Smart Camera Driving a Digital IO on a Compact FieldPoint through Vision Builder

Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (VBAI) is capable of changing the values of IO lines contained on a Compact FieldPoint by accessing them as network variables. The purpose of this tutorial is to provide additional flexibility by driving the variables on a compact field point from a smart camera via the Secondary Ethernet Port. This tutorial will work for all Compact FieldPoint systems, including the network driven models.

Adding the Variables to be driven by the Smart Camera

Connect the Smart Camera and the Compact FieldPoint system to the same local area network with both devices sharing the same subnet. To confirm that the network is setup properly, start up Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX). The FieldPoint will be listed under Remote Systems along with the Smart Camera. If a problem is encountered with either device not showing up, please contact your network administrator or check our FieldPoint troubleshooting page here.

Select the FieldPoint and detect the attached modules. They will show up under the FeildPoint in MAX when installed. Make a note of which modules and respective variables you will be driving with your VBAI inspection and save the configuration.

Start VBAI and open the configuration interface with the Smart Camera selected as the target. Inside the configuration interface select Tools>>Variable Manager. The FieldPoint will not be listed as its name but instead as the current IP address assigned to it. Navigate to the Network Variables tab click add. Choose Select Source Item, a list of remote targets will populate navigate through and select your variables as shown in the picture below.

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Figure 1: Variable Manager displays the Compact FieldPoint newtwork variables

Repeat the last step for every variable that you wish to include in your inspection. Be sure to name every variable accurately to avoid confusion later on in the process.

Configuring the FieldPoint to Run from the Secondary Port of the Smart Camera

Return to the main inspection configuration window and select Target >> Target Options. Select Enable Secondary Ethernet Port. From here you can choose to set either a static IP address or use the link local option for the secondary port. Record the IP address that you set for the secondary port and navigate to MAX.

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Figure 2: Secondary Ethernet Port Configuration

Access the Field Point and set the IP address to the first three numbers of your secondary port of the smart camera. For the last digit, choose a number one higher than that of the fourth number on the smart cameras ethernet ports IP address (See Figure 3).

Figure 3: Configuration of the FeildPoint IP address

This will place the FieldPoint on the same subnet as the secondary ethernet port of the Smart Camera. Save the configuration of the FieldPoint. At this point disconnect the FieldPoint’s Ethernet cable from your network and connect it to the Smart Camera’s secondary port and reboot the FieldPoint. The Smart Camera should now be connected properly to the FieldPoint controller.

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Figure 4: The IP address of the FieldPoint Variable is changed to the new address

One final step remains, to configure the IP address of the variables to match the FieldPoints new IP address. In VBAI, navigate back to the network variable in the Variable Manger. From here select your variables and choose the edit option. You can then change the IP address in the Network Path to what you configured your FieldPoint to in Figure 3. When this is complete you can exit the Variable Manager and begin driving FieldPoint variables from the Smart Camera.

Driving the Variables from the Smart Camera

By selecting the corresponding network variables that have been added earlier, each line can be read from the FieldPoint by using any step that allows access to shared variables, such as calculator steps. This will allow inputs to be added from the FieldPoint to your VBAI inspection.

Writing to the output of the FieldPoint can be performed in the same manner as changing a network variable. To write to an output line of the FieldPoint, use a set variable step and write to drive the corresponding output line of the Fieldpoint.

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