Advanced Illumination DCS Series User manual

1595-050143 REV 2.0
DCS Series Lighng Controller—User Manual
The manual includes information about the following:
DCS-100E, DCS-103E
Version information
V2.0 - Updated for DCS100 / 103E REVA 5/20/2019

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Contents
Hardware Overview 3
DCS100 / DCS103 Overview 4
Dimensions / Mechanical 5
General Specicaon 6
Front Panel 7
Connecons
Power Input 8
Trigger Input 9
Trigger Diagram 10
Reserved Input 11
Output Connector Pinout and denion 12
Modes of Operaon 13
Quick Start 14
DHCP or Stac IP conguraon 14
GUI Installaon 15
Modes 16
Strobe vs. Connuous 17
Other features 18
Renaming Devices
Changing IP address
Ethernet Web Server
Ethernet Commands 19
Default Ethernet Sengs 19
Command List 20-23

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Hardware Overview
The DCS Series lighng controller is a high-exibility controller for machine vision illuminators.
DCS-100E
• Single Independent Output,
• Up to 90W output power, 30W per channel
• 3-Independent Channels within output
Typical Applicaons
• Cost eecve single-light controller
• RGB or other mixed color Lighng
• Single-High Power Lighng; paralleled channel opera-
on provides high power output
DCS-103E
• Three Independent Outputs,
• Up to 90W output power, 30W per output
• 1-Independent Channel within each output
Typical Applicaons
• Cost eecve mul-light controller
• Drive a diverse range of dierent lights independently
• Drive mulple single-color light sources

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DCS-100E — Overview
DCS-103E — Overview
Indicator LEDs / Reset Buon
10/100 Ethernet
Power Input (P1) Trigger Input (P2)
Integrated Din-
Rail Mounng
Foot
Power Input (P1) Trigger Input (P2) X3 Output / X1 Channel each

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DCS-100E — Dimensions
DCS-103E — Dimensions

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General Specicaons
Specicaon DCS-100E DCS-103E Notes
Power Requirements 24VDC Nominal, 4.5A —
Output Power Up to 90W, 30W per channel Up to 90W, 30W per output
Channel Control (3) Independent channels, (1) output
connector
(3) independent outputs, (1)
channel per output
Modes Connuous, Pulsed, or Gated Conn- —
External Trigger Input 5-30VDC compable, Opto-Isolated
inputs
—
Pulse Width Range 10usec - 10msec —Best performance 200usec
Trigger-to-Pulse Latency 10 usec —
Duty Cycle / Frequency 15% duty cycle limit in pulsed mode.
Maximum frequency 5000Hz.
—Maximum Frequency lim-
ited by type of light con-
nected to controller
Maximum Operang Temper-
ature Range
-10 to 125F —
Maximum Operang Temper- 135F —
Communicaon / Soware - 10/100 EthernetStandard TCP-IP,
UDP
- .NET library compable with C#,
etc..
—

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Front Panel
Color Behavior Funcon
LED 1 Green On Main Power Indicator
LED 2 Amber Blink Once per second heartbeat when light is connected. Blinks faster
when commands are received.
LEDs 3,4,5 Yellow OFF / ON External trigger status. Blinks ON when Signal is HIGH
Buon SPST Push Push and Release Resets the device to factory sengs– Must be held for at least 5
seconds. Recommended to Power Toggle controller aer factory
DCS-103E
DCS-100E
34 5
1 2 LEDs
1
Reset
Output 3 Output 2 Output 1 x1 channel each
10/100 Ethernet
34 5
1 2 LEDs
1’
Reset
Output 1 x 3 channels

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Connecons
Pin Funcon Note
1+24VDC 4.5A supply Recommended for best performance
2DC GND
3DC GND
4SHIELD Oponal: Tied to chassis copper for ESD/EMI protecon. Tie to earth
ground if desired.
Front View of Connector
1 2 3 4
Power Input—P1
DCS-103E
DCS-100E

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External Trigger Input
Pin Funcon Note
1Trigger Common Connect to common ground of supply voltage based on sinking/
sourcing requirements. All triggers share common.
2Trigger Input 1 5-30VDC tolerant
3Trigger Input 2 —
4Trigger Input 3 —
Front View of Connector
DCS-103E
1 2 3 4
DCS-100E

