October 2014
This file contains important information about National Instruments Vision Builder for Automated Inspection and is organized into the following sections:
System Requirements
Installation Instructions
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Activation Instructions
New Features
Updates and Improvements
Remote Target Support
Software Requirements for Migrating an Inspection to LabVIEW
PC-Based Image Acquisition and I/O Support
Known Issues
Additional Resources
Refer to the Machine Vision Web site at ni.com/vision for the latest information about the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection.
To configure inspections using Vision Builder AI, the host machine must meet the following requirements:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Pentium 4/M or equivalent | Core Duo or equivalent |
| Memory | 512 MB RAM | 1 GB RAM |
| Display | 1,024 × 768 resolution video adapter with a 24- or 32-bit display | 1,280 × 1,024 resolution video adapter with a 24- or 32-bit display |
| Operating System |
| |
| Browser | Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later | |
| Hard Disk Space | 1 GB | |
Complete the following steps to install Vision Builder AI:
Note: You must be logged in with administrator privileges to install Vision Builder AI.
If you choose to enter a serial number, enter the serial number found on your Certificate of Ownership card. Vision Builder AI automatically uses this serial number when you run the NI Activation Wizard.
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
If you do not activate a valid license, Vision Builder AI runs in evaluation mode and continues to prompt you to activate a license on each launch. At the end of the evaluation period you must activate a Vision Builder AI license to continue using the product.
Note: While Vision Builder AI is in Evaluation mode, all features are available except Migrate Inspection to LabVIEW.
Complete the following steps to activate the Vision Builder AI license:
The following list describes the changes and enhancements in Vision Builder AI 2014:
The following list describes issues in previous versions of the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection that are fixed in this release. If you have a CAR ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 430094 | ROI may shift when selecting Run Once or editing a step. |
| 446072 | Disabled steps do not return information or errors in response to the Get Measurements API call. |
| 453632 | Calibration file is duplicated when opening an inspection that refers to a calibration file modified by another inspection. |
| 466674 | The NI Calibration Training Interface allows negative pixel values when specifying reference points. |
| 470974 | When editing a Run LabVIEW VI step, the step results can appear out of order if the VI contains unsupported indicator types. |
| 491125 | TCP Modbus custom polling rate setting is reset when using the Communication Manager. |
| 492435 | An error occurs when switching between a CameraLink EVS and an IEEE 1394 EVS in the same Vision Builder AI session. |
| 494038 | The Detect Texture Defects step displays an incorrect unit type. |
| 498177 | A connection timeout occurs when installing software to a target on a different subnet. |
| 501881 | The Select Inspection button is not available in inspection mode when the Ethernet/IP Adapter Step is used in the Select Inspection state. |
You can use Vision Builder AI to remotely configure and control a supported remote target. Vision Builder AI supports the following remote targets:
Note: Vision Builder AI no longer provides support for the NI 1712, 1722, 1742, 1744, 1762, and 1764 Smart Cameras, and NI CVS-1454, 1455, and 1456 Compact Vision Systems.
To use Vision Builder AI with a remote target, you must use Vision Builder AI to configure the remote target. For more information about using Vision Builder AI to configure the remote target, refer to the documentation included with the remote target.
Note: National Instruments recommends using WebDAV to transfer files to and from a real-time target. For more information on using WebDAV to transfer files to and from a remote target, go to ni.com/info and enter the Info Code WebDAVTransfer.
The following table illustrates when a remote target requires you to install driver software on the development computer.
| Remote Target or Camera Connected to a Remote Target | Requires Driver Software Installed on Development Computer |
|---|---|
| NI Smart Camera | No |
| IEEE 1394 | No |
| GigE Vision | No |
| Camera Link | Yes |
Note: To acquire images from a Camera Link camera attached to a NI EVS-1463RT device, you must use MAX to associate a camera file with the camera. For information about how to associate a camera file with a Camera Link camera connected to a remote target, visit ni.com/info and enter the info code rtcamerafile.
To migrate an inspection to LabVIEW, Vision Builder AI 2014 requires LabVIEW 2014 or later and NI Vision Development Module 2014 or later.
Some Vision Builder AI steps require additional software to successfully migrate an inspection to LabVIEW.
Refer to the following table for software requirements to migrate specific steps.
