Dalsa Linea Lite line scan camera

The Dalsa Linea line scan camera is parameterized using the setup wizard. This takes over the correct configuration of all camera functions in the background.

Information: The assignment of the inputs and outputs can be found under Hardware/Cameras/Dalsa Linea Lite.

Information: Make sure that the Linea Lite firmware is compatible! An update may be necessary.

Setting up the camera

The camera settings are set automatically by the setup wizard and do not need to be entered in the program management. The setup wizard is started via the "Live image" button of the respective camera station.

To set up, it is best to follow the menu sequence and set up as follows.

Information: Configuration mode must be activated to edit the camera configuration.

Best Practise for first time set up

Guidance for best practice

It is recommended to set up the lens and the camera distance first

First start in "Single image with software trigger" mode
Configure any lighting inputs
Set a rough exposure time. 0.050 to 0.095ms is usually a good starting point
Limit image height to 50 to 100 lines to get quick feedback on focus
Set the line configuration to "Internal clock" and set the frequency to 1000Hz
End setup and start image acquisition with continuous trigger
Adjusting the lens and lighting

Once the camera has been mechanically set up, the detailed configuration is carried out

Select the correct control mode
Select the desired line configuration (rotary encoder or internal frequency)
If used, diagnose trigger input in the status line
If used, test encoder via diagnostics
Test setup with low image height

If the signal sequence works, then specify the correct image height

In the "Internal frequency" line configuration, the set value corresponds to the recorded lines per second
In the "External encoder" line configuration, the ratio of encoder signals to recorded lines must be calculated.
- For this purpose, the number of edges per image recording is determined using the rotary encoder diagnostics on track A.
- The encoder divider can be calculated using the ratio of the number of edges to the desired number of lines.
  
  Warning: To ensure that the image acquisition is always completed, the movement must be longer than the image acquisition of the camera. An excess length of at least 2% is recommended.
  
  Information: Example: Inspection of a round part. 360° correspond to 180,000 edges.
  Desired resolution: 8,000 lines (2 images with 4,000 lines each)
  Encoder divider: 180,000 / 8,000 = 22.5 -> Rounded up to 23
  Calculated backwards, this results in a resolution of 180,000 / 23 = 7826 lines per 360°
  For the test, a 15° overshoot is recommended (=187,000 pulses) so that the image acquisition can be completed reliably.

Main menu

The main menu contains control functions for setting up and testing the camera. The menu items are activated dynamically depending on the camera's operating mode.

	Menu	Description
	Continuous	Starts continuous image capture by triggering one software trigger after the other. This creates the impression of a live image without overloading the system with too many images.
	Software Trigger	Triggers a single image acquisition.
	Edit configuration	Allows you to edit the camera configuration.

"Acquisition" menu

The basic image recording settings are defined here.

Control
	Free run	Images are acquired continuously, one after the other. Particular attention must be paid to system utilisation and acquisition frequency.
	Single image with software trigger	Captures a single image via software trigger (field bus).
	Single image with hardware trigger	Captures a single image via camera hardware input.
	Multiple images with hardware trigger	Captures multiple images (>2) via camera hardware trigger. The images are captured continuously, one after the other.
	Status display	Image counter for diagnosing the acquired images.

Image settings
	TDI Mode	Activates the processing of the second hardware line into an output line.
	Exposure time	Exposure time in milliseconds. The exposure time limits the maximum number of lines per second. If this specification is exceeded, an image recording error is triggered.
	Contrast	Camera contrast (sensor gain) from 0 to 1. A high contrast increases the sensor noise of the image chip, but brightens the image.
	Brightness	Camera brightness from 0 to 1. Increases the absolute brightness of the image.
	Illumination 1	Activates the lighting control during image capture.
	Illumination 2	Activates the lighting control during image capture.

Pixel Binning
	Horizontales Binning	Calculates a new pixel from several horizontal pixels.
	Vertikales Binning	Calculates a new pixel from several vertical (line) pixels.
	Modus	Calculation type with active binning.

Image
	Width	Number of pixels used along the line (camera sensor chip).
	Horizontal Offset	Moves the start of the image along the line from left to right. A shift is only possible if the width of the image has been reduced beforehand.
	Height	Corresponds to the number of lines to be recorded and is synchronized with the line configuration. Maximum height: 4068 lines per image.

Line configuration
	Line capture	Switching between external rotary encoder and internal frequency. The input frequency is specified by the encoder configuration.
	Internal frequency	Internal frequency in Hz, corresponding to the number of lines per second.

"Encoder" menu

This menu item is only active if the line capture has been set to Encoder.

Hardware configuration
	Encoder	A track only or with A + B track
	Mode	Hold position (observe direction of rotation) or pick up in all directions.
	Direction of rotation	Track A is in front of B or track B is in front of A.
	Edges	Evaluate only positive or positive and negative edges.

The internally generated encoder pulses are converted into the line input frequency using the encoder divider.

Information: The rotary encoder should be dimensioned so that at least 10 pulses per line are available for conversion.

Encoder divider
	Encoder	Two different operating modes are available for high and low input frequencies. Depending on the mode, the pulses are first multiplied and then divided.
	Divisor	Pulses are divided by the divisor.
	Multiplier	Impulses are multiplied by the multiplier.
	Frequency divider	Specifies the percentage ratio of input pulses and line frequency. The frequency divider is calculated automatically with this specification.

Encoder diagnostics
	Track A	Activates the pulse / edge counter for track A.
	Track B	Activates the pulse / edge counter for track B.
	Counter	Number of pulses / edges counted for the selected track. Serves as a set-up aid and test tool when commissioning the encoder for the first time.

"Other" menu

Hardware Trigger
	Signal	Edge of the trigger signal used
	Delay	Verzögerung des Triggersignales in Mikrosekunden (µs).
	Entprellung	Debounce time of the trigger signal in microseconds (µs).
Timeout
	Image transport	Timeout for image transport in milliseconds (ms)