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Trigger Connecon Diagrams
PNP “Sourcing” Output
Trigger Input Schemac.
NPN “Open Collector” Sinking Output
Pin 1
Pin 2
Pin 3
Pin 4

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Connector Pinout and C1 Cable Denions
Important Informaon
The connector is not for eld-use without explicit instrucon or assistance from Ai. A Signatech signal must be detected for the
outputs to be enabled. A “C1” part number with an Ai standard light will have the correct connector installed for compatability.
Signatech is a congured lighthead protecon scheme which is over-molded in standard “C1” cables.
Under normal operaon, pin 5 is read by the controller to determine informaon about the aached light head and safety lim-
its for current-drive.
Note:
Avoid cross-threading by inserng the cable straight and gently unl proper contact is made – the connector should thread in
smoothly with lile resistance. Do not force the connector if it doesn’t thread in smoothly.
*Do NOT connect anything to pin 5 – damage to internal electronics may occur if pin 5 is used for anything other than Sig-
natech protecon.
Female, B-Coded Receptacle
5 Posion M12
Pin “C1” Cable Conductor Col- Funcon
1Brown Channel 1, LED+
2White Channel 2, LED+
3Blue Channel Common, LED-
4Black Channel 3, LED+
*5 *SignatechTM SignatechTM Light Protecon

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Modes of Operation
Continuous
Connuous mode provides connuous illuminaon at the desired current. Light is always on unless a user issues a command to
shut it o or the power is disconnected.
Power is limited by the type of light that is connected and by the total power dissipaon of the controller.
Limits are determined by SignatechTM. It is not required to manually limit sengs to protect the controller or light.
Strobe
Strobe mode illuminaon is triggered by an external signal.
Pulsewidths are available from 10usec to 64msec, and can be aached independently to each channel. Delay is available from
1us to 10ms.
Important Notes : Pulse Skipping and Idle behavior
When the maximum trigger frequency is exceeded, the controller will “skip” pulses in order to maintain a safe duty cycle. This
may appear as dark image acquisions (missed triggers) or unstable ickering. Double-check your frequency and compare it to
the maximum reported from the controller if this occurs.
Reduce your current or shorten your pulsewidth to increase the maximum frequency if required.
When the DCS controller is idle (no trigger acve) and in strobe mode, it may be possible to see a very small current visible in the
illuminator. This is normal behavior and ensures the illuminator will be at 100% capacity for the next trigger pulse.
Gated Connuous
This mode produces connuous illuminaon at the desired current, but the output follows the on-me of the external
trigger signal.
This mode is most useful to turn the light o during processes or in between inspecons, or when longer pulse widths
than pulsed mode will allow are needed.

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Quick Start
Quick Start: To start with DHCP
Use this method if connecng through a network switch that automacally assigns IP addresses
Power the controller with the Ethernet cable connected to a network. The controller will automacally be assigned an IP ad-
dress by the network hardware.
The controller will default to using DHCP when it is available.
Oponal: Aer inially connecng to the controller, the user can supply a custom IP address by sending a UDP packet com-
mand with the new IP address. See the command table for proper usage of the commands.
If the user enters a custom IP address, it will begin using that address upon startup.
If a stac-IP address has been entered into EEPROM by a user, it will no longer use DHCP unless the EEPROM is cleared by a
“RESET” command, or the reset buon is pressed.
Quick Start: To start with a Static IP Address:
Use This Method if direct connecng to PC
Power the controller without an Ethernet cable connected, or connected directly to a PC. The controller will begin with a
default IP address of 192.168.0.1
Make sure the PC is using a STATIC IP connecon. To assign a stac IP in Windows, change your adapter sengs in your net-
work conguraon to use a stac ip under IPV4 Sengs.
The stac IP must be in the range of 192.168.0.XXX to work properly.
Typically it is NOT required to use a cross-over cable, but maybe necessary for older machines.

