SE05: Getting Started with Cognex DataMan Bar Code Readers - Hands On Lab Werner Solution Expo April 8 & 9

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1 SE05: Getting Started with Cognex DataMan Bar Code Readers - Hands On Lab Werner Solution Expo April 8 & 9

2 Learning Goals: At the end of this lab, the student should have basic familiarity with the DataMan 8050X Handheld Bar Code Reader hardware, and the DataMan 302X Fixed-Mount Bar Code Reader hardware. Also, they should be familiar with the DataMan Setup Tool software, and some of the basic configuration options available in the DataMan Setup Tool software. Required Lab Hardware: Laptop running Cognex Training Virtual machine, Ethernet and Serial Communication Ports DataMan 302X with Power Supply, Tripod, and Cable DataMan 8050X with Serial Communication Module and USB Cord Cognex Direct Part Mark Sample Parts (2x) Cognex DataMan Playing Card Deck 1 Werner Solution Expo

3 Instructions: This is a hands-on self-paced lab. There is not enough gear for each workstation to have both bar code readers, so halfway through the lab time; the instructor will make an announcement to switch lab stations. During half of the lab time, you will be working with a handheld bar code reader, a DataMan 8050X reader, which looks like this: During the other half of the lab time, you will be working with a fixed mount bar code reader, a DataMan 302X reader, which looks like this: Look at the hardware in front of you, and turn to the relevant section of the lab manual showing the handheld or fixed mount reader at the top of the page before you begin. 2 Werner Solution Expo

4 Handheld Bar Code Reading with the Cognex DataMan 8050X Reader Getting Started The computer in front of you should be running the Cognex Training Virtual Machine, which looks like this: If it is not, please ask your instructor for assistance. The DataMan 8050X bar code reader should be connected to the computer via a USB connection. If it is not plugged in, please plug it in to an open USB port on the computer now. 3 Werner Solution Expo

5 Once the reader powers up point it at this code and pull the trigger to read this code. It will reset the reader back too factory defaults: Start the DataMan Setup Tool by double-clicking the icon here Note, there are two versions of the DataMan software, the Handheld reader requires version Werner Solution Expo

6 Once the software starts, you will see a screen like this 1: Choose the last COM port on the list, in this case, it is COM3, but yours may be some other, higher number. 2: Then click Connect 5 Werner Solution Expo

7 There will be a brief delay while the software connects to the reader, then the following screen should appear At the left, we have a menu of various settings that can be changed. The top left button, the Quick Setup button is the home screen. It contains the most commonly used settings. Lab 1: Basic Bar Code Reading Read this bar code: 6 Werner Solution Expo

8 You should see the following screen: The last image taken from the reader shows in the Image Display window on the top center, and the bar code data, which contains Werner Electric is shown in the Read Result History window at the bottom, along with a timestamp from the PC. Try reading this small DataMatrix 2D bar code: 7 Werner Solution Expo

9 Lab 1 Questions: Go back to the linear bar code and the DataMatrix bar code, try to answer these questions: Try reading the code from various angles, how steep of an angle can you still read the code from? Try blocking part of the code. Will the bar code read if part of the code is blocked? Turn the page and read the DataMatrix bar code. Which bar code contains more information? What reading distances work best for the first large linear bar code reader? What reading distances work best for the small DataMatrix mark? Look at the image results display, does it show you what kind of bar code you are reading? 8 Werner Solution Expo

10 Lab 2: Playing Card Demo with Handheld Bar Code Reader Open the Deck of Cognex DataMan playing cards; they all have bar codes printed on them. Find any Ace playing card, these are marked Reference Code, and are printed with a high quality mark. Read the Ace card. Does it read? Try rotating the code in front of the reader; does the angle of the reader relative to the code matter? Try slightly flexing the card, as if it was a label applied to a round container, will it still read? Look for a King card, they all have a white strip missing from the bar code, does this cause the reader to fail? Try the angle and the slight bending on the card, see if it still reads? Look for a Black Queen (Spades or Clubs) these cards have an extra black stripe down the center of the code. Do these defects cause the reader to fail? Look for a Jack card. These cards have a quiet zone violation, meaning that there is dark print on the end of the bar code that is too close to the last bar. Does the code still read? Try some of the other codes in the deck of playing cards; see if you can find an example of a code that does not read. 9 Werner Solution Expo

11 Lab 3: Direct Part Marking Demo Look for these metal demo plates for Direct Part Marking; they should be on the lab table Start with the top plate. This plate has both laser marked and dot-peened samples on it. The dot-peened marks have round cells where the hammer strikes the metal. The laser marks have squares that are a bit darker where the laser burned the surface of the metal. Start out with the mark in the lower left hand corner, a dot-peen mark. Try reading the code with the sample held both horizontally and vertically, which works better? Hint: You may have to hold the code touching or almost touching the front of the reader, and at an angle. Look at the images on the DataMan Setup Tool. Can you tell why the one orientation works better than the other? Now try to read the laser mark at the top right side of the part. Maintain the part orientation that works best. Does this code work well? 10 Werner Solution Expo

