Configuring the Frame Grabber Using pylon#

This topic tells you how to configure a pylon-compatible frame grabber using the pylon API, the pylon Viewer, or the gpioTool.

Info

This topic covers basic use cases. For in-depth information about the software features of the frame grabber, see the following documentation:

Configuring the frame grabber is especially useful in the following situations:

You want to change the applet used by the frame grabber.
You want to trigger the connected Basler boost camera via the frame grabber.
You want to perform debayering on the frame grabber to increase the performance of your imaging system.
You want to use an output format that isn't available on your camera, e.g., a 16-bit mono format.
You want to configure the trigger signals received or sent by the frame grabber.

Changing the Applet#

The applet running on the frame grabber defines its functionality. For certain camera setups, you may have to change the default applet.

To change the applet used by the frame grabber, set the InterfaceApplet parameter to the name of the applet to be loaded, e.g., Acq_DualCXP12Area.

To find out which applets are available, see Acquisition Applets for imaWorx CXP-12 Quad.

Using the Frame Grabber to Trigger a Basler boost Camera#

Info

This section is only relevant if you specifically want to trigger the camera via the frame grabber. Usually, the camera is triggered via the camera's I/O connector. For more information, see Triggered Image Acquisition.

Hardware Triggering (External)#

With external triggering enabled, you can send trigger input signals to the frame grabber, and the frame grabber forwards these signals to the Basler boost camera.

To configure the frame grabber for external hardware triggering:

Set the AreaTriggerMode parameter to External.
Set the TriggerInSource parameter to the desired "Front GPI" input line.
For example, if you want to use GPI0 (pin 11 and 12 on the frame grabber) for external triggering, set the parameter to FrontGpiTriggerSource0.
Set the TriggerCameraOutSelect parameter to the corresponding "Bypass" option.
For example, if you selected FrontGpiTriggerSource0, set the TriggerCameraOutSelect parameter to BypassFrontGpi0.
Set the TriggerState parameter to Active.
If necessary, configure the trigger signals as described below.

All trigger signals are forwarded to the camera's source signals CxpTrigger0 and CxpTrigger1 (there is currently no difference in behavior between the two lines). The signals can be used for various purposes. The most common use case is image acquisition. See the example below.

Hardware Triggering (Internal)#

With internal triggering enabled, the frame grabber generates trigger signals internally at a specified frequency. All external trigger signals are ignored.

To configure the frame grabber for internal hardware triggering:

Set the AreaTriggerMode parameter to Generator.
Set the TriggerOutputFrequency parameter to the desired trigger output frequency. For example, if you set the parameter to 8, the frame grabber will generate 8 trigger signals per second.
Set the TriggerCameraOutSelect parameter to the desired output line, e.g., PulseGenerator0.
Set the TriggerState parameter to Active.

Now, whenever you start image acquisition, the frame grabber will generate trigger signals at the specified frequency.

All trigger signals are forwarded to the camera's source signals CxpTrigger0 and CxpTrigger1. The signals can be used for various purposes. The most common use case is image acquisition. See the example below.

Example: Using the Trigger Signals for Image Acquisition#

To use the external or internal trigger signals generated by the frame grabber to acquire images:

On the camera, set the TriggerSelector parameter to FrameStart.
Set the TriggerMode parameter to On.
Set the ExposureMode parameter to Timed.
Set the TriggerSource parameter to CxpTrigger0 or CxpTrigger1.
As there is currently no difference in behavior between the two lines, you can choose either one of them.

Now, the camera acquires an image each time the frame grabber receives or generates a trigger signal.

Info

You can use the trigger signals as the source for any Basler boost camera feature that can be controlled by a signal source. For example, setting the CounterTriggerSource parameter to CxpTrigger0 allows you to control the Counter feature using the frame grabber.

Performing Debayering on the Frame Grabber#

You can perform debayering on the frame grabber. This reduces computing load on the camera and the host computer.

