SPATIALANALYZER USER MANUAL

Automated Precision (API)

API Radian (Pro) & Radian (Plus)/OmniTrack2

Figure 3-56. Radian & OT2

Hardware Setup
Set up the unit following the manufacturer’s directions. The API Radi-
an and OmniTrack2 trackers are networked TCP/IP connected devices
and should be connected directly to a computer with an Ethernet
crossover cable or through a network switch.
Connect the temperature probe and ensure that it is well clear of any
external heat sources (such as the heat fan on the back of the power
supply). Ensure that the instrument is powered on and that a reflector
is in the home position at startup.
Software Setup
Each version of SA is built with the most current version of the API
software development kit (SDK). This driver set provides the tools to
interface with the instrument. Check the Readme file to see which
SDK version is being used. No additional software installation is nec-
essary.
Set the IP address on your computer to be compatible with the ad-
dress set on the tracker. The default API IP address is: 192.168.0.168
with the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.
Starting the Interface
1. Select Instrument>Add and choose API Radian or API Omni-
Track2 from the Add Instrument to SA dialog (Figure 3-57).

68
 CHAPTER 3 ■ MEASURING WITH LASER TRACKERS

Figure 3-57. Adding a Radian

tracker.

2. Run Interface Module without connecting (Instrument>Run In-

terface Mode) and choose API Device Interface (do not use the
Laser Trackers interface for either the Radian or the Omni-
track2).
3. Within the Connect to SpatialAnalyzer dialog, se-
lect the instrument station (computer name, job name,
Collection::Instrument Name: Serial Number) you wish to
connect your instrument to from the network list.
4. In the API_DI Connection dialog, enter t he tracker’s IP address
(if different than the default) and use the Ping button to test
the connection if needed. Once satisfied, click OK. The next
time you connect this instrument to the instrument, you can
just select Run Interface and Connect. This will utilize the last
saved settings and automatically connect the instrument.
Intelliprobe 360 and VProbe
Please refer to the current API Intelliprobe 360 or V-probe user’s man-
ual for setup and calibration instructions. A version is available on
our webpage: http://www.kinematics.com/ftp/SA/Install/Driver%20
Downloads/Laser%20Trackers/API/Radian/.

69
SPATIALANALYZER USER MANUAL

Figure 3-58. Iprobe & Vprobe

1. Ensure the probe has been fully unpacked, configured to

communicate with the controller, and calibrated within API’s
software. A *.prm file will be available with the I-probe and
should be placed in the C:\Analyzer Data\Persistence directory.
2. Place a 1.5” inch reflector in the nest.
Note: Conducting the Virtu- 3. Run a virtual level measurement (Check/Cal> Virtual Level). This
al Level measurement will will align the instrument with gravity, allowing the I-360 pen-
transform subsequent tracker
data. If you have taken measure- dulum measurements to be correctly interpreted.
ments from this instrument sta-
tion previously, a new instrument
station must be added.

Figure 3-59. Check/Cal Menu

4. Set up the probe tip and perform calibrations as necessary

(Check/Cal>Probe Offset )
5. The Probe target should be detected and assigned automati-
cally.
6. Specific measurement profiles have been added for use with
a probe and must be used to take data from the device (Fig-
ure 3-60). Start the measurement profile so that it is running
in the background and then use the probe to trigger mea-
surements.

70
 CHAPTER 3 ■ MEASURING WITH LASER TRACKERS

Figure 3-60. I-360 Measurement

profiles.

iScan3D
At startup, when the iScan3D, or any API Probe or Scanner, is present,
the 1.5” SMR will be set as the selected Target. That is because the
tracker should be Homed to the SMR first, a virtual level needs to be
run, and then locked on to the scanner or probe.

