Frame Grabbers

FireBird Camera Link Frame Grabber (1xCLD-2PE4L)

Part Number: AS-FBD-1XCLD-2PE4L

Features

Supports the latest v2.1 Camera Link interface.
Half-length PCI Express form-factor.
Low-profile or full-height bracket options available.
PCI Express 2.0 (Gen2) 4-lane interface.
Camera Link mini connectors (HDR/SDR).
Supports PoCL (Power over Camera Link).
Comprehensive I/O.
ActiveDMA technology allows acquisition without CPU usage.
Supported by the proven ActiveSDK.
Supports GenICam for CLProtocol & GenCP cameras.
Includes GenICam GenTL Producer.
Compatible with cameras from various manufacturers.

Enquire About This Product

FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile is a member of Active Silicon’s state-of-the-art FireBird frame grabber family. The low profile design allows the FireBird Low Profile board to be used in small embedded PC enclosures and 2U rack mount cases where full-height PC cards are not suitable. A full-height bracket option of this product is available for use in standard PC form-factor enclosures.

FireBird is designed for ultimate performance using Active Silicon’s proprietary DMA Engine technology, “ActiveDMA”. This technical innovation applies RISC based processor techniques and guarantees zero CPU intervention, high-speed and low-latency image data transfers.

FireBird supports the latest version 2.1 Camera Link specification, including both 80-bit modes: 8-bit 10-tap and 10-bit 8-tap modes – often referred to as Camera Link “Deca”, at clock rates up to 85 MHz. The PCI Express 2.0 (Gen2) 4-lane interface used on the FireBird is fast enough to cope with the full data rate that the Camera Link 80-bit interface can support. The FireBird also supports capture from two simultaneous Base Camera Link cameras as well as single Base, Medium and Full configurations.

The FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile can be shipped with either a 2U low profile PC card bracket or a full height PC card bracket.

FireBird is supported by Active Silicon’s software development kit, ActiveSDK. This is available as a separate item, and allows rapid system development and integration. It provides comprehensive example applications and optimized runtime libraries, and supports a variety of operating systems via a common API, including Windows, Linux and QNX. Drivers for third party applications are also available such as Cognex VisionPro, HALCON, Common Vision Blox, StreamPix, LabVIEW etc. In addition to functions that control the hardware, the libraries include general purpose functions for the manipulation and display of images.

FireBird also supports GenICam for Camera Link cameras which support CLProtocol, including those using GenCP. A GenTL Producer is provided as part of the FireBird driver installation which allows the frame grabber to be used with GenICam GenTL compliant applications.

Specification summary

Camera Link Interface:	FireBird is fitted with 26‑way Camera Link Mini connectors (SDR/HDR) and screwlocks as specified in the Camera Link v2.1 specification. LEDs by each connector show the link status.
Camera Clock:	FireBird supports effective clock rates from DC to the Camera Link maximum of 85MHz, using the Camera Link Strobe (STB) and Data Valid (DVAL) signals.
PoCL:	FireBird supports Power over Camera Link (PoCL) functionality and is able to provide power to PoCL enabled cameras via the Camera Link data cable, therefore removing the need for a separate power supply. In addition to this FireBird implements SafePower, an intelligent sense mechanism which detects the presence of a PoCL camera before applying power to it. This safety mechanism ensures that power is not applied to conventional non-PoCL cameras. FireBird can supply up to 4W at a nominal 12V to a Base mode PoCL camera, or 8W to Medium/Full/80-bit cameras, as required by the Camera Link specification. Both Camera Link connectors support PoCL, which with SafePower allows the use of any combination of PoCL and conventional cameras.
Buffer Memory:	320 MBytes of DDR3 memory is fitted for buffering between the Camera Link interface and the PCI Express bus.
PCI Express:	PCI Express 2.0 (Gen2) 4-lane interface typically providing 1.7 Gbytes/sec transfer from FireBird to the PC, subject to PC performance.
I/O:	The following I/O lines are provided for triggers, shaft encoders, exposure control and general I/O: 4 opto-isolated inputs. 4 opto-isolated outputs. 4 TTL inputs, 5V tolerant. 4 TTL I/O, 5V logic. 4 RS-422 inputs. 4 RS-422 outputs. All these I/O signals are provided on a 50-way header on the FireBird board.
Fan Controller:	The fan speed is linked to the temperature of the FPGA die for optimum cooling and noise level.

