National Instruments PCI-1424 User Manual

TM

IMAQ

IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual

High-Quality Digital Image Acquisition Device for PCI

IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual

August 2004
371869C-01

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Important Information

Warranty

The IMAQ PCI-1424 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.
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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:

» 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. When this symbol is marked on a
product, refer to the Safety Information secion of Chapter 2, Configuration

and Installation, for information about precautions to take.

When symbol is marked on a product, it denotes a warning advising you to
take precautions to avoid electrical shock.

When symbol is marked on a product it, denotes a component that may be
hot. Touching this component may result in bodily injury.

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 PCI-1424 ...........................................................................................1-1

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

NI-IMAQ Driver Software ..............................................................................1-2

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

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

Vision Development Module ............................................................1-3

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

Vision and Motion...........................................................................................1-4

Chapter 2
Configuration and Installation

What You Need to Get Started ......................................................................................2-1

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

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

Safety Information .........................................................................................................2-3

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

Chapter 3
Hardware Overview

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

Signaling..........................................................................................................3-2

LUTs................................................................................................................3-2

Multiple-Tap Data Formatter ..........................................................................3-3

SDRAM...........................................................................................................3-3

RS-232 Serial Interface ...................................................................................3-3

Trigger Control and Mapping Circuitry ..........................................................3-3

High-Speed Timing .........................................................................................3-4

Acquisition and ROI........................................................................................3-4

Scatter-Gather DMA Controllers ....................................................................3-4

Device Configuration NVRAM ......................................................................3-4

Start Conditions ...............................................................................................3-4

Acquisition Window Control ..........................................................................3-5

© National Instruments Corporation vii IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual

Contents

Chapter 4
Signal Connections

I/O Connector ................................................................................................................ 4-1

Signal Description ......................................................................................................... 4-3

Appendix A
Specifications

Appendix B
Technical Support and Professional Services

Glossary

Index

IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual viii ni.com

Introduction

This chapter describes the IMAQ PCI-1424 device and describes your

software programming choices.

About the IMAQ PCI-1424

The PCI-1424 is a highly flexible, monochrome and color, PCI-based

image acquisition (IMAQ) device that supports a diverse range of digital

cameras from many camera companies. The PCI-1424 acquires digital

images in real time and can store these images in onboard frame memory,

or transfer these images directly to system memory. The device can capture

up to 32 bits of data at a time at clock speeds up to 50 MHz.

The PCI-1424 is simple to configure so that you can easily install the

device and begin acquiring images. The PCI-1424 ships with NI-IMAQ,

the National Instruments complete IMAQ driver software you can use

to directly control the PCI-1424 and other National Instruments IMAQ

hardware products. Using NI-IMAQ, you can quickly and easily start your

applications without having to program the device at the register level.

1

1

Featuring a high-speed data flow path, the PCI-1424 is ideal for both

industrial and scientific environments. As a standalone device, the

PCI-1424 supports up to 32 bits of differential or TTL level video data, four

general purpose control lines that can be configured to generate precise

timing signals to control digital camera acquisition, and four external

input/output (I/O) lines that you can use as triggers or as high-speed digital

I/O lines. If you require more advanced triggering or digital I/O lines (either

digital or analog), you can use the PCI-1424 and NI-IMAQ with the

National Instruments data acquisition (DAQ) product line.

A common problem with image acquisition devices is that you cannot

easily synchronize several functions to a common trigger or timing event.

The PCI-1424 uses its Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) bus to solve

this problem. The RTSI bus consists of the National Instruments RTSI bus

interface and ribbon cable to route additional timing and trigger signals

1

Early versions of the PCI-1424 may not support acquisitions at 50 MHz. For the exact maximum acquisition clock rate of your

PCI-1424, refer to the Maximum Clock Rate indicator in Measurement & Automation Explorer.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

between the PCI-1424 and up to four National Instruments DAQ or IMAQ
devices in your computer. The RTSI bus can even synchronize multiple
IMAQ hardware captures.

Detailed specifications of the PCI-1424 are in Appendix A, Specifications.

Software Overview

Programming the PCI-1424 device requires the NI-IMAQ driver software
for controlling the hardware and one of the following application software
packages for image processing:

• Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI)—for configuring

solutions to common inspection tasks

• National Instruments Vision Development Module—for more

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 the package.

NI-IMAQ Driver Software

The NI-IMAQ driver software ships with the PCI-1424 device. NI-IMAQ
has an extensive library of functions you can call from your application
programming environment, such as routines for video configuration, image
acquisition (continuous and single-shot), memory buffer allocation, trigger
control, and device configuration.

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.

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

For maximum flexibility and performance, 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 and the

IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual 1-2 ni.com

NI-IMAQ handles many of the complex issues between the computer and

the IMAQ device, such as programming interrupts and camera control.

National Instruments Application Software

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. With Vision Builder AI, you can migrate your configured

inspection to LabVIEW, extending the capabilities of your applications if

necessary.

Vision Builder AI is available for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and

Measurement Studio, which includes support for Visual Basic.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Vision Development Module

The Vision Development Module is an image acquisition, processing, and

analysis library of more than 270 functions for grayscale, color, and binary

image display, image processing, pattern matching, particle analysis,

gauging, and measurement.

For unique image processing, you can use the Vision Development Module

functions individually or in combination. With the Vision Development

Module you can acquire, display, manipulate, and store images, as well as

perform image analysis, processing, and interpretation. 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.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

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
into any development environment, 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. Using LabVIEW, you can add functionality to this
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.

Vision and Motion

With National Instruments IMAQ hardware and Vision Assistant pattern
matching software, you can quickly and accurately locate objects that vary
in size, orientation, focus, and illumination. 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.

IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual 1-4 ni.com

Configuration and Installation

This chapter lists what you need to get started acquiring images with

your IMAQ PCI-1424 device; describes optional equipment and custom

cables; and explains how to unpack, configure, and install your IMAQ

device.

What You Need to Get Started

To set up and use your PCI-1424, you will need the following:

❑ PCI-1424 device

❑ NI-IMAQ for Windows 2000/NT/XP

❑ Optional software packages and documentation:

– NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection

– NI Vision Assistant

–LabVIEW

– LabWindows/CVI

– Measurement Studio

2

❑ IMAQ D100 series camera cables, depending on your camera

❑ IMAQ D2504 video cable (optional—for access to trigger lines)

❑ A video camera or other video source

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

© National Instruments Corporation 2-1 IMAQ PCI-1424 User Manual