI-IMAQ is also the interface path between the IMAQ 1410 and LabVIEW,
LabWindows
NI-IMAQ software kit includes a series of libraries for image acquisition
for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and Measurement Studio, which
contains libraries for Microsoft Visual Basic.

NI-IMAQ features both high-level and low-level functions. Examples of
high-level functions include the sequences to acquire images in
multi-buffer, single-shot, or continuous mode. An example of a low-level
function is configuring an image sequence, since it requires advanced
understanding of the IMAQ device and image acquisition.

™

/CVI™, or a text-based programming environment. The

National Instruments Application Software

This section describes the National Instruments application software
packages you can use to analyze and process the images you acquire with
the IMAQ 1410.

Vision Builder for Automated Inspection

NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI) is configurable machine
vision software that you can use to prototype, benchmark, and deploy
applications. Vision Builder AI does not require programming, but is
scalable to powerful programming environments.

Vision Builder AI allows you to easily configure and benchmark a
sequence of visual inspection steps, as well as deploy the visual inspection
system for automated inspection. With Vision Builder AI, you can perform
powerful visual inspection tasks and make decisions based on the results of
individual tasks. You also can migrate the configured inspection to
LabVIEW, extending the capabilities of the applications if necessary.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

Vision Builder AI is available for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and
Measurement Studio, which includes support for Microsoft Visual Basic.

Vision Development Module

The Vision Development Module is an image acquisition, processing, and
analysis library of more than 270 functions for the following common
machine vision tasks:

• Pattern matching

• Particle analysis

•Gauging

• Taking measurements

• Grayscale, color, and binary image display

You can use the Vision Development Module functions individually or
in combination. With the Vision Development Module, you can acquire,
display, and store images, as well as perform image analysis, and
processing. Using the Vision Development Module, imaging novices and
experts can program the most basic or complicated image applications
without knowledge of particular algorithm implementations.

NI Vision Assistant is included with the Vision Development Module.
Vision Assistant is an interactive prototyping tool for machine vision and
scientific imaging developers. With Vision Assistant, you can prototype
vision applications quickly and test how various vision image processing
functions work.

Vision Assistant generates a Builder file, which is a text description
containing a recipe of the machine vision and image processing functions.
This Builder file provides a guide you can use for developing applications
in any ADE, such as LabWindows/CVI or Visual Basic, using the Vision
Assistant machine vision and image processing libraries. Using the
LabVIEW VI creation wizard, Vision Assistant can create LabVIEW VI
diagrams that perform the prototype you created in Vision Assistant. You
then can use LabVIEW to add functionality to the generated VI.

Integration with DAQ

Platforms that support NI-IMAQ also support NI-DAQ and a variety of
National Instruments DAQ devices. This allows integration between
IMAQ devices and National Instruments DAQ products.

IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual 1-4 ni.com

Vision and Motion

Chapter 1 Introduction

Use National Instruments high-performance stepper and servo motion
control products with pattern matching software in inspection and guidance
applications, such as locating alignment markers on semiconductor wafers,
guiding robotic arms, inspecting the quality of manufactured parts, and
locating cells.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-5 IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual

Installation

This chapter contains information about getting started with the
IMAQ PCI-1410 device.

Necessary Items

The following items are necessary for setting up and configuring the
IMAQ 1410:

❑ NI-IMAQ driver software and documentation

❑ Getting Started with Your IMAQ System

❑ Optional software packages and documentation:

2

– NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection

– NI Vision Assistant

–LabVIEW

– LabWindows/CVI

– Measurement Studio

❑ IMAQ BNC-1 shielded, 75 Ω BNC cable for VIDEO0, included with

the IMAQ 1410

❑ Video camera or other video source

❑ Pentium-based PCI computer running Windows 2000/NT/XP/Me/98

© National Instruments Corporation 2-1 IMAQ PCI-1410 User Manual