Technical Bulletin AN00020

Frequently Asked Questions about Cambridge
Technology ScanMaster™ Controller Solutions
Contents

11Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2

2How do I choose a laser adapter? .................................................................................... 2

3

What additional features does the SMC Auxiliary I/O board provide, and when would
I typically use one? ........................................................................................................... 3

4Can you compare some of the common APIs and which Cambridge Technology
controllers they support? .................................................................................................. 45

What is ScanScript? Is it available through SMD and all types of APIs? .......................... 56

What are the differences between J1 (Power) and J3 (24V)? How do you choose
between them? ................................................................................................................. 5

7How many scan heads can a single SMC control? ........................................................... 5

8

What is the current status of MOTF function?................................................................... 5

9What features does SMC currently support that SC500 and EC1000 do not?.................. 5

10Is it possible to get tightly synchronized control of two SMC cards with four scanheads?.............................................................................................................................. 511How do I set up the Start Mark signal on SMC? ............................................................... 6

12How do I set up 5V Digital inputs on SMC? ...................................................................... 613

SMD gives me the following error when I try to run a job: “SMC does not have thelicense to run this job. (200212.)” How do I get a license? .................................................... 7

14I installed the software and can see SMC on the network via ping, but the CTI
software doesn’t see the SMC device. What may be the problem? ..................................... 8© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

1 Introduction
This technical bulletin addresses some of the recent questions about how to integrate Cambridge
Technology ScanMaster™ Controller Solutions into their laser systems.

2 How do I choose a laser adapter?
There are several popular commercial laser adapters to choose from depending on the type of laser
you have and what your needs are.
Table 1 - Laser adapters for popular commercial lasers
Manufacturer

ModelAdapter

Coherent

Avia_355-X

LSR-03Coherent

Coherent-C70

LSR-05

Coherent

Diamond E-400

LSR-05IPG

YLM

LSR-01IPG

YLP

LSR-01IPGYLR

LSR-04IPG

YLS

LSR-01SPIG3LSR-02

SPIG4LSR-02

SynradTi60

LSR-03VGEN

LSR-01

LSR-01 – Provides IPG YLP 25 pin compatible connector.
LSR-02 – Provides connector used by SPI Lasers on their G3 and G4 models.
LSR-03 – A LSR-01 connector with BNC style LaserMod out signal.
LSR-04 – 24V compatible, provides customizable connections via Phoenix style connections and aTTL BNC modulation signal.
See the SMC hardware reference manual for details.

2© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN000203 What additional features does the SMC Auxiliary I/O board
provide, and when would I typically use one?
Use the SMC Auxiliary I/O board when you need extended Input/Output (see below) or a second XY2100 connection. The Auxiliary I/O board includes Phoenix Contact industrial automation connectors
for easy PLC connections.
•XY2-100 25 pin connections•

Second XY2-100 port•

DB9 COM port (COM3)•

16 new AUX inputs (0-15)•

16 new AUX outputs (0-15)•Phoenix connectors for easy wiring•

RS485 Phoenix connection•5V or 24V I/O operation

Figure 1 - SMC Auxiliary I/O board
Use the SMC Auxiliary I/O board when you need the extended I/O (see above) or a second XY2-100
connection. The board also provides Phoenix Contact industrial automation connectors for easy PLC
connections.

3© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

4 Can you compare some of the common APIs and which
Cambridge Technology controllers they support?
Table 2 - Comparison of APIs supported by Cambridge Technology controllers

4APIDescription

ScanMasterAPI (SMAPI)The common API forall Cambridge
Technologycontrollers and therecommended API. It
allows you toincorporate complex
shape rendering, suchas barcodes, text,
hatching, etc. into
your applications.
Recommended
selection.

XML API

Similarities &Differences

Limitations

Controller

Built on top of the
XML API, it adds
much morefunctionality, including
scripting and complex
shape support.
Actively supported,including bug fixes
and enhancements.

Requires Visual
Studio® but is themost functionalchoice.
Requires .NET 4.0
Runtime.

All Cambridge
Technologycontrollers

XML API is a common
API for
EC1000/SM1000 andSMC controllers. It
allows vector oriented
low level control ofmarking operation.

Similar in scope toSMAPI for vector
marking but without
basic support for highlevel shapes.
Actively supported,
including bug fixes
and enhancements.

Jobs are represented
as ASCII text in XML
format. Less powerful
functionality thanSMAPI. Error codeswith some description.
No line numbers witherrors.

