Lecture 13 LabVIEW and GPIB

LabVIEW (National Instruments)

Graphical program language
Widely used in academia (lab) and industry (R&D)
General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB)
Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (HP-IB)
IEEE 488 Bus
IEEE 488.2 Bus
Generic physics experimental setup
Analog amplifiers
sensors
ADC
Automatic data acquisition
DAC
01010
Actuator,
Heater
control
Power amplifiers
LabVIEW
GPIB
GPIB
General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB)
PCI
USB
cable
connector
Introduction to LabVIEW
LabVIEW Graphical Development System
Graphical Programming Environment
Compile code for multiple OS and devices
Useful in a broad range of applications

LabVIEW Environment
A. Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)
B. LabVIEW Environment
Front Panel / Block Diagram
Toolbar /Tools Palette
C. Components of a LabVIEW Application
Creating a VI
Data Flow Execution
D. Additional Help
Finding Functions
Tips for Working in LabVIEW
What is MAX?
MAX stands for Measurement & Automation Explorer.
MAX configures and organizes all your National Instruments DAQ,
PCI/PXI instruments, GPIB, IMAQ, IVI, Motion, VISA, and VXI devices.
Used for configuring and testing devices.
Icon Found on
Windows Desktop
Start All Programs National Instruments LabVIEW 8.5.1
Startup Screen:
Start from a Blank VI:
NewBlank VI


Start from an Example:
ExamplesFind
Examples


or
Open and Run LabVIEW
8.5.1
Each VI has 2 Windows

Front Panel
User Interface (UI)
Controls = Inputs
Indicators = Outputs

Block Diagram
Graphical Code
Data travels on wires from
controls through functions to
indicators
Blocks execute by Dataflow
LabVIEW Programs Are Called Virtual Instruments (VIs)
Controls Palette
(Controls & Indicators)
(Place items on the Front Panel Window)
Indicator:
Numeric Slide
Control:
Numeric
Customize
Palette
View
Functions (and Structures) Palette
(Place items on the
Block Diagram Window)
Structure:
While Loop
Run Button

Continuous Run Button

Abort Execution
Execution Highlighting Button
Additional Buttons on
the Diagram Toolbar
Status Toolbar
Retain Wire Values Button
Step Function Buttons
Block Diagram Window
Front Panel Window
Demonstration 1: Creating a VI
Input
Terminals
Output
Terminal
Boolean
Control
Graph
Indicator
Block diagram execution
Dependent on the flow of data
Block diagram does NOT execute
left to right
Node executes when data is
available to ALL input terminals
Nodes supply data to all output
terminals when done
Dataflow Programming
Debugging Techniques
Finding Errors


Execution Highlighting



Probes
Click on broken Run button.
Window showing error appears.
Click on Execution Highlighting button; data
flow is animated using bubbles. Values are
displayed on wires.
Right-click on wire to display probe and it shows
data as it flows through wire segment.

You can also select Probe tool from Tools palette
and click on wire.
Context Help Window
HelpShow Context Help, press the <Ctrl+H> keys
Hover cursor over object to update window
Additional Help
Right-Click on the VI icon and
choose Help, or
Choose Detailed Help. on
the context help window
Tips for Working in LabVIEW
Keystroke Shortcuts
<Ctrl+H> Activate/Deactivate Context Help Window
<Ctrl+B> Remove Broken Wires From Block Diagram
<Ctrl+E> Toggle Between Front Panel and Block
Diagram
<Ctrl+Z> Undo (Also in Edit Menu)
ToolsOptions Set Preferences in LabVIEW
VI PropertiesConfigure VI Appearance,
Documentation, etc.
Section II Elements of Typical Programs
A. Loops
While Loop
For Loop
B. Functions and SubVIs
Types of Functions
Creating Custom Functions (SubVI)
Functions Palette & Searching
C. Decision Making and File IO
Case Structure
Select (simple If statement)
File I/O

Loops
While Loops
i terminal counts iteration
Always runs at least once
Runs until stop condition is
met
For Loops
i terminal counts iterations
Run according to input N of
count terminal
While Loop
For Loop
Drawing a Loop
1. Select the structure
2. Enclose code to be repeated
3. Drop or drag additional nodes and then wire
3 Types of Functions (from the Functions Palette)
Express VIs: interactive VIs with configurable dialog page (blue border)




Standard VIs: modularized VIs customized by wiring (customizable)


Functions: fundamental operating elements of LabVIEW; no front panel or
block diagram (yellow)



What Types of Functions are Available?
Input and Output
Signal and Data Simulation
Acquire and Generate Real Signals with DAQ
Instrument I/O Assistant (Serial & GPIB)
ActiveX for communication with other programs
Analysis
Signal Processing
Statistics
Advanced Math and Formulas
Continuous Time Solver
Storage
File I/O
Express Functions Palette
Create SubVI
Enclose area to be converted into a subVI.
Select EditCreate SubVI from the Edit Menu.
LabVIEW Functions and SubVIs operate like Functions
in other languages
Function Pseudo Code
function average (in1, in2, out)
{
out = (in1 + in2)/2.0;
}


SubVI Block Diagram
Calling Program Pseudo Code
main
{
average (in1, in2, pointavg)
}


Calling VI Block Diagram
How Do I Make Decisions in LabVIEW?
1. Case Structures





2. Select

(a) (b)
(c)
File I/O Programming Model Under the hood


Open/
Create/
Replace File
Read
and/or
Write to File
Close
File
Check for
Errors
Section III Presenting your Results
A. Displaying Data on the Front Panel
Controls and Indicators
Graphs and Charts
Loop Timing
B. Signal Processing
MathScript
Arrays
Clusters
Waveforms
Charts Add 1 data point at a time with history
Waveform chart special numeric indicator that can
display a history of values

Chart updates with each individual point it receives
FunctionsExpressGraph IndicatorsChart
Graphs Display many data points at once
Waveform graph special numeric indicator that
displays an array of data

Graph updates after all points have been collected
May be used in a loop if VI collects buffers of data

FunctionsExpressGraph IndicatorsGraph
Loops can accumulate
arrays at their boundaries
with auto-indexing
For Loops auto-index by
default
While Loops output only
the final value by default
Right-click tunnel and
enable/disable auto-
indexing
Building Arrays with Loops (Auto-Indexing)
Wire becomes thicker
Wire remains the same size
Auto-Indexing Disabled
Auto-Indexing Enabled
Only one value (last iteration)
is passed out of the loop
1D Array
0 1 2 3 4 5
5
Review of Data Types Found in LabVIEW
Shift Register Access Previous Loop Data
Available at left or right border of loop structures
Right-click the border and select Add Shift Register
Right terminal stores data on completion of iteration
Left terminal provides stored data at beginning of next iteration
Before
Loop
Begins
First
Iteration
Second
Iteration
Last
Iteration
Value 3
Initial
Value