General (3)
BitFlow offers cameras files for almost all of the current Camera Link and CoaXPress cameras that are on the market. In addition to this, you can have camera files for various options that the cameras offer, things like triggers (HW and SW), free running, different ROI to what the sensor offers etc. In the part we have offered camera files for Analog and Differential cameras. These files are still available today.
The table here shows which camera files are associated with with frame grabbers
| Frame grabbers | Type | Associated file extension |
|---|---|---|
| Claxon FXP Claxon CXP Cyton CXP Aon CXP | CoaXPress | .bfml |
| Axion CL | Camera Link | .bfml |
| Karbon CL Neon CL | Camera Link | .r64 |
| Alta AN* | Analog | .anlg |
| Karbon CXP* | CoaXPress | .kcxp |
| Neon DIF | Differential | .NDif |
| R2/R3* | Differential | .cam |
| R2/R3* | Camera Link | .rcl |
When you download the SDK the camera files will be stored on your hard drive in the following folder
C:\BitFlow SDK 6.30\Config\FRAME GRABBER TYPE FILE\FILES
The naming convention is as follows
Manufacturer-Model-Resolution-BitTap-Mode.EXTENSION
Where:
Manufacturer – Camera maker
Model – Camera model
Resolution – Size of acquired image
BitTap – Bitdepth (E = 8 bits, T = 10 bits, W = 12 bits, F = 14 bits, S = 16 bits) and Number of taps (2 – 10)
Mode – Triggered and/or encoder mode
An example would be the following
Hitachi-KP-FM400WCL-E8-TTLTrigger.r64
Camera Link is Machine Vision camera to frame grabber digital interconnect standard. Camera link use a serializer/deserializer to use transmit high speed digital data over a very small number of wires. Camera Link comes in three versions: Base (up to 24 bits), Medium (up to 48 bits), Full (up to 64 bits) and 80-bit (up to 80 bits, duh). The maximum Camera Link data clock is 85 MHz. This means the maximum data rate of Camera Link (using 80 bit mode) is 850 MB/S.
BitFlow’s Neon and Axion families are Camera Link frame grabbers.
Camera Link is standard hosted by the Automate Imaging Association. For more information on the standard please visit https://www.visiononline.org/.
BitFlow currently makes Frame Grabbers for acquiring data from cameras with the following interfaces
- Camera Link
- CoaXPress
- Differential (LVDS/RS-422)
Camera Link (5)
In the case where you have an older BitFlow frame grabber (Neon/Karbon family), and you are upgrading to the Axion-CL family, you do need to convert your .r64 file to a .BFML file. Simple email the .r64 file to BitFlow.Support@Advantech.com and we will create the equivalent .BFML file for you.
First, you need to know the clock speed of the camera, as different frequencies can affect the cable length.
With Camera Link Base, the max cable length is 10m, regardless of the clock speed.
For the other camera link modes, (Medium, Full, 80-bit), the max length at 85 Mhz is 5m, at 66 Mhz is 7m and at 40 Mhz is 10m.
Please note that the max. cable length may vary from cable to cable. BitFlow recommends cables purchased from the following companies
CEI, 3M, Hewtech, Intercon1
Camera Link is Machine Vision camera to frame grabber digital interconnect standard. Camera link use a serializer/deserializer to use transmit high speed digital data over a very small number of wires. Camera Link comes in three versions: Base (up to 24 bits), Medium (up to 48 bits), Full (up to 64 bits) and 80-bit (up to 80 bits, duh). The maximum Camera Link data clock is 85 MHz. This means the maximum data rate of Camera Link (using 80 bit mode) is 850 MB/S.
BitFlow’s Neon and Axion families are Camera Link frame grabbers.
Camera Link is standard hosted by the Automate Imaging Association. For more information on the standard please visit https://www.visiononline.org/.
Software (1)
In the case where you have an older BitFlow frame grabber (Neon/Karbon family), and you are upgrading to the Axion-CL family, you do need to convert your .r64 file to a .BFML file. Simple email the .r64 file to BitFlow.Support@Advantech.com and we will create the equivalent .BFML file for you.