National Instruments PXI-1428 User Manual

TM

IMAQ

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

High-Quality Camera Link Image Acquisition Device
for PCI and PXI

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

June 2004 Edition

Part Number 322862D-01

Support

Worldwide Technical Support and Product Information

ni.com

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters

11500 North Mopac Expressway Austin, Texas 78759-3504 USA Tel: [phone]

Worldwide Offices

Australia 1800 300 800, Austria 43 0 662 45 79 90 0, Belgium 32 0 2 757 00 20, Brazil 55 11 3262 3599,
Canada (Calgary) 403 274 9391, Canada (Ottawa) 613 233 5949, Canada (Québec) 450 510 3055,
Canada (Toronto) 905 785 0085, Canada (Vancouver) 514 685 7530, China 86 21 6555 7838,
Czech Republic 420 224 235 774, Denmark 45 45 76 26 00, Finland 385 0 9 725 725 11,
France 33 0 1 48 14 24 24, Germany 49 0 89 741 31 30, Greece 30 2 10 42 96 427, India 91 80 51190000,
Israel 972 0 3 6393737, Italy 39 02 413091, Japan 81 3 5472 2970, Korea 82 02 3451 3400,
Malaysia 603 9131 0918, Mexico 001 800 010 0793, Netherlands 31 0 348 433 466,
New Zealand 0800 553 322, Norway 47 0 66 90 76 60, Poland 48 22 3390150, Portugal 351 210 311 210,
Russia 7 095 783 68 51, Singapore 65 6226 5886, Slovenia 386 3 425 4200, South Africa 27 0 11 805 8197,
Spain 34 91 640 0085, Sweden 46 0 8 587 895 00, Switzerland 41 56 200 51 51, Taiwan 886 2 2528 7227,
Thailand 662 992 7519, United Kingdom 44 0 1635 523545

For further support information, refer to the Technical Support and Professional Services appendix. To comment
on the documentation, send email to [e-mail].

© 2001–2004 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

Important Information

Warranty

The IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 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.

XCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WAR RANTY OF

E

MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE . CUSTOMER’S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF

N

ATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE PO SSIBILITY
THEREOF. This limitation of the liability of National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action, whether in contract or tort, including

negligence. Any action against National Instruments must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. National Instruments
shall not be liable for any delay in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control. The warranty provided herein does not cover
damages, defects, malfunctions, or service failures caused by owner’s failure to follow the National Instruments installation, operation, or
maintenance instructions; owner’s modification of the product; owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or surges, fire,
flood, accident, actions of third parties, or other events outside reasonable control.

Copyright

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National
Instruments Corporation.

Trademarks

CVI™, IMAQ™, LabVIEW™, Measurement Studio™, MITE™, National Instruments™, NI™, ni.com™, NI-DAQ™, NI-IMAQ™, and RTSI™ are
trademarks of National Instruments Corporation.

Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file
on your CD, or

ni.com/patents.

WARNING REGARDING USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS

(1) NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED WITH COMPONENTS AND TESTING FOR A LEVEL OF
RELIABILITY SUITABLE FOR USE IN OR IN CONNECTION WITH SURGICAL IMPLANTS OR AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS IN
ANY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS WHOSE FAILURE TO PERFORM CAN REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT
INJURY TO A HUMAN.