Conformance

PCI Express Interface:

PCI Express 2.0 (Gen2) 4-lane interface to Specification Revision 3.1, with a max payload size of 512 bytes.

FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile supports both Short (32-bit) and Long (64-bit) Address packets. It also generates Posted Writes for image data, thus achieving transfer rates in excess of 1.7 GBytes/sec, subject to host performance.

The board requires 16 MBytes of address space.

Camera Link:

FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile conforms to v2.1 of the Camera Link specification.

Approvals:

CE-mark for compliance with EMC EN 55022:2010 (class A) and EN 55024:2010 in accordance with EU directive 2014/30/EU.
RoHS compliance to RoHS3 directive 2015/863/EU.

USA

EMC FCC Class A.

The printed circuit board is manufactured by UL recognized manufacturers and has a flammability rating of 94V-0.

Physical and environmental details

Dimensions:	PCB: 168mm by 69mm. Overall: 175mm by 69mm.
Weight:	+3.3V 200mA +12V 400mA Up to 4W per Camera Link connector for PoCL (Measured during acquisition from a single 80-bit camera running at 85 MHz)
Storage Temperature:	-15°C to +85°C.
Operating Temperature:	0°C to +60°C (ambient environment).
Relative Humidity:	10% to 90% non-condensing (operating and storage).

	Download	File Type	File Size
Datasheets	Datasheet FireBird Camera Link Frame Grabber (1xCLD-2PE4L)	pdf	398.12 KB
	Datasheet ActiveSDK	pdf	199.78 KB
	Datasheet ActiveCapture front-end software	pdf	829.51 KB
	GenICam solutions for FireBird frame grabbers	pdf	236.43 KB
Manuals & Quick Start Guides	FireBird Quickstart Guide v2.6	pdf	3.71 MB
CAD Drawings & Data	3D CAD Model (STEP format zipped) with low profile bracket	zip	3.99 MB
	3D CAD Model (STEP format zipped) with full height bracket	zip	4.00 MB
	Mechanical Overview (low profile bracket)	pdf	259.09 KB
	Mechanical Overview (full height bracket)	pdf	259.87 KB
Other Downloads	Tech Note TN010: Using a Camera Link Trigger & FireBird Timers	pdf	511.17 KB
	Tech Note TN012: Using an External Trigger Input with a FireBird Camera Link Board	pdf	780.72 KB
	Machine vision cables available from Active Silicon	pdf	148.10 KB

Part number	Description
AS-FBD-1XCLD-2PE4L-L	FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile frame grabber, low profile PCI Express form-factor with a low-profile PC card bracket.
AS-FBD-1XCLD-2PE4L-F	FireBird Camera Link 80-bit Low Profile frame grabber, low profile PCI Express form-factor with a full-height profile PC card bracket.
AS-ACTIVESDK-xxx	Software Development Kit for xxx operating system. (-WIN, -LIN or -QNX) Supported environments include 64-bit Windows, Linux and QNX; more information on the ActiveSDK page.
AS-CBL-CL-SP-J-xM	Camera Link cable, Camera Link Mini (SDR/HDR) to Camera Link Mini (SDR/HDR), suitable for both PoCL and conventional cameras. x = metres in length; the standard stock length is 4m. High-flex rating and longer length cables are also available, as well as Camera Link Mini (SDR/HDR) to Camera Link (MDR) cables – contact your distributor for details.

Introduction to ActiveCapture

ActiveCapture is a consumer application for camera and frame grabber control that is provided with all FireBird frame grabbers.

Setting up a pcf file in ActiveCapture

Setting up a pcf file in ActiveCapture when using a non-GenICam Camera Link camera

FireBird CoaXPress and Camera Link frame grabbers

Frame grabbers from Active Silicon bring real-time, high-resolution image acquisition to your vision system. Learn more about Active Silicon's range of frame grabbers, about possible customization and additional benefits by watching this video: