Additional Notes

Application

The information in these notes applies to Vantage Laser Trackers, Faro Keystone Trackers, and to PC-DMIS version 2013 MR1 or later.

The SMX Tracker is no longer supported.

Installation

If you have trouble connecting, try and disable your firewall.

  1. For PC-DMIS 2010 through PC-DMIS 2013, download the driver’s package from https://files.ms.hexagonmi.com/public/Hardware/Portable/Faro-SMXLaser/SMXLaserForPC-DMIS2010OrLater.zip.

For PC-DMIS 2013 MR1 and later, download the driver's package from https://files.ms.hexagonmi.com/public/Hardware/Portable/Faro-SMXLaser/SMXLaserForPC-DMIS2013-mr1OrLater.zip.

  1. Make a copy of the smxlaser.dll file in the PC-DMIS directory and rename it to interfac.dll.

  2. Unzip the contents of the zip file. Copy the contents of the subdirectory into the PC-DMIS directory.

  3. To connect to a hardwired tracker, set the PC-DMIS computer’s network IP address to 128.128.128.1. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.0.0.

The IP address for the Vantage and Faro trackers is usually 128.128.128.100. You can ping the tracker to see if there is communication after you set the IP address.

  1. If you enable an AdHoc network, the Vantage Tracker can support wireless communication. To do this, disconnect any wireless network connection made by your wireless card, then connect to the AdHoc network. You can find the AdHoc network in the list of available networks. You must power on the Vantage Tracker to see the AdHoc network.

You need to enter the Vantage Tracker's IP address. To get the IP address, run the Tracker Utilities after you connect to the AdHoc network. For details on the Tracker Utilities, contact your Faro representative.

Start the Tracker Utilities and press the Find Trackers button to open a dialog box. From the dialog box, click the Find Trackers button to display the IP address that you need to enter into PC-DMIS Settings Editor described in the next steps. You may need to press the button a few times before the IP address appears.

  1. Start PC-DMIS. When PC-DMIS starts, it creates the SMX Laser Interface section in the registry.

  2. Open PC-DMIS Settings Editor and go to the SMX Laser Interface section.

  1. Locate the TrackerName entry and enter the appropriate name:

The tracker names are case sensitive.

  1. Locate the TrackerIPAddress entry and enter the IP address:

  1. Close PC-DMIS Settings Editor.

  2. Start PC-DMIS. It should connect to the Tracker.

Run as Administrator

Some programs need to run in Administrator mode for them to function properly or to make use of all its features. Often it is hard to remember which programs should run in Administrator mode.

To avoid this, you can make programs always run in Administrator mode. This prevents the need to right-click the program's shortcut or executable and select the Run as administrator option from the Properties dialog box.

The following describes the steps necessary for the Windows 10 operating system. For other operating systems, please contact Hexagon Technical Support.

To do this:

  1. Right-click the program's shortcut or executable.

  2. Click the Properties option to open the main Properties dialog box.

  3. Click the Compatibility tab.

  4. Select the Run this program as an administrator check box. If multiple users log onto the computer, you can make this setting for all users:

  1. Click the Change settings for all users button to open a new Properties dialog box.

  2. Select the Run this program as an administrator button.

  3. Click Apply to save the setting, and then OK to close the new Properties dialog box.

  1. Click Apply to save the setting, and then OK to close the main Properties dialog box.