(2) IN ANY APPLICATION, INCLUDING THE ABOVE, RELIABILITY OF OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS CAN BE
IMPAIRED BY ADVERSE FACTORS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FLUCTUATIONS IN ELECTRICAL POWER SUPPLY,
COMPUTER HARDWARE MALFUNCTIONS, COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE FITNESS, FITNESS OF COMPILERS
AND DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE USED TO DEVELOP AN APPLICATION, INSTALLATION ERRORS, SOFTWARE AND
HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY PROBLEMS, MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES OF ELECTRONIC MONITORING OR CONTROL
DEVICES, TRANSIENT FAILURES OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS (HARDWARE AND/OR SOFTWARE), UNANTICIPATED USES OR
MISUSES, OR ERRORS ON THE PART OF THE USER OR APPLICATIONS DESIGNER (ADVERSE FACTORS SUCH AS THESE ARE
HEREAFTER COLLECTIVELY TERMED “SYSTEM FAILURES”). ANY APPLICATION WHERE A SYSTEM FAILURE WOULD
CREATE A RISK OF HARM TO PROPERTY OR PERSONS (INCLUDING THE RISK OF BODILY INJURY AND DEATH) SHOULD
NOT BE RELIANT SOLELY UPON ONE FORM OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEM DUE TO THE RISK OF SYSTEM FAILURE. TO AVOID
DAMAGE, INJURY, OR DEATH, THE USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER MUST TAKE REASONABLY PRUDENT STEPS TO
PROTECT AGAINST SYSTEM FAILURES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BACK-UP OR SHUT DOWN MECHANISMS.
BECAUSE EACH END-USER SYSTEM IS CUSTOMIZED AND DIFFERS FROM NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS' TESTING
PLATFORMS AND BECAUSE A USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER MAY USE NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS IN
COMBINATION WITH OTHER PRODUCTS IN A MANNER NOT EVALUATED OR CONTEMPLATED BY NATIONAL
INSTRUMENTS, THE USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING AND VALIDATING
THE SUITABILITY OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS WHENEVER NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS ARE
INCORPORATED IN A SYSTEM OR APPLICATION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE APPROPRIATE DESIGN,
PROCESS AND SAFETY LEVEL OF SUCH SYSTEM OR APPLICATION.

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/hardref.nsf, 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.

♦ The ♦ symbol indicates that the following text applies only to a specific

product, a specific operating system, or a specific software version.

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 1428...................................................................................................1-1

Camera Link ..................................................................................................................1-2

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

Software Overview ........................................................................................................1-3

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

National Instruments Application Software ....................................................1-4

Integration with DAQ......................................................................................1-5

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

Chapter 2
Installation

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

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

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

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

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

Configuring the IMAQ 1428 .........................................................................................2-6

Interfacing with the IMAQ 1428 ...................................................................................2-7

Vision Builder for Automated Inspection.........................................1-4

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

Chapter 3
Hardware Overview

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

Camera Link and IMAQ 1428.........................................................................3-2

Base Configuration ...........................................................................3-2

Medium Configuration......................................................................3-2

Data Transmission ...........................................................................................3-2

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

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

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

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

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

Acquisition and Region of Interest (ROI) .......................................................3-4

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

Bus Master PCI Interface ................................................................................3-4

© National Instruments Corporation vii IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

Contents

Start Conditions............................................................................................... 3-5

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

Serial Interface ................................................................................................ 3-5

Chapter 4
Signal Connections

Connectors..................................................................................................................... 4-1

MDR 26-Pin Connector .................................................................................. 4-2

68-Pin VHDCI Connector............................................................................... 4-2

Connector Signal Connection Descriptions .................................................... 4-4

Appendix A
Specifications

Appendix B
Cabling

Appendix C
Technical Support and Professional Services

Glossary

Index

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual viii ni.com

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 image

acquisition device, the Camera Link standard, Camera Link and

IMAQ 1428 interfacing guidelines, and your software programming

choices.

About the IMAQ 1428

The IMAQ 1428 is a highly flexible image acquisition (IMAQ) device that

supports a diverse range of Camera Link-compatible cameras from various

camera companies. The IMAQ 1428 acquires digital images in real time

and stores the images in onboard frame memory or transfers them directly

to system memory. Featuring a high-speed data flow path, the IMAQ 1428

is ideal for both industrial and scientific environments.

The IMAQ 1428 is easy to install and configure. It ships with NI-IMAQ,

the National Instruments complete IMAQ driver software you can use to

directly control the IMAQ 1428 and other National Instruments IMAQ

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

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

1

The IMAQ 1428 supports the Camera Link Base configuration. The

VHDCI 68-pin connector provides access to the 8-bit × 4 mode of the

Camera Link Medium configuration. For further configuration

information, refer to the Camera Link and IMAQ 1428 section of

Chapter 3, Hardware Overview.

The VHDCI 68-pin connector has four external input/output (I/O) lines you

can use as triggers or as high-speed digital I/O lines.

For more advanced digital or analog system triggering or digital I/O lines,

you can use the IMAQ 1428 and NI-IMAQ with the National Instruments

data acquisition (DAQ) or motion control product lines.

