7.1.1 Scan Head Format Definitions

The SP-ICE-3 Card supports the use of scanners in various configurations, called Head Formats, each of which represents a particular combination of hardware options:

2 or 3 axis scan head(s);
with or without optical zoom functionality (ZoomZ);
with or without a secondary Z-axis (Extra Z or SensorZ), which could be used, for example, to keep a camera or another sensor in focus.
with or without a tertiary Z-axis (Auxiliary), which could be used, for example, to keep some other item of equipment in focus.

The SP-ICE-3 Card needs to know the current configuration of the scanners so that it can generate the appropriate scanner commands, and transmit them on the corresponding data channels for each required axis.

For this purpose, the ScannerConfig class provides a ScanHeadFormat property, whose current value is used to select the communications protocol, the number of axes, and their respective functions, for the connected scanners.

Available Scan Head Format values.

Here are the definitions of the available ScanHeadFormat values which may be used to set the ScannerConfigHeadFormat property.

Format

Symbol

Axes

Heads

Comment

XY2 3D Single Head

XY2_100

XY or XYZ

Legacy 16-bit protocol via XY2-100 Adapter Board.

SL2 3D Single Head

SL2_Single3D

XY or XYZ

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z provided on X905 Scanner2.

SL2 3D Single Head w Extra Z

SL2_Single3DX

XY or XYZ, plus Extra Z

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z and Extra Z provided on X905 Scanner2.

SL2 3D Single Head w Aux

SL2_Single3DA

XY or XYZ, plus Auxiliary

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z and Auxiliary provided on X905 Scanner2.

SL2 4D Single Head w Zoom

SL2_Single4D

XYZ plus ZoomZ

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z and ZoomZ provided on X905 Scanner2.

SL2 4D Single Head w Defocus

SL2_Single4DF

XYZ and Defocus

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z provided on X905 Scanner2.

SL2 4D Single Head w Defocus & Aux

SL2_Single4DFA

XYZ plus Auxiliary

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z and Auxiliary provided on X905 Scanner2.

Note
Although 4D coordinates can be sent to the card, beam magnification (in the 4th dimension) is achieved by defocusing. True optical zooming would require a total of 5 axes, but the SL protocol is limited to 2 axes per connector.

SL2 4D Single Head w Defocus & Extra Z

SL2_Single4DFX

XYZ plus Auxiliary

XY provided on X904 Scanner1, Z and Auxiliary provided on X905 Scanner2.

Note
Although 4D coordinates can be sent to the card, beam magnification (in the 4th dimension) is achieved by defocusing. True optical zooming would require a total of 5 axes, but the SL protocol is limited to 2 axes per connector.

SL2 2D Dual Head

SL2_Dual2D

2x XY for two scan heads

XY for head 0 provided on X904 Scanner1, XY for head 1 provided on X905 Scanner2.

Supports two different field transformations and two different field corrections.

Note
The SL2-100 protocol must be used on both connected heads .

RL3 3D Single Head

RL3_Single3D

XY or XYZ

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 3D Single Head w Extra Z

RL3_Single3DX

XY or XYZ, plus Extra Z

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 3D Single Head w Aux

RL3_Single3DA

XY or XYZ, plus Auxiliary

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 3D Single Head w Extra Z & Aux

RL3_Single3DXA

XY or XYZ, plus Extra Z and Aux

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Zoom

RL3_Single4D

XYZ plus ZoomZ

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Optical Zoom & Extra Z

RL3_Single4DX

XYZ plus ZoomZ and Extra Z

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Zoom & Aux

RL3_Single4DA

XYZ plus ZoomZ and Auxiliary

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Optical Zoom & Extra Z & Aux

RL3_Single4DXA

XYZ plus ZoomZ, Extra Z, and Auxiliary

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Defocus

RL3_Single4DF

XYZ

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Defocus & Extra Z

RL3_Single4DFX

XYZ plus Extra Z

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Defocus & Aux

RL3_Single4DFA

XYZ plus Auxiliary

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 4D Single Head w Defocus & Extra Z & Aux

RL3_Single4DFXA

XYZ plus Extra Z and Auxiliary

ALL axes provided on X904 Scanner1

RL3 3D Dual Head

RL3_Dual3D

2x XY or XYZ for two scan heads

XYZ for head 0 provided on X904 Scanner1, XYZ for head 1 provided on X905 Scanner2.

Supports two different field transformations and two different field corrections.

Note
The RL3-100 protocol must be used on both connected heads .

Interpretation of Dimensions

The SP-ICE-3 Card can process 2D, 3D, and 4D commands:

The 3rd dimension (Z) controls the laser focus within the scanner’s field volume.
The 4th dimension (ZoomZ) optically changes the laser’s spot diameter (assuming hardware zoom capability).
If optical zoom hardware is not available, it is possible to mimic, to some extent, the variation of spot diameter by defocusing the laser beam instead:
- this works with a 3D scanner and an appropriate field correction file, but...
- please be aware that this approach is inferior to a scanner with optical zoom hardware!

Scan Head Format variants

Almost all ScanHeadFormats exist in both normal and extended variants.

The extended format offers support for a second Z-axis (Extra Z), which is typically used to maintain focus of an observer camera or a sensor, such as a photodetector or pyrometer.
In many cases, the camera/sensor is sensitive at a wavelength differing from that of the laser: this means that the camera/sensor and laser must be positioned individually in order for them to be simultaneously in-focus on the same plane.

Data Channel Protocols

The SP-ICE-3 Card makes three different protocols available for the scanner data channels:

XY2-100

supports 16-bit scanner commands and up to three axes (XYZ).

SL2-100

supports 20-bit scanner commands and up to 2 axes per connector.

For a scanner with 3 or 4 axes, two SL2-100 connections (and consequently two cables) are required

RL3-100

supports 20-bit scanner commands and up to 6 axes per connector.

A scanner with up to 6 axes can be run on a single data connection.
Even the most sophisticated scanner with 3D, Zoom, and a second Z axis can be operated with a single cable.