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Quick Start: Graphical User Interface (GUI) Installation
Install the soware using the provided DCS-Setup applicaon.
Note: Installaon requires Microso .NET framework 3.5 or later.
Quick Start: Using the GUI
Pressing the devices drop-down box will ping the network for devices. The controller will scan for DCS controllers on the net-
work, and will display any devices found in the dropdown menu. Select your device and press “Test Connecon” to connect.
Manage Devices
The Manage Devices dialog can
be used to view informaon
about the controller or the
aached light.
Device can be renamed, or IP
address changed by entering
new data in the elds.

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Quick Start: Enabling Modes
Select the mode for the specic channel with the drop-down box
All channels can operate in a mixture of any mode. There are no restricons.
Output current is governed by SignatechTM, which are current drive restricons implemented by Advanced Illuminaon.
Note the dierent current limits depending on the mode used.

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Connuous vs. Strobe Operaon
Strobe mode provides higher current limits than connuous. Using SignatechTM we can overdrive the out-
put current higher. These values vary depending on the pulsewidth, current and type of light being used.
In Strobe or Gated-Connuous modes, the output is triggered by an external device. Strobe mode uses a
user-specied pulse-width and Gated-Connuous uses the input trigger width to determine the output
pulse width.
Pressing the “Pulse” buon will send a soware “trigger” command causing the light to pulse once.
For pulsewidth and delay the units “ms” and “us” can be entered for milliseconds and microseconds re-
specvely. Default units are msec.

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Quick Start: Other Features
Renaming Devices:
Devices can be renamed by clicking the “Devices” text. The part number and listed devices will be shown when opening this
menu.
Changing the IP address:
In the “Manage Devices” window, enter the new IP address and press Enter, or TAB. The new IP address setting will not
take effect until the power is toggled to the controller.
Profiles:
Conguraon proles can be saved by selecng a prole number and pressing save. The proles switch immediately when se-
lecng a new one, so make sure your sengs are saved before switching to a new prole.
By default, the last-used prole will be enabled when the controller is switched on.
Ethernet WebServer
In the devices list, you can enable the WebServer and control the output from a standard internet browser. Aer enabling the
web server in the Soware GUI, you can access the built-in web server from most internet browsers by entering the IP address

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Standard Ethernet Communication & Commands
Default Ethernet Settings
The Controller uses standard Ethernet protocol (TCP-IP and UDP) to communicate. The DCS control user interface can
be used to communicate, or other soware may be used to send data packets directly from the host to the controller.
Seng Value
Typical Port Sengs UDP, port 7777
TCP, port 777
DHCP Enabled by default
Default IP Address 192.168.0.1
*Controller will use default IP if DHCP fails upon
power up, or if an Ethernet cable is not connected
User Assigned IP Addresses User can assign a new IP address by sending a
command, or entering a new IP address in the
“manage devices” window of the GUI.
If a user assigned IP address is used, the controller
will not begin using that IP address unl the con-
troller power is toggled.

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Command Structure
The DCS100 uses an SCPI-like interface where commands are a series of readable strings with parameters separated by
commas. The strings must be terminated by a semicolon (‘;’) for proper operaon.
Commands can be sent in an ASCII format by specifying the IP Address and correct port number for either TCP/IP or UDP.
Commands with a parameter
Commands that require a parameter have it separated by a comma.
Example: “SET:LEVEL, 100;”
Where “SET:LEVEL,” is the command and “100” is the parameter.
Commands without a parameter
If the command has no parameter, the command simply ends with a semicolon.
Example: “*IDN?;”
Commands are non-case sensive, and spaces may be used between commands and parameters for readability. Extra spac-
es will be ignored by the controller.

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COMMAND
DESCRIPTION RETURNS
“*IDN?;”
Gets device information: firm-
ware, hardware, etc..
Advanced illumination
“DCS-100: (fw version, hw version)”
“*CHANNEL:CONFIGS?;"
Reports the current, pulse-
width, delay, and trigger map
settings on all channels
Returns an XML formatted string:
“*PROFILE:NUMBER?;” Gets the active profile number
INFO: Profile “n” is currently ac-
tive.
"*PROFILE:NAMES?;" Gets all the profile names
saved in memory
Returns an XML formatted string:
<profiles><profile id="0" name="0" /
><profile id="1" name="1" /><profile
id="2" name="2" /><profile id="3"
name="3" /><profile id="4"
name="4" /><profile id="5"
name="5" /></profiles>
Information / Help commands