Getting Started

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This topic will guide you through the entire process from checking package contents to using Mech-Eye Viewer to capture images.

1. Check Package Contents

  1. Make sure that the package is intact when you receive it.

  2. Check contents according to the “packing list” in the package to ensure that no devices or accessories are missing or damaged.

The table below is for reference only. Please take the “packing list” in the package as the final.

Camera

camera pros

Accessory box

accessory box

User manual

user manual

DIN rail power supply

din rail power supply

Ethernet cable

ethernet cable

DC power cable

dc power cable

2. Check Ports and Indicator Lights

Please refer to the following figures and tables and check the functions of the ports and indicator lights on the camera.

diagram
The figure above is for reference only. The actual product may differ.

No.

Name

Function

DC 24V port

1: GND

2: GND

3: 24 VDC

4: 24 VDC

ETH port

1: MD3_P

2: MD2_N

3: MD2_P

4: MD0_P

5: MD1_P

6: MD0_N

7: MD3_N

8: MD1_N

PWR indicator light

Off: not connected to power

Green: normal voltage

Yellow: abnormal voltage, but system is still functioning

Red: voltage too high or too low, system power is disconnected

LINK indicator light

Off: not connected to network

Blinking green: data being transmitted

Solid green: no ongoing data transmission

SYS indicator light

Off: system not started

Solid green: system starting up

Blinking green: system operating properly

Blinking yellow: system operating with error but still functioning

Blinking red: system not operating

SCAN indicator light

Solid: capturing and processing in progress

Off: not capturing or processing

3. Mount the Camera

When mounting the camera, please prepare bolts, nuts and wrench of appropriate specifications according to the Dimensions section of the technical specifications for each model.

Mech-Eye Industrial 3D Camera can be mounted in two ways. Please select the mounting method appropriate for your actual situation.

3.1. Mount through Camera Bracket

As shown below, use the wrench to tighten the two bolts.

mount camera bracket

3.2. Mount through Threaded Holes

  1. Use the wrench to detach the camera bracket from the camera.

  2. As shown below, place 4 bolts in the holes, use the wrench to loosely screw on the bolts in the specified order, and then fully tighten all the bolts in the specified order.

mount threaded holes

4. Connect Cables

Please follow these steps to connect the Ethernet and power cables of the camera.

  • Please connect the power cable last. The PWR indicator light should turn on after power is supplied to the camera. If the light does not turn on, please contact Technical Support.

  • The recommended tightening torque for the bolts is 16 N·m.

  • When mounting the camera onto a robot arm or other mobile device, please fasten the DC power and Ethernet cables properly to avoid damaging the cables or connectors due to strain.

4.1. Ethernet Cable

As shown below, insert the M12-A connector of the Ethernet cable to the ETH port on the camera, and insert the RJ45 connector to the Ethernet port on the computer.

4.2. DC Power Cable

As shown below, insert the M12-A connector of the DC power cable to the DC 24V port on the camera.

connect the camera

Connect the M12-A connectors of the cables to the corresponding ports:

  1. When inserting, align the bump in the connector with the notch in the port.

  2. Tighten the nut. A gap of about 2 mm remains after the nut is fully tightened.

power cable connection

4.3. DIN Rail Power Supply

din rail connection

When wiring the DIN rail power supply, wires of the power cable must be inserted to the corresponding input/output terminals, as shown above.

  • The AC power cable has three wires: L, N, and PE (pe).

  • The DC power cable (24V) has three wires: V+, V- and PE (pe).

icon warning Warning

  • Please install the DIN rail power supply inside a control cabinet.

  • The DIN rail power supply or the DIN rail should be reliably grounded. If mounting multiple DIN rail power supplies on the same DIN rail, ensure enough distance in between.

  • The stripped part of the PE wire should be as short as possible.


The mounting and connection of the camera hardware is completed. The following sections will introduce how to use Mech-Eye Viewer to connect to the camera and control the camera to capture images.

5. Set IP Addresses

You can download the Mech-Eye SDK installation package from Mech-Mind Download Center.

Decompress the installation package, and then double-click the installer to install Mech-Eye SDK. For more information, please refer to Mech-Eye SDK Installation Guide.


Before connecting to the camera, please make sure that the following IP address are in the same subnet and are unique.

  • Camera IP address

  • The IP address of the IPC Ethernet port connected to the camera

Follow these steps to set the camera IP address:

  1. Double-click to open Mech-Eye Viewer.

  2. Select the camera to be connected, click setting, and set the camera IP address.

6. Connect to Camera and Upgrade Firmware

  1. Find the camera to be connected in Mech-Eye Viewer, and click Connect.

    connected view
  2. If the version of the camera firmware is lower than the version of Mech-Eye Viewer, a firmware upgrade message will pop up. Follow these steps to upgrade the camera firmware.

    1. Click Yes in the pop-up window, and click Upgrade Firmware in the new pop-up window.

    2. Wait for the firmware upgrade to complete and restart the camera according to the instructions.

    3. In the upper left of Mech-Eye Viewer, click icon refresh next to Camera List to refresh the list. Repeat until the camera to be connected is displayed again.

    4. Find the camera to be connected and click Connect.

7. Capture images

Click single cap to perform image capturing once.

Clicking continuous cap will trigger the camera to repeatedly capture images at predetermined intervals. Click again to stop the image capturing.

Click the data types below the image capturing buttons to check the 2D image, depth map and point cloud obtained from the camera.

acquisition
For more information on image capturing and data types, please refer to Acquire Data and Switch Data Type.

8. Adjust Parameters

If the quality of the obtained 2D image, depth map and point cloud is not satisfactory, you can adjust the relevant parameters in the parameter panel on the right of the software to improve data quality.

8.1. Determine Data Quality

Based on the following criteria, roughly determine the quality of the obtained data.

  • 2D image: the 2D image is not too bright or too dark; the surface features of the target object are clearly visible.

    Too dark Appropriate Too bright

    exposure time 30

    exposure time 120

    overexposure

  • Depth map and point cloud: in the depth map and point cloud, the data corresponding to the target object should be complete. In the following example, the target object is the rotors.

    Point cloud of target object incomplete Point cloud of target object complete

    exposure time 3d 1

    exposure time 3d 4

8.2. Improve 2D Image Quality

  1. Set the Exposure Mode parameter in the 2D Parameters category to Timed, and then adjust the Exposure Time parameter.

    • If the 2D image is too dark, increase Exposure Time.

    • If the 2D image is too bright, decrease Exposure Time.

      DEEP and LSR series provide two types of 2D images corresponding to different parameters. For detailed information, please refer to Parameters of DEEP and LSR Series.
  2. Capture images again and check the quality of the 2D image.

8.3. Improve Quality of Depth Map and Point Cloud

  1. Adjust the Exposure Time parameter in the 3D Parameters category.

    • If the object is dark-colored or not reflective, increase Exposure Time.

    • If the object is light-colored or reflective, decrease Exposure Time.

  2. Capture images again and check the quality of the depth map and point cloud.


For more explanations of the parameters, please refer to Parameter Reference Guide.

9. Use Data

The 2D image, depth map and point cloud obtained through Mech-Eye Viewer can be saved locally or can be output to Mech-Vision or third-party machine vision software for subsequent processing and calculation.

  • Save the data: Click save in the data acquisition area, set the destination path, check the data types to be saved, and then click Save.

  • Use the data in Mech-Vision: Please refer to Vision System Tutorial and learn how to build the entire vision system that includes Mech-Vision.

  • Use the data in third-party machine vision software: The data obtained by the camera can be transmitted to third-party software through Mech-Eye API or the GenICam interface.

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