PCI-1424: Product OverviewThe National Instruments PCI-1424 is a high-performance image acquisition card designed for PCI-based computer systems, functioning as a frame grabber for industrial machine vision and scientific imaging applications. This card serves as the critical interface between high-speed digital cameras and host computer systems, capturing digital image data at high transfer rates for real-time processing and analysis. The device implements the Camera Link standard, providing a standardized interface for connecting compatible area scan and line scan cameras in automated inspection systems.Installed in a standard PCI slot, the card operates by receiving serialized digital video data from Camera Link cameras, deserializing the data, and transferring it to host computer memory via the PCI bus. The architecture supports base, medium, and full Camera Link configurations with an 85 MHz pixel clock rate, enabling capture of high-resolution images at fast frame rates. The card handles camera control signals including trigger inputs and strobe outputs, allowing for precise synchronization between image acquisition and external events in automated production environments.As part of the NI-14xx image acquisition family, this frame grabber integrates with National Instruments’ vision software platform, including NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection and the NI Vision Development Module. This integration provides a complete solution for developing machine vision applications such as optical character recognition, pattern matching, gauging, and defect detection. The card’s primary value lies in its ability to deliver reliable, high-bandwidth image transfer for quality control and measurement systems where imaging speed and data integrity are critical.
• Image Buffer: Scatter-gather DMA for efficient memory management
• Connector: 26-pin MDR Camera Link connector
• Supported Cameras: Area scan and line scan Camera Link cameras
• Operating Temperature: 0°C to 55°C
• Power Consumption: 5V @ 2.5A (from PCI bus)
NI PCI-1424
Core Features & Customer ValueCamera Link Standard Implementation: The card’s compliance with the Camera Link standard ensures interoperability with a wide range of compatible cameras from multiple manufacturers. This standardization simplifies system integration and provides flexibility in camera selection, allowing engineers to choose the optimal camera for their specific application requirements without being locked into a proprietary interface. The support for base, medium, and full configurations accommodates various camera capabilities and data rate requirements.High-Speed Data Transfer: The 64-bit/66 MHz PCI interface combined with scatter-gather DMA capability provides the bandwidth necessary for transferring high-resolution image data without missing frames. This high-speed transfer is essential for applications involving continuous inspection of moving objects on production lines, where even brief interruptions in image acquisition can result in missed defects or production inefficiencies. The efficient memory management reduces host processor overhead, allowing more computational resources for image analysis algorithms.Precision Synchronization Capabilities: The integrated digital I/O lines and hardware triggering support enable precise synchronization between image capture and external events. This allows the system to coordinate image acquisition with part presence sensors, encoder positions, or other process events, ensuring consistent image timing and position registration. The ability to trigger acquisition based on external events is particularly valuable in web inspection and automated assembly applications where image timing relative to part position is critical for accurate measurement.Typical ApplicationsIn automated optical inspection (AOI) systems for electronics manufacturing, the frame grabber captures high-resolution images of printed circuit boards for component placement verification, solder joint inspection, and defect detection. The high-speed acquisition enables inspection at production line rates while maintaining image quality sufficient for detecting sub-millimeter features.For web inspection in continuous manufacturing processes, the card interfaces with line scan cameras to capture images of materials such as paper, plastic, or metal moving at high speeds. The continuous acquisition capability combined with encoder synchronization allows for 100% surface inspection of materials for defects like scratches, stains, or dimensional abnormalities.In scientific imaging applications, the device captures high-speed video from specialized cameras for motion analysis, particle image velocimetry, or biological imaging. The precise triggering capabilities enable synchronization with external stimuli or high-speed events, making it suitable for research applications requiring temporal accuracy.
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