EC1000/SM1000
or SMC

Universal API

An earlier API usedwith the SC500 Visual
Studio VC++
environment.

Similar in capability toXML API.

Less functional thanSMAPI. Bug fixes
only. Not
recommended for newdevelopment.

SC500

Remote API

An ASCII based API
allowing the remotecontrol managementof controllers and theirjobs.

To be used with PLC
based controlsystems.

EC1000/SM1000
or SMC© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

5 What is ScanScript? Is it available through SMD and all typesof APIs?
ScanScript is a domain-specific scripting language designed to support many intricate scenarios in thelaser scanning industry. This lightweight yet powerful scripting language consists of several libraries ofdedicated algorithms to perform laser scanning functions such as marking job flow control, process
automation through I/O and much more. ScanScript is extensively used by SMD to extend its
capabilities in automation situations. It is not available from the XML API.

6 What are the differences between J1 (Power) and J3 (24V)?
How do you choose between them?
J1 is the standard power connection for SMC (differential voltage between V+ and V- must be in therange of 15–48V). J3 input is optional and is designed to conveniently supply digital I/O opticalisolators on the expansion I/O board.

7 How many scan heads can a single SMC control?
The SMC can control two heads. Current design is limited to using the same job, one laser, but withdifferent correction tables for each head.

8 What is the current status of MOTF function?
MOTF job setup is done in ScanScript. SMC supports either X or Y tracking.

9 What features does SMC currently support that SC500 andEC1000 do not?
SMC has ScanPack mode, supports more I/O options, and has faster processing, more working
memory, and more onboard storage capacity for holding larger and more jobs than both SC500 andEC1000.

10 Is it possible to get tightly synchronized control of two SMC
cards with four scan heads?
Yes, it’s possible to get tightly synchronized control of two SMC cards with four scan heads. The userneeds to control the two SMC controllers via a programmable PLC controller so they both get thesame start signal.

5© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

11 How do I set up the Start Mark signal on SMC?
The easiest method to set up the Start Mark signal on the SMC is to connect a switch between pin 3(start signal input) and pin 4 (GND). You can use the following code in SMD ScanScript to have yourprogram wait for the start signal.
Report("Waiting for the StartMark")
count = 1
while true do
if (Io.ReadPin(Pin.Din.StartMark)==true) thenReport("Accepted the part Start Marking")
ScanAll()
Laser.WaitForEnd()
Report("Marked" ..count)
count = count + 1
Sleep(1000) --for a short job you may need some time to release the switch
else--Keep the part on conveyor or start system
Sleep(10)end
end

12 How do I set up 5V Digital inputs on SMC?
The following diagram shows the setup to attach a button/switch to an SMC Digital I/O board input for
5V. Operation and switch on UserIn1.

6© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

Figure 2 Connection

Description

Any 5V Out to GPICOM

Provides 5V TTL operation

One end of switch to GPI0(Gen. purpose in#0=UserIn1)

Provide switch operation I/O to UserIn1

One end of switch to GND

Provide Ground ref. to switch

13 SMD gives me the following error when I try to run a job:
“SMC does not have the license to run this job. (200212.)”How do I get a license?
Customer Service will need two items of information to send you a license file:
1. The sales order number from your controller purchase.
2. The internal license key number from the controller:a. For SMC or EC1000, run the corresponding firmware loader application for the controller you
are using (see section 4.2 - Running the Firmware Loader).
b. For the SMC, you can also access the key using the configuration editor (see step 4 - Selectdevice configuration).

7© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

Once the Firmware loader is running and the appropriate controller selected, note the license key
number that is found in the lower left corner. Send this number along with the original Sales Ordernumber to Cambridge Technology Technical Support. You will receive a license file in via e-mail.

14 I installed the software and can see SMC on the network via
ping, but the CTI software doesn’t see the SMC device. What
may be the problem?
Because the Cambridge Technology controllers are network-based devices, Cambridge Technology
applications must have permission to go through the Windows Firewall to work properly. If yourfirewall is blocking the broadcast monitor, it will not show any devices present.
For example, most Cambridge Technology applications need to sense the presence of controllers that
periodically broadcast system information on the network. If the broadcast packets are blocked fromreaching the applications by the Windows Firewall, they will not be aware of them and hence, not beable to connect to them.
Please enable Firewall access to the Home/Work, and Public network categories for all Cambridge
software products. It may also be necessary to enable the Domain category at some sites.

8© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

Technical Bulletin AN00020

You can access the firewall settings by:
StartControl PanelSystem and SecurityWindows FirewallAllowed Programs9© Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.