Acquiring or Loading an Image

Note: This topic describes the user interface when connected to an In-Sight 2000 series vision sensors. If connected to In-Sight vision systems, refer to Acquiring or Loading an Image.

The Trigger button is used to acquire a single image from the vision sensor. Click the Trigger button to acquire a single image. Alternately, you can use the F5 button on your keyboard or click the button in the EasyBuilder Toolbar (Trigger must be set to Manual).

The Live Video button activates the vision sensor to stream images, allowing you to adjust the focus of the lens attached to the vision sensor, as well as adjust the lens aperture to achieve the optimal image brightness. Your application will function optimally when your images are clearly focused and the brightness is balanced to maximize contrast.

Note:
  • Alternatively, you can enter Live Video mode by selecting Live Video from the Image menu or clicking the button in the EasyBuilder Toolbar. These Live Video options are available in all application steps.
  • You can adjust the Auto/Manual Exposure, Exposure (msec), Optimal Exposure, Light Control Mode and Image Magnification Mode settings when in Live Video mode.

The Focus Metric provided below the image helps you to determine an image focus score, which indicates the degree to which the image, or a region of the image includes the smallest resolvable features in a "scene".

Note:
  • When connected to the In-Sight 2000 series vision sensor, Focus Metric's Minimum, Maximum and Focus values are hidden.
  • The Focus Metric can be turned off by clicking the Focus Metric icon in the EasyBuilder Toolbar while in Live Video. Alternatively, you can select Focus Metric from the View menu.

  1. Click the Live Video button. Alternately, you can click the button in the EasyBuilder Toolbar.

    Note: The vision sensor must be Offline.
  2. If using the In-Sight 2000 Mini series vision sensor, you can automatically focus the lens using the Autofocus button. Alternatively, you can manually adjust the focus using the Focus Distance (%) slider control so that the details of the features to be inspected are clear and highly contrasted.
  3. If using other In-Sight 2000 series vision sensor, manually adjust the light module attached to the vision sensor so that the details of the features to be inspected are clear and highly contrasted.
  4. Once you are satisfied with the quality of your image, click the Live Video button again.
  1. Click the Live Video button. Alternately, you can click the button in the EasyBuilder Toolbar.

  2. From the EasyBuilder Toolbar, click the Brightness Feedback on. Areas of the image that are too dark are highlighted in blue, while areas of the image highlighted in red are over saturated (too light).

    Note: Alternatively, you can select Show Brightness Feedback from the Image menu to enable Brightness Feedback.
  3. You can adjust the brightness of the image through one of the following methods:
    • Manually adjust the aperture of the lens attached to the vision sensor until both the red and blue areas of the image are minimized.
    • Adjust the Exposure slider control until both the red and blue areas of the image are minimized. For more information, refer to Exposure.
    • Select Auto Exposure. For more information, refer to Auto Exposure.

  4. Once you are satisfied with the quality of your image, click the Brightness Feedback icon again to turn off the display.

    Note: Alternatively, you can select Show Brightness Feedback from the Image menu to turn off Brightness Feedback.

The Load Images from PC button launches the Record/Playback Options dialog, which is used to configure record and playback settings for individual vision sensors and emulators. After configuring the dialog settings, you can record acquired images to the Record Folder and play back acquired images stored in the Playback Folder, located on the PC.

Note:
  • For run-time monitoring and debugging, images can be stored to the vision sensor rather than the PC; use the Filmstrip Application step to configure the Sensor Settings.
  • When color images are recorded to the PC, they are saved as 16-bit images, rather than 24-bit images. When color images need to be used for testing color tools, you can export the images via FTP (by adding an FTP device from the Communication Application Step) to save the images and maintain the full color depth.

After the Playback tab settings have been configured, when the Play button (in the PC filmstrip) is clicked, images stored in the specified Playback Folder on the PC are sent to the vision sensor and the job runs against the image being played back. By default, the Playback Folder references the EasyBuilder Sample Jobs folder.

After the Record tab settings have been configured, when the Record button (in the EasyBuilder toolbar) is clicked and images are acquired, the pass and fail images are recorded and saved to the specified Record Folder on the PC. You can save the images from an Online or Offline vision sensor to any folder that has “write” privileges. Up to 10,000 images can be saved to the PC.