Eaton PLC Controller With Labview

[ffl3883]

Hello,

I am trying to control a  furnace that comes with an Eaton PLC.  The default ports options are Ethernet and RS232. GPIB port would cost extra money to install. While communicating with the furnace, the labview is also communicating with a DAQ and a pressure controller through GPIB. In this case, should I order GPIB option on the furnace as well ? What would be some pros and cons ? What would be the best option to control a PLC in general ?

Thanks

ffl3883

[Queue-tip]

You should be able to use RS232 (serial) to control the device. Installing the NI-VISA driver will allow you to make VISA calls for both the RS232 device and the GPIB device within the same application. NI-DAQmx is required for the DAQ device. The following forum investigates the GPIB vs Serial topic more thoroughly:

'NI Community: GPIB vs Serial Performances'

http://forums.ni.com/t5/Instrument-Control-GPIB-Serial/Gpib-vs-serial-performances/td-p/6711

[Dennis_Knutson]

Using the Ethernet port will give you much better performance compared to serial, of course. You can operate the plc in parallel to the GPIB, which you could not do with two GPIB connections.

[FLiu]

I agree that a lot of chambers now no longer come with GPIB options. Most of them come with ethernet by default. What hardware do I need for Labview to work with ethernet instruments.

[Dennis_Knutson]

An Ethernet port on your pc. Use a second, dedicated NIC or put it on your existing network. I prefer a dedicated connection. Talk to your IT department if you don't understand how to add this to your pc and not interfere with your existing connection.