Synchronizing several functions to a common trigger or timing event can

be a challenge with image acquisition devices. The IMAQ 1428 uses the

Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) bus to solve this problem.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction

Camera Link

Overview

The RTSI bus uses the National Instruments RTSI bus interface and ribbon
cable to route additional timing and trigger signals between the PCI-1428
and up to four National Instruments DAQ, motion control, or IMAQ
devices. The RTSI bus can also synchronize multiple IMAQ hardware
captures. The RTSI bus is integrated into the PXI system’s backplane for
the PXI-1428.

For detailed specifications of the IMAQ 1428, refer to Appendix A,

Specifications.

This section provides a brief overview of the Camera Link standard.
For more detailed information about Camera Link specifications, refer to
the Specifications of the Camera Link Interface Standard for Digital
Cameras and Frame Grabbers manual. This manual is available on several
Web sites, including the Automated Imaging Association site at

www.machinevisiononline.org.

Developed by a consortium of camera and image acquisition device
manufacturers, Camera Link is a standard for interfacing digital cameras
with image acquisition devices. Camera Link simplifies connectivity
between the image acquisition device and the camera by defining a single
standard connector for both. This standard ensures physical compatibility
of devices bearing the Camera Link logo.

The basis for the Camera Link standard is the National Semiconductor
Channel Link chipset, a data transmission method consisting of a
general-purpose transmitter/receiver pair. The Channel Link driver takes
28 bits of parallel digital data and a clock and serializes the stream to
four LVDS (EIA-644) data streams and an LVDS clock, providing
high-speed data transmission across 10 wires and over distances of up
to 10 m.

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual 1-2 ni.com

Software Overview

Programming the IMAQ 1428 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.

NI-IMAQ Driver Software

The NI-IMAQ driver software ships with the IMAQ 1428. 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.

Chapter 1 Introduction

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.

NI-IMAQ is also the interface path between the IMAQ 1428 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.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

™

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

Chapter 1 Introduction

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 1428.

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.

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.

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual 1-4 ni.com

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 can then 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 boards. This allows integration between IMAQ

devices and National Instruments DAQ products.

Vision and Motion

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.

Chapter 1 Introduction

© National Instruments Corporation 1-5 IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

Installation

This chapter contains a list of necessary and optional items for getting

started acquiring images with the IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428. This chapter also

explains how to unpack, configure, and install the IMAQ 1428.

What You Need to Get Started

You need the following items to set up and use the IMAQ 1428:

❑ Getting Started with Your IMAQ System

❑ NI-IMAQ for Windows 2000/NT/XP and documentation

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

❑ Camera Link camera

❑ MDR 26-pin Camera Link cable

❑ Optional software packages and documentation:

– IMAQ Vision for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or Measurement

Studio (Visual Basic)

– IMAQ Vision Builder

–LabVIEW

– LabWindows/CVI

– Measurement Studio

2

© National Instruments Corporation 2-1 IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual

Chapter 2 Installation

Optional Equipment

National Instruments offers a variety of products for use with the
IMAQ 1428, including the following:

• IMAQ D6804 breakout cable used for external triggering only. This
cable provides BNC connectivity to the four external trigger lines on
the 68-pin VHDCI connector.

• IMAQ D6826 breakout cable used for medium configuration and
external triggering. This cable breaks the VHDCI connector into a
25-pin D-SUB for triggering and an MDR 26-pin Camera Link cable
for medium configuration connectivity.

• RTSI bus cables for connecting the PCI-1428 to other IMAQ,
motion control, or DAQ devices.

• Other National Instruments DAQ devices for enhanced triggering,
timing, or input/output.

For more specific information about these products, refer to the
National Instruments catalog, visit
Instruments office nearest you.

ni.com, or call the National

Unpacking

The IMAQ 1428 ships in an antistatic package to prevent electrostatic
discharge from damaging device components. To avoid such damage in
handling the device, take the following precautions:

• Ground yourself using a grounding strap or by holding a grounded
object, such as the computer chassis.

• Touch the antistatic package to a metal part of the computer chassis
before removing the device from the package.

Caution Never touch the exposed pins of connectors.

Remove the device from the package and inspect it for loose components
or any other signs of damage. Notify National Instruments if the device
appears damaged in any way. Do not install a damaged device in the
computer.

Store the IMAQ 1428 in the antistatic envelope when not in use.

IMAQ PCI/PXI-1428 User Manual 2-2 ni.com