Note: NI-IMAQ, NI-IMAQdx, and NI-IMAQ I/O are available on the NI Vision Acquisition Software CD included with Vision Builder AI.
| Step Name | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Acquire Image | NI-IMAQ 4.6.4 or later |
| Acquire Image (IEEE 1394) | Legacy NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras 2.4 or later |
| Acquire Image (IEEE 1394, GigE, or USB) | NI-IMAQdx 3.8.1 or later |
| Acquire Image (Smart Camera) | NI-IMAQ 4.6.4 or later (excluding NI 177x Smart Cameras) NI-IMAQdx 3.8.1 or later (NI 177x Smart Cameras only) |
| Generate Pulse | NI-IMAQ 4.6.4 or later |
| Generate Pulse (Vision RIO) | NI-IMAQ I/O 2.6 or later |
| Read/Write I/O | NI-IMAQ 4.6.4 or later |
| Read/Write I/O (NI-DAQmx) | NI-DAQmx 9.3.5 or later |
| Read/Write I/O (Vision RIO) | NI-IMAQ I/O 2.6 or later |
The Run LabVIEW VI step in Vision Builder AI 2014 supports VIs saved in LabVIEW 2014 or later.
Vision Builder AI supports the following types of image acquisition and I/O devices:
Note: You must install driver software to acquire images from an image acquisition device connected to the development computer.
This version of Vision Builder AI supports National Instruments image acquisition devices that require NI-IMAQ driver version 4.6.4 or later. Specific devices may require later versions.
Note: If you are using an image acquisition device, you must install NI Vision Acquisition Software before you install the image acquisition device. NI Vision Acquisition Software gives you access to Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), which is software you can use to configure National Instruments devices.
This version of Vision Builder AI supports IEEE 1394 cameras, GigE Vision cameras, USB 3 Vision, DirectShow-compatible USB cameras, IP cameras, and requires NI-IMAQdx driver version 3.3 or later. Specific devices may require later versions.
To acquire an image from one of these camera types when the camera is connected to the host computer, use the Acquire Image (1394, GigE, or USB) step. The Acquire Image (1394, GigE, or USB) step requires NI-IMAQdx, which can be installed from the NI Vision Acquisition Software DVD included with Vision Builder AI.
You must configure an IEEE 1394 camera to use the NI-IMAQdx driver. Complete the following steps to use MAX to configure an IEEE 1394 camera to use the NI-IMAQdx driver.
This version of Vision Builder AI supports digital and analog I/O from any National Instruments data acquisition (DAQ) device using NI-DAQmx Global Virtual Channels. To support NI DAQ devices, Vision Builder AI requires NI-DAQmx 8.0 or later.
To support serial communication, Vision Builder AI requires NI-VISA 2.6.0 or later, which is included with Vision Builder AI. You can use the serial ports built into the PC or one of the following NI serial interfaces: NI PCI-232/x, NI PXI-8420/x, or NI PXI-8422/x. You do not need to install NI-VISA to use the serial port on a remote target.
Pursuant to the National Instruments Software License Agreement, Vision Builder AI software is licensed to run on only one machine. Deployed applications that use Vision Builder AI require that Vision Builder AI be installed and licensed on each host machine. Therefore, you must purchase a separate Vision Builder AI license for each host machine. For more information, refer to the enclosed National Instruments Software License Agreement or visit ni.com/legal/license.
Vision Builder AI offers the following licensing options:
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments Web site for an up-to-date list of known issues in the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection.
If you are using the Windows Firewall, you may notice the following behavior:
Read the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection Tutorial, which provides exercises for learning how to perform basic machine vision techniques using Vision Builder AI.
Reference information for Vision Builder AI is available from within Vision Builder AI by clicking the Show Context Help button, or selecting Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision Builder AI»Documentation.
The following documents are provided with Vision Builder AI as online help:
Use the Search tab in the help files to quickly locate specific information. For information about how to use the search functionality, refer to the Using Help»Searching Help topic in the help file.
The following documents are provides with Vision Builder AI as Adobe PDF documents:
Examples of common Vision Builder AI inspections are installed to the <Vision Builder AI>\Examples directory, where <Vision Builder AI> is the location to which you installed Vision Builder AI.
Visit ni.com/vision and the NI Developer Zone at ni.com/zone for the most up-to-date information about Vision Builder AI.
When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8, you will notice a few additional tiles on the Start screen, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), and the new NI Launcher.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile on the Start screen. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
| Note MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8. You can launch MAX either from the Start screen or from within NI Launcher. |
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
| Windows 8 Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8 Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8 Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files by right-clicking anywhere on the Start screen and selecting All apps. A list of all installed software and related files appears, in alphabetical order by creator or type.
For more information about NI support for Windows 8, visit ni.com/windows8.
National Instruments Vision Builder for Automated Inspection will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of Vision Builder for Automated Inspection that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
| NI LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| NI LabWindows™/CVI™ | cvi_lifecycle |
| NI Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| NI TestStand | tslcp |
| NI DIAdem | ddlcp |
| NI SignalExpress | selcp |
| NI VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
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