Running Continuum ND 6000 dye laser in LabView

[Amirber]

Hi

Carrie - thank you for these files, as a newbie to LV it helped a lot!

RipRock - I have used a separate computer to control the one which commands the laser, as in (B) in your image.

Amir

[RipRock99]

Thanks Amir.  Since we don't have additional computers to control our ND6000's, and we didn't have time to reverse engineer the windows software using PORTMON to see what it was doing, we just gave up, and reverted to a very klunky manual approach.  However, it is good to learn that it is indeed what I suspected - that one has to have a PC controlling a PC controlling the laser.  Perhaps someday this can be simplified, but I suspect in the end that it may be cheaper to buy a modern laser with better support.

In either event, my sincere thanks for the input, 

RipRock99

[Amirber]

I have had a small problem with the VI's here, When I waited several seconds (like when using the Highlight Execution) reading from the scope started giving error messages. The solution I found was to read every 0.5-2 seconds so that the laser buffer will not fill. Is there a smarter solution?

Happy holidays,

Amir

[Christopher_T.]

Hi Amir,

It sounds like you are sampling fast enough to keep your buffer from overflowing, which is perfectly fine. Are you running into issues when you are doing it this way?

Thanks!

[rredshiftedd]

 I'm not the developer of the product, but I most certainly worked on it enough to know how most of the device works and what the company should have done from a development point of view. While I will not write a driver for you, what I can tell you is that if you use VISA you can capture any and all serial commands. The motion controller inside the box underneath the tunable's bench is