12 Note in the setup tool, the green data shown on the image The bar code data is shown here, and on the line below, we see both the bar code type, and a number of PPM. PPM stands for Pixels Per Module and it shows how much camera resolution there is for the narrowest element in the bar code. Watch what happens to the Pixels Per Module as you pull the sample away from the bar code reader. Does it go up or down? Now switch to reading the bar codes on the long, narrow sample part. These codes are all dot-peened, and the codes printed on the higher roughness surface are more difficult to decode. See what combination of angle and distance works best for these parts? Hint: start with 32, 63 or 125 roughness s first. Can you make the 250 roughness code read at all? Can you make the 500 roughness code read at all? Be aware that Cognex does offer a higher-end reader called the DataMan 8600 that is able to read all of these codes with a 100% read rate. 11 Werner Solution Expo

13 Lab 4: DataMan Configurator Settings The DataMan Setup Tool offers many different options related to the type of bar code symbols that can be read, the formatting of data being read and sent out, communication options, and system settings. These options are all available on the left side of the screen Let s explore the Symbology Settings page. Click on Symbology Settings as shown above. 12 Werner Solution Expo

14 You should see a screen like this If you deselect the checkboxes for all of the 1D bar code types, then the reader will no longer be able to read any of the linear bar codes, it will only read 2D bar codes. 13 Werner Solution Expo

15 Un-check the boxes as shown here Now, try reading the 1D and 2D codes used in the previous labs. Does the reader read 1D Codes? Does the reader read 2D Codes? Try reading the following code, does it read? Hint: The type of 2D Code is a QR Code 14 Werner Solution Expo

16 No matter what changes are made, the reader can always be returned to factory defaults be either reading the code at the beginning of this lab, or by selecting from the menu System / Reset Configuration as shown here Spend the remainder of the lab time exploring the following bar code reader features on the left side of the screen. Remember that you can always go back to factory defaults in order to get the reader working properly again. Connect to Reader allows you to configure more than one reader attached to this PC. Results Display shows more detailed display with a larger image. Data Formatting shows different parameters that can be sent out by the bar code reader, not just the data. 15 Werner Solution Expo

17 Each parameter can be expanded out, too, for example, under System Settings, you can find Data Logging This allows the PC to capture images from the reader onto the hard drive while the reader is attached to the software. 16 Werner Solution Expo

18 Fixed Mount Bar Code Reading with the DataMan 302X Reader Getting Started The computer in front of you should be running the Cognex Training Virtual Machine, which looks like this: If it is not, please ask your instructor for assistance. The DataMan 302X bar code reader should be plugged into power and the green Ethernet cord should be plugged into the Ethernet port on the Laptop. 17 Werner Solution Expo

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20 Start the DataMan Setup Tool, by double clicking the icon here Note: there are two versions of the DataMan Setup tool on this Training PC, the DataMan 302X Fixed- Mount reader requires version 5.2 of the software. 19 Werner Solution Expo

21 Once the software starts, you should see a screen like this: 1. Select the DM302 shown under Network Devices 2. Select the Connect button. If you get the following error, press OK 20 Werner Solution Expo

22 You should see a screen like this The Quick Setup button in the top left is the home screen for the software. If you click a setting on the left side, you can modify other parameters in the reader, and then click on Quick Setup to go back to the home screen. 21 Werner Solution Expo

23 Use the DataMan Setup Tool to reset the reader back to factory defaults. Click on the menu at the top on System / Reset Configuration. 1. Choose System from the menu 2. Choose Reset Configuration from the System menu This will reset any reader changes previously made (while retaining the communication settings) Find the DataMan Playing Cards, and sort through the deck to find one of the Ace cards. These cards are labeled as Reference Code. Put one of these codes down in front of the DataMan 302X reader. Position the DataMan 302X reader on the tripod about 6 from the code. Make sure the tripod is extended up all the way up and that the reader is angled at least 30 degrees from the card. Press the TRIG button on the back of the reader You should see the image update in the DataMan Setup Tool s Image Display. However, the image may not be in focus, and the reader may not beep. Press the TUNE button once quickly. You should see two red laser dots projected out onto the part. Align the two dots onto the top of the bar code on the Ace Playing card. Press and hold the TUNE button for 3 seconds or until the light on the front of the unit starts to flash. When the light starts to flash, you can let go of the button. This long press of the TUNE button puts the reader into tuning mode, where it tries different lens focus settings and different light settings to determine which work best for decoding the code in front of the reader. This process can take up to a minute. Wait for it to complete. 22 Werner Solution Expo

