Exporting Images to an SD Card

You can configure your In-Sight vision system to export images to the SD card installed to the In-Sight vision system. This allows you to store acquired images (based on a tool or job's pass/failure condition) for archival purposes. These images can then be reviewed, helping you to diagnose problems that may have been encountered during the production process.

Note: This feature is supported only on the In-Sight vision systems on which the SD card is installed.

To send images to the SD card:

  1. From the Communications group box, select SD Card.
  2. Select the Image tab.

  3. Press the Add button to add an entry and configure the image export parameters.

    Note: More than one image export operation can be added to a job.
  4. Place the In-Sight vision system Online. The vision system must be Online to execute; otherwise, no images will be exported.

  5. Trigger the vision system to acquire images. For each acquired image, an image file (BMP or JPG, depending on the File Format parameter) is exported and stored on the SD card installed to the vision system.

    Note: When Transfer Condition is set to None (= default), an image file will be exported every time a new image is acquired. When Transfer Condition is set to other than None, an image file will be exported every time the specified event occurs. For example, when Transfer Condition is set to Job.Fail, an image file is exported and stored on the SD card every time the job fails.

Controls

ClosedEnabled check box

Defines whether or not the image export operation is operational (by default, it is checked), and whether or not it will be exposed as an EasyView item (for example, WriteImageLocal_1.Tool_Enabled), which can be displayed on the VisionView Operator Interface Panel and is editable by the operator.

Note: To enable, check the Enable checkbox in the table. This is the only parameter you can configure in the table.
ClosedName

Defines the name of your image export operation, which can be utilized in configuring the results Inputs/Outputs and Communication); the default name is "WriteImageLocal_1" (if it is the first image export operation added to the job, otherwise it will be incremented, e.g. “WriteImageLocal_2”, “WriteImageLocal_3”, etc.). Customize the operation by giving it a name that is associated with its Transfer Condition, for instance.

ClosedTransfer Condition

Defines when the image should be sent to the SD card, such as when a particular tool passes or fails, or an input is received. By default, None is selected, which ensures that an image will be exported every time an image is acquired, when the Enabled checkbox is checked. If the Enabled checkbox is disabled, or the tool referenced is disabled, the export image operation will not execute.

Note: If the Transfer Condition of a particular image export operation occurs with a high frequency, such as every image acquisition, the image queue of the In-Sight vision system may fill and prevent the exporting of additional image export operations, resulting in some images not being transferred.
ClosedFile Format

Defines the file format of the exported image: BMP (Windows bitmap format) or JPG (standard encoded JPEG format). By default, BMP is selected.

ClosedImage Size

Defines the resolution of the exported image: Full, Half or Quarter. By default, Full is selected.

ClosedInclude Graphics

Defines whether or not an SVG file will be created that contains overlay graphic data for supported Location and Inspection Tools. To view the SVG file and image file, open the SVG file with a Web browser that supports the SVG file type (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0). The SVG file contains an internal link to the acquired image associated with it, and when the browser opens the SVG file, it follows the link to open and display the acquired image along with the overlay graphics.

Note:
  • To enable, check the Include Graphics checkbox in the group box in the right-hand side. The Include Graphics checkbox in the table is read-only.
  • When enabled, the SVG file will use the name specified in the File Name parameter.
  • When the Host Name parameter in the Settings tab is set to an In-Sight emulator, the svg files are saved to the emulator directory ([ProgramData]\Cognex\In-Sight\Emulators\x.x.x) and displayed in the In-Sight Files pane. For more information, see In-Sight Files.
  • If a Location and/or Inspection Tool has been configured to hide its overlay graphics by modifying the Tool Options in the Result Display Options dialog, the SVG graphics will not be output. By default, all tools display their overlay graphics.
  • Due to the graphics being rendered by a third-party application, such as a Web browser, the overlay graphic data will not be an exact pixel-for-pixel match.
  • In-Sight firmware does not guarantee the transmission of every SVG and image file pair. If the In-Sight vision system is overloaded, it may skip the transmission of one or both the SVG and/or image file to ensure that inspections and/or image acquisitions are not missed.
ClosedFile Name Preview

Previews the name of the image file that is exported; by default, Image999 is displayed. The file name can be customized by configuring the following parameters: Default File Name, Add Link, Add Timestamp and Add Counter.

Note:
  • Define at least one parameter for the image file. If the Default File Name field is blank and the Add Link, Add Timestamp and Add Counter checkboxes are unchecked, the file export operation will fail.
  • The order of the parameters cannot be changed.
  • When the Add Counter parameter is enabled, the Maximum Value of the counter is always displayed in the File Name Preview.
ClosedDefault File Name

Defines the name of the image file that is exported; the default name is "Image." Long file names are supported.

ClosedAdd Link

Defines whether or not the selected tool will be linked and added to the name of the file that is exported. By default, this checkbox is disabled.

Note:
  • The export operation will fail if the selected tool is linked to a string that contains any of the following invalid characters: <, >, :, ", /, \, |, ? or *.
  • The Add Link checkbox is grayed out when EasyBuilder cannot find any tool that can be linked.
  • If the linked tool is removed from the job, the Add Link checkbox will be automatically disabled.
  • When the Add Link checkbox is enabled, do not select Undefined from the drop-down list; it may produce undefined results.
ClosedAdd Timestamp

Defines whether or not a timestamp will be added to the name of the image file that is exported. By default, this checkbox is disabled. When enabled, one of the following pre-configured timestamp formats can be selected from the drop-down list: MMDDYY, YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS, DDMMYY_HHMMSS, MM-DD-YYYY_HH.MM.SS, HHMMSS, YYMMDD_HHMMSS or YYDDMM_HHMMSS.

Note: You can configure the In-Sight vision system's date/time settings in the Date/Time Setting dialog. For more information, see Date/Time Settings Dialog.
ClosedAdd Counter

Defines whether or not a counter will be added to the name of the image file that is exported (default = enabled). When enabled, the counter's Maximum Value can be specified (0 to 9999999; default = 999). A counter will increment itself as each image file is exported. The counter automatically resets itself when it equals the Maximum Value; existing image files will be overwritten by new files of the same name.

ClosedAdd button

Adds a new export operation to the list.

ClosedRemove button

Removes an export operation from the list. Only one export operation may be removed at a time.

ClosedReset All Counters button

Resets the value added to the name of the image file for each image export operation in the list to 000.

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EasyBuilder Help  |  2019 August 24  |  Revision: 5.7.4.3