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IO steps overview


Matrox Design Assistant allows you to communicate with external devices via the discrete I/O pins (auxiliary I/O pins) of your runtime platform's input and output connectors , if the platform is a Matrox smart camera, a Matrox 4Sight GP/GPm, or a PC equipped with a Matrox Indio board. When using a PC runtime platform, Matrox Design Assistant can also communicate with external devices via the I/O pins of the input and output connectors of any connected GigE/USB3 Vision camera that supports I/O. Matrox Design Assistant can also use the additional I/O capabilities of runtime platforms equipped with the Matrox Advanced I/O Engine.

You must specify which I/O pins your project will use and configure how a signal should be transmitted/received on these pins, using the Platform Configuration dialog.

In addition, you can use platform configuration binding or an IOSettings step to change certain configuration settings of the input and output signals during runtime.

The IOReader step allows you to read the value of an auxiliary input signal. The IOWriter step allows you to set the value of an auxiliary output signal.

Depending on the hardware available, auxiliary input signals can be used with Matrox Design Assistant to perform the following typical tasks:

  • Use an input signal to trigger a camera to grab an image.

  • Read the value of an input pin and have the flowchart perform an operation according to that value (for example, check if a safety door is closed).

  • Upon receiving an input signal, generate an output signal (often a pulse) after a certain delay (for example, to trigger some distance further down a conveyer from the part detector).

  • Take one or 2 rotary encoder inputs and use them as the clock for position stamps and the delay of output signals.

  • Relay a trigger signal after having accurately latched the time/position at which it arrived.

  • Use an input signal, along with 2 timers, as control for outputting a pulse train.

Depending on the hardware available, auxiliary output signals can be used with Matrox Design Assistant to communicate to an external device or controller via:

  • An IOWriter step.

  • An automatic output tied to an input.

  • A timer output.

Support for I/O

Matrox Design Assistant only supports I/O with Matrox smart cameras (for example, Matrox Iris GTR), Matrox PCs (for example, Matrox 4Sight GPm, or PCs with a Matrox Indio board), and GigE/UBS3 Vision cameras that follow the GenICam Standard Feature Naming Convention (SFNC v1.5).

When connected to a runtime platform, you can determine how many I/O pins Matrox Design Assistant recognizes by clicking on the List the Available I/Os button in the IOs page of the Platform Configuration dialog. This will state the number of pins that are input, output, or bidirectional.

The following are the I/O capabilities available on different platforms supported by Matrox Design Assistant.

Platform

Any PC

Any PC

Matrox 4SightGP

Matrox 4SightGPm

PC with Matrox Indio

Supported Matrox smart camera

Control (write value)

Flowchart Step

Unsupported GigE/USB3 Vision cameras

Supported GigE/USB3 Vision cameras

On/Off

IOWriter

–

X

X

X

X

X

Pulse duration in time

IOWriter

–

–

–

X

X

X

Pulse duration in rotary transitions

IOWriter

–

–

–

X

X

X

Delay in time relative to grab

IOWriter

–

–

–

X

X

X

Delay in position (for example, rotary encoder)

IOWriter

–

–

–

X

X

X

On/Off

CameraSettings (Edit GenICam)

Y

–

–

–

–

–

Features and Commands

CameraSettings (Edit GenICam)

Y

Y

Y

X and Y

X and Y

X

Read value

IOReader

–

X

X

X

X

X

Read transition counts

IOReader

–

–

–

X

X

X

Input AB rotary encoder

PositionStamp

–

–

–

X

X

X

X - Fully compliant camera. Use the Platform Configuration dialog to configure this component.

Y - Non compliant camera. Use the Feature Browser or a CameraSettings step to configure this component (for example, output ActiveExposure or Strobe).

PC Platforms - Note that third party I/O boards are not supported. You can use a Matrox Indio board, I/O on the GigE Vision camera, or network I/O expansion modules (for example, Modbus).

Projects with discrete I/O

When you create a project that uses a certain number of I/O pins, these settings are saved to the project. Consequently, a project that uses I/O can only be deployed on a runtime platform that supports I/O capabilities (see the Support for I/O subsection of this section). However, this can be problematic when a project is developed for a platform with a certain number of I/O pins, and is opened while connected to a platform that has fewer I/O resources.

If you open a project that was originally developed using a different platform than the one to which you are currently connected, a warning dialog will appear, as shown below. You can either emulate the platform on which the project was originally developed, or continue opening the project. However, if you choose the latter option on a platform that has fewer I/O pins than are used in the project, you will see errors in the IOs page of the Platform Configuration dialog and in the Errors pane.

Alternatively, reconnect to a runtime platform with the correct number of I/O pins, using the Platform menu.