24 When the TUNE procedure is complete, press the TRIG button again and listen for the beep. Does the reader work now? Try triggering the reader with the button several times. Does the image in the DataMan Setup Tool look sharper than before? Explore the DataMan Setup Tools User Interface; the software should look like this There is a software Trigger button below the Image Display window that should also trigger the reader. In the Read Results History, you can click on older read data and the Image Display should update too show you the image that goes along with the older read data. Place your hand in front of the reader and trigger it. This will create a no-read situation. An image is also saved for this event, to help with troubleshooting about why no-reads happen. 23 Werner Solution Expo

25 Lab 1: Trigger Modes The DataMan has many different Trigger Modes, which can be selected from this menu: If we leave the reader in its default trigger mode, Manual, then the reader will behave with the following logic. As long as the trigger button is held down, the reader will continue to try to read until there is one good read, and then it will stop. To test this, place your hand over the bar code and then press and hold down the TRIG button on the reader. The light in front of the reader should come on and stay on. Move your hand away. Does the reader read? This reading mode is good for testing. Single, Burst, and Continuous modes are used when there is a sensor wired to the reader to indicate that a part is present for reading. These modes are commonly used in fixed reading applications, but since we do not have a trigger sensor in our lab setup, we will not explore these modes. 24 Werner Solution Expo

26 Presentation Mode is a useful trigger mode for manual operations where a person is interacting with the reader, when a person brings the code to the reader instead of bringing the reader too the code (like a handheld reader). From the Trigger Type menu, select Presentation Mode now. What happens to the light on the front when you put the reader in Presentation Mode? Does the light ever stop? How fast does the bar code reader appear to be reading? With this trigger mode, you can explore how much position and angle variation the reader can tolerate. How much movement can the reader tolerate in and out towards the camera before it stops reading? How much angle movement can the reader tolerate along the horizontal axis of the bar code (hint: try standing the card up on end on the table pointing towards the reader). How much angle movement can the reader tolerate along the short vertical axis of the bar code? Which is greater? 25 Werner Solution Expo

27 Sometimes in presentation reading applications, it is useful to limit the bar code reader so that it only reader the same code one time, then you must present a different code to the reader to get more data (this is how scanners are the configured at the grocery store). Navigate to the following menu in the DataMan Setup Tool 1. Click on the + Sign next to System Settings to make the tree expand. 2. Click on Decode Settings 3. Click the Check Box for Never Read Same Code Twice as shown. Now, go back to the Quick Setup screen to see how this affects our reading. Present one of the Ace cards and hold it under the reader as before, how many beeps / reads do you get? Hint: What was the last card that you read? If the last card was that Ace, try a different card. Now, move onto another card, does it read? 26 Werner Solution Expo

28 Can you toggle back to the Ace, does it read again? Disable Never Read Same Code Twice from the System Settings / Decode Settings menu, and switch back to the Quick Setup window. Try waving a bar code under the DataMan 300 at high speeds. Can you move fast enough to cause the reader to miss the bar code? Note: Brighter lights are available to allow the reader to image fast-moving parts. Lab 2: Direct Part Marks Find the small Cognex Direct Part Mark Sample plate with six DataMatrix bar codes marked on it, which looks like this Place this plate face down in front of the reader. Hint: You may need to re-position the tripod to get the reader closer to the codes. 27 Werner Solution Expo

29 Hint: You can use the Live Display button to show an image from the reader even when the reader is not able to decode bar codes, the Live Display button is located below the Image Display window, here Press Live Display to see the image while you move the part around. While you are in Live Display mode, try rotating the metal plate both horizontally with the long edge towards the reader, and vertically with the short edge towards the reader. Do you notice anything strange about the images? Use the orientation that produces images that are the most even. Don t forget to disable Live Display mode by clicking the button again. The reader may not be reading now because we changed the reading distance and went out of focus. 28 Werner Solution Expo

30 We can use the Optimize Focus button to execute only part of the Tune Procedure again. Here s where the Optimize Focus button is in the user interface Click Optimize Focus. The optimize operation can take a few seconds. After it completes, does the reader begin beeping again? Try moving the plate around. Does one setup work for all the codes, or are multiple setups needed? If Optimize Focus doesn t allow you to read the codes, try the full Tune procedure using the button on the Quick Setup Screen. 29 Werner Solution Expo

31 Lab 3: Advanced Topics: Please feel free to look around on the menus and try different settings. Expand the Light and Imager settings and see what can be changed here. Explore the Communication Settings, Expand this tree out and look at the Industrial Protocols. For fixed mount reader, Inputs and Output are often used. These can be configured on System Settings tab. Remember that no matter what happens to the reader, you can always go back to the factory defaults setting, and then re-tune the reader to get back to a working point again, as shown in the Getting Started part of this lab. 30 Werner Solution Expo