Automate temperature controller

[yangfh2004]

Hello, I have the labVIEW driver for yudian AI-508. I developed this driver myself. Simply upzip it and copy the foler to the instr.lib folder. Then, you can find it in your functions platette. 

Sorry, I dont have a user mannual for this driver but you will quickly handle it if you have read the user mannul of AI-508.

If you have improved this open-source driver and please share with others under this thread. Thank you.

[Madzu]

 Hi yangfh2004, great work with this driver.

I have a question though - in the manual they claim, that the whole communication with the controller should be in hexadecimal code, yet in your device you use regular, decimal system for read/write commands. Why?

I am getting -1073807339 error with it sadly (in Visa Read)..

[yangfh2004]

You may convert the decimal code to Hex code but in binary, they should be the same code.

And you have a visa time-out problem. You need debug the problem, first use its official software and see if it works, if so, it means the software problem, otherwise, you have the hardware problem. I have debugged the code before I upload it. I use a RS485 cable. Be careful, it is NOT rs232. if you use most common rs232, it won't work.

You also need check with your controller, it has to allow the remote control mode or it supports remote control.

If you are using the right cable and the official software comes with the controller does work, you need use a serial port communication monitor software to monitor all the comunication on the serial port and carefully compare it to the communicaiton log data with official software. I use http://www.serial-port-monitor.com/

it is free while I was debugging this. Once you find the difference between this one and the official one, revise the code according to the offical protocal and it shall work.

It might because that YUDIAN recently upgrade the firmware of AI508 and the old driver no longer works. If so, you may debug this version and update to the new version. And you are welcome to upload the driver to share with other engineers.

[Madzu]

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@yangfh2004 wrote:

Be careful, it is NOT rs232. if you use most common rs232, it won't work.

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yup, thats the thing 🙂

is there a way to alter your driver to work on rs232?

[sergi22]

Hello, does your driver work with USB/RS485 converter?

[yangfh2004]

yes  it  was tested with a converter

[yangfh2004]

no it is different hardware. 

[sergi22]

Thank you. May be you have any sample code with Yudian device? If yes, can you share? Just to see how to send simple instruction for the first time.

[yangfh2004]

sorry, there is no example because I don't have a yudian controller on hand to test it. It is very easy to use this labview driver. First, configure the RS485, you need setup it according to its user manual and your PC. Then, if you have multiple devices on the RS485 bus, choose the address, e.g. 1. You need use the address number in every sub vi. Then, you setup the number of steps/segments. You need set the temperatures and time for each segment. Then, you can run the program. While it is running, you may use a while loop to get the real-time temperature reading. You can also download current program in the controller to double check it. All those sub vi, you can find in the sub folder and they has been tested. You may stop the program using stop vi.

In all, go thru the protocol first, you will find the driver is straight forward and each to understand and use.

[sergi22]

Hello, I have designed a program for controlling and monitoring 3 of these controllers embedded into the furnace (see picture 1). Program interface looks like this (see picture 2). The operation behind it is that I have flat sequence structure, where first frame has event structure and enables to activate different buttons, then 3 frames with monitoring.vi inserted into case structures. So I can active them when I run specific zone. The problem is that after I launch for example 2 zones, after some period of proper monitoring I receive a timeout error from one of the monitoring.vi. However, the data package arrives later, so after that when another monitoring.vi asks for another package I have 20 bytes instead of 10 at port, and this monitoring.vi reads data from previous one and so on, it looks like zones have changed between each other. After this one error it works fine. I have tested it for 3 hours and received this error only ones, usually when I start furnace. 

Do you have any suggestions? May be my programming is not good. You can check screen of vi. See picture 3.