Mitutoyo indicators not transmitting data to PC

[Karita91]

Hello!

I have two Mitutoyo Digimatic Indicators (ABS, ID-S112XB) mounted on a measurement rig, to measure thicknesses. I also have two standard ITN-cables (USB Input Tool Direct), which is connected from each micrometer to my PC, as USB-plugs. The micrometers only have "on/off"- and an "origin"-button - they do not have a Data-button. First of all, when I connect one of the USBs it shows up as COM5 in device manager. I wish to import the value from the digital display to my PC, using LabVIEW. As this is a student summer project, my supervisor do not wish to buy the USB-ITPAK software or the USB-FSW (Foot switch), as we wish the communication to be automatic and running continiously. My supervisor has already spoken with customer service in Germany, which said this is possible without any extra hardware than what we already have.

First of, I need to be able to comunicate with the micrometers before importing the data. I have tried using NI Max for communication, but I don't get any results (I'm quite new to NIs software, so maybe I'm not doing it right...). I've also tried downloading various VIs from the forum regarding Mitutoyo gauges, and editing the VISA resource name to COM5, but this gives no results. The values from the digital display is not in any way sent to my computer, it seems.

Do anybody out there have any ideas or tips for how to get started? Preferrably broken down into steps, as I'm not very familiuar with LabVIEW yet. It would be extremely appreciated!

- Karita, Norway.

[Matthew_Williams]

Hi Karita.  Have you connected to the gage with a terminal program like HyperTerm?  That will let you confirm all of your settings (comport, baud, etc.) without using any National Instruments software.  Once you have gotten that far, then some of the examples should start to work.

What version of LV are you using?

Matt

[Bob_Schor]

The Mitutoyo indicators go to what you describe as an ITN Cable, ending in a USB connector that shows up as Com5 on your PC.  What you need to figure out is how to talk to the Cable, which talks to the Indicator.  It sounds like a standard VISA Serial interface -- does the ITN cable say anything about Baud rate, parity, protocol?  I'm guessing the Baud Rate will be pretty high (at least 6 figures), the parity/protocol something like N-8-1 (no Parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit).

The Cable should (logically) function to turn text commands sent to the USB port into text/binary commands that go to the Mitutoyo device over its connector.  Presumably the Mitutoyo people told you something about how you address/command/interact with it.  For example, you might send "Hello", and it echoes "My Name is Mitutoyo", you send "Read" and it sends (at some rate) text or binary data representing microns/millimeters, etc.

So once you figure out how to "talk" to the ITN cable, you can use it to send strings to the Mitutoyo and "listen" for what it sends back to you.

I strongly suggest that you start this trial using MAX.  Plug things together, open MAX, open COM5, configure the port using baud rate and protocol (guess if you have to), then send the Initialization command to the Mitutoyo.  You should see that there are bytes to read -- go get them.

If they make no sense at all, you probably have the wrong Baud rate.  If they make partial sense, i.e. it looks like there might be a message present, but half the letters look "wrong", you may have the wrong Parity.  If your setting is N-8-1, try E-8-1 or O-8-1 (or E-7-1).  [Of course, if they tell you the settings, do what they say].

Come back here and let us know how it went.  If you need more help, and have manuals that describe the Cable and the protocol for the Mitutoyo, attach them to your reply.

Bob Schor 

[billko]

According to the manual, you have to control the digital lines to let the instrument know you are ready to receive data.  The data will come out as a digital waveform.  When the waveform has completed (52 clock cycles) you need to unset the same digital line.  Read the manual for the specifics.  The hardest part would be to figure out what lines map to what.  (I am assuming that this cable simulates a COM port, so the lines in the diagrams should map to something.  I'm just not sure what.  You'll probably have to toggle them manually somehow/with LabVIEW and put a multimeter on the different pins to see what does what.)

Here is a helpful link to get you started:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/022A3C75A1F36DFF86256E6200705996

As for questions... ask away!!!

[belcari_brazil]

Hello Karita91, recently i had the same problem, look my aplication:

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Software-communication-data-serial-with-mitutoyo-micrometer/m-p/409...