To do so:

On the camera, set the PixelFormat parameter to a Bayer pixel format, e.g., BayerRG12.
On the frame grabber, set the AutomaticFormatControl parameter to false.
This allows you to set the output format independently of the pixel format used by the camera.
On the frame grabber, set the Format parameter to the corresponding RGB pixel format.
The bit depth must be three times the bit depth of the Bayer pixel format. For example, BayerRG12 (camera) = Color36bit (frame grabber).

Now, the frame grabber will perform debayering on the camera's raw image data and output RGB image data.

Info

Make sure that you set the correct RGB pixel format in step 3 above. Otherwise, images won't be acquired properly.

Using Output Formats not Available on the Camera#

The Basler boost camera can output image data in a number of pixel formats, e.g., Bayer RG 8 or RBG 8. For more information, see the pixel format topic.

If your required pixel format isn't available on the camera and you also want to avoid image conversion on the host computer, you may be able to use one of the pixel formats provided by the frame grabber.

The frame grabber provides the following formats:


Gray8bit	Gray10bit	Gray12bit	Gray16bit
Color24bit	Color30bit	Color36bit	Color48bit
Bayergr8	Bayergr10	Bayergr12	Bayergr16
Bayerrg8	Bayerrg10	Bayerrg12	Bayerrg16
Bayergb8	Bayergb10	Bayergb12	Bayergb16
Bayerbg8	Bayerbg10	Bayerbg12	Bayerbg16

To use an output format not available on the camera:

On the camera, set the PixelFormat parameter to the desired camera pixel format, e.g., Mono12.
On the frame grabber, set the AutomaticFormatControl parameter to false.
This allows you to set the output format independently of the pixel format used by the camera.
On the frame grabber, set the Format parameter to the desired output format, e.g., Gray16bit.

With the example values above, the frame grabber outputs 16-bit image data based on 12-bit camera image data. Padding bits (zeros) are inserted as illustrated below.

Configuring the Trigger Signals using the gpioTool#

With the gpioTool command-line tool, you can configure the physical properties of the trigger signals received or sent by the frame grabber:

The gpioTool is included in the Framegrabber SDK and in the pylon Software Suite.

For more information, see gpioTool.

Sample Code#

C++ (Native)

// Select the Acq_SingleCXP12Area applet
camera.GetTLParams().InterfaceApplet.SetValue(Acq_SingleCXP12Area);
// Configure the frame grabber for external triggering
camera.GetTLParams().AreaTriggerMode.SetValue(AreaTriggerMode_External);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerInSource.SetValue(TriggerInSource_FrontGpiTriggerSource0);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerCameraOutSelect.SetValue(TriggerCameraOutSelect_BypassFrontGpi0);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerState.SetValue(TriggerState_Active);
// Configure the frame grabber for internal triggering
camera.GetTLParams().AreaTriggerMode.SetValue(AreaTriggerMode_Generator);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerOutputFrequency.SetValue(8);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerCameraOutSelect.SetValue(TriggerCameraOutSelect_PulseGenerator0);
camera.GetTLParams().TriggerState.SetValue(TriggerState_Active);
// Use the external or internal trigger signals for image acquisition
camera.TriggerSelector.SetValue(TriggerSelector_FrameStart);
camera.TriggerMode.SetValue(TriggerMode_On);
camera.ExposureMode.SetValue(ExposureMode_Timed);
camera.TriggerSource.SetValue(TriggerSource_CxpTrigger0);
// Perform debayering on the frame grabber (Bayer RG 12 --> RGB 36 bit)
camera.PixelFormat.SetValue(PixelFormat_BayerRG12);
camera.GetTLParams().AutomaticFormatControl.SetValue(false);
camera.GetTLParams().Format.SetValue(Format_Color36bit);
// Configure the frame grabber to output 16-bit mono image data based on
// 12-bit mono image data from the camera
camera.PixelFormat.SetValue(PixelFormat_Mono12);
camera.GetTLParams().AutomaticFormatControl.SetValue(false);
camera.GetTLParams().Format.SetValue(Format_Gray16bit);

This sample code is only available in C++ language.

You can also use the pylon Viewer to set the parameters.