Figure 3-61. iScan3D

If an iScan3D is detected at startup, 3 Measure Profiles will be set to

the Quick Select Measurement Profiles:
■ I-Scan Cloud Pts To SA. Used to scan with the iScan Scanner.
■ Probe Discrete Pts To SA. Used to probe isolated point loca-
tions.
■ Probe Spatial Scan Pts To SA. Used to scan using the probe in
a stream of spatially separated points.
Probe detection is automatic. You should NEVER need to manually
select the iScan3D as the active Target. It is automatically recognized
upon locking the beam on to it.
The measurement operation will automatically be switched to “Probe
[M] L[L] T[D]” (M = H or V mount, L = probe length, D = probe dia.)
upon initiating a probe measurement. It will automatically switch
back to “iScan3D” when scanning cloud points.
Upon locking back on to an SMR after using the iScan3D, the active
target will switch back to the last used SMR.

71
SPATIALANALYZER USER MANUAL

TTL Measurement
Externally triggered measurements are supported. This can be useful
for synchronizing measurements with the operation of an additional
device or between multiple instruments. To do so:
1. Double check that the ttl trigger source is plugged into the
trigger port on the controller
2. Within the instrument interface go to Settings >> Tracker >>
General Settings and hit API_DI, in the tracker specific settings
toggle with the TTL Trigger On check box (Figure 3-62).
The TTL trigger will take the place of your Sampling Frequency set-
ting in any Temporal Scan acquisition until this option is un-checked.
3. Select a scan measurement profile with a Temporal Scan Ac-
quisition mode, such as Watch Update and start the measure-
ment profile.
4. Trigger measurements with the TTL signal.
A point is acquired at each 5-0V transition of the input TTL signal,
which should be connected directly to the instrument controller.
Buffer control is also available for TTL triggered data. The buffer size
can be set in the DI settings dialog and the buffer size is persisted
(defaults to 200 pts.), but “TTL Trigger On” is turned off every time the
interface is closed. The buffer for TTL data will send its remaining con-
tents to SA if you finish the measurement with “Done”, it will clear if
you “Abort”.
* Requires tracker firmware version 5.170 (or later).

Figure 3-62. API TTL Trigger Con-

trols in the Tracker Settings.

Running the Tracker Interface Separately

One of the unique features about SA’s architecture is that the instru-
ment interface can be run separately from SA. This provides a means
to run multiple trackers independently on different machines while
connect to a single SA for data storage. Doing so also provides the
ability to separate the persistence files for individual trackers, as the
persistence file will be saved in the directory as where the tracker in-
terface is launched, as opposed to the C:\Analyzer Data\Persistence

72
 CHAPTER 3 ■ MEASURING WITH LASER TRACKERS

folder.
In order to run the SA Laser Tracker process separately some addition-
al support files are required. These include the following files (Figure
3-63):

Figure 3-63. Required Files to run

the SA Laser Tracker process indepen-
dently from SA.

API T3
The API T3 is a unique instrument in that it can be run with either of
2 separate interfaces. To run the T3 with the API Device Interface fol-
low the procedure outlined for the Radian. To take advantage of the
legacy interface follow the directions outlined below for connection
to the API T2+. The parameter file is stored on the controller for the
API T3 tracker. Like the API T2+, you will see a default location for a
parameter file. In the case of the T3, this is only the location where a
back-up copy of the parameter file will be written from the control-
ler. To change this location, just press the Browse button in the tracker
connection dialog.

API T2+
The parameter file, [tkr serial#].prm contains the kinematic cor-
rection info, home location, etc. for the tracker. For example, if your
tracker serial number is 3827, the file name will be 3827.prm. This
file must be located successfully by the tracker initialization for the
tracker to run. By default the parameter file should be located in C:\
Analyzer Data\Persistence. To change this location, just press
the Browse button in the tracker connection dialog, as pictured in Fig-
ure 3-64.

73
SPATIALANALYZER USER MANUAL

Figure 3-64. The legacy API Con-

nection window.

The parameter file is edited when an API calibration is run. Ensure that
the file attributes are NOT set to read only.
You must have a working serial port for the connection to the tracker.
Use the lowest available serial port number for the tracker connec-
tion.

74