faster time to measurement – advances in labview...
TRANSCRIPT
Faster Time to Measurement – Advances in LabVIEW Instrument Control
Instrument Control with LabVIEW
• LabVIEW can communicate with virtually any instrument
• Tools for parsing, analyzing, and presenting instrument data
LabVIEWInstrument drivers Direct I/O
Serial Ethernet PXIGPIB VXI Other
Instrument Instrument Instrument Instrument Instrument Instrument
Instrument I/O Asst.
Choosing an Instrument Control Interface
Is there an instrument
driver?
Application Needs?
DevelopInstrument
Driver?
Plug and Play
IVI
SimilarDriver
Created?Modify Existing Driver
Build From Template
Direct I/O
Yes
NoAdvanced Functionality
Ease of Use
Yes
NoNo
Yes
Source CodeAvailability
Using Instrument Drivers
Is there an instrument
driver?
Application Needs? Plug and Play
IVI
Yes
Advanced Functionality
Ease of UseSource CodeAvailability
Instrument Drivers
• Organized library of functions to control instruments– Each function performs multiple instrument instructions– Grouped by operation type
• Configure• Action/Status• Data• Utility
• Tool to simplify instrument control• Set of functions that reduce development time
LabVIEW Plug and Play Instrument Drivers• Combination of functionality and ease of development• Source code available
– Intuitive to use– Easy to debug
• Robust, multi-platform• Certified and Supported by NI• Use common architecture
– Increase performance and portability• Include examples• Thousands available
Instrument Driver Finder• Find, download and install instrument drivers from within
LabVIEW• Automatically discovers connected instruments • Direct Connection to
Instrument Driver Network (www.ni.com/idnet)
• No longer need to restartLabVIEW
Demo #1
• Instrument Driver Finder– Find connected instruments– Search for and install appropriate driver– Open example finder and run an example application
IVI Instrument Drivers• Advanced functionality
– Simulation– Interchangeability– State caching
• Limited instrument coverage (but includes most popular instruments)
• IVI-C – Common architecture– Certified and supported by NI
SignalExpress IVI-C Steps • Interactive,
non-programming environment
• Support for over 300 common stand-alone instruments
• Made possible through IVI’s interchangeability
Demo #2
• SignalExpress IVI-C Steps– Acquire with IVI Scope step– Frequency or time domain measurement
Direct I/O
Is there an instrument
driver?
Application Needs?
DevelopInstrument
Driver?
Plug and Play
IVI
Direct I/O
Yes
Advanced Functionality
Ease of UseSource CodeAvailability
No
No
Instrument I/O Assistant 2.0
• Parameterized Inputs– Can now change instrument
commands during run time• Improved performance• Better code generation• Available in
– LabVIEW– LabWindows/CVI– Measurement Studio
Demo #3
• Instrument I/O Assistant– Configure assistant with a channel parameter– Analyze data and plot on front panel
Creating Instrument Drivers
Is there an instrument
driver?
Application Needs?
DevelopInstrument
Driver?
Plug and Play
IVI
SimilarDriver
Created?Modify Existing Driver
Build From Template
Direct I/O
Yes
Advanced Functionality
Ease of Use
Yes
No
Yes
Source CodeAvailability
No
No
Project-Style Instrument Drivers
• Improved source code organization
• Uses LabVIEW library– Provides unique namespace to
avoid naming collisions– Ability to restrict access to
underlying code• Improved version management
Instrument Driver Project Wizard
• Interactive wizard guides you through instrument driver creation
• Reduces development time• Supports most common
instrument types
“The new Instrument Driver Project Wizard in LabVIEW 8 reduces instrument driver development time by more than a week.”
- David Fink, Software Engineer, Tektronix
Instrument Driver VI Creator
• Configuration-Based interface• Generates LabVIEW code• Inherits Instrument Driver
Properties– Icon banner– Library
Demo #4
• Instrument Driver Creation– Create Scope driver with wizard– Open and explore initialize VI– Run VI creator and create a measurement VI
Other Instrument Control Improvements
• NI Spy integration• Regular expression parsing• Byte ordering
– Flatten/Unflatten– File I/O
• VISA I/O name control• Refresh in dropdown• Displays open sessions
Advances In Instrument Control• Instrument users
– Instrument Driver Finder– Instrument I/O Assistant 2.0– SignalExpress IVI-C Steps
• Instrument driver developers– Project-Style instrument drivers– Instrument Driver Wizard– Instrument Driver VI Creator
• Miscellaneous– VISA I/O Name Control– String parsing– NI-SPY
Visit the Consultation Zone
• Discuss products and configure your application• Get estimated costs or a quote to take with you• Request a FREE consultation – an NI engineer visits your
office to: – Discuss your application and specialized topics– Demonstrate customized applications, examples, and products
• Schedule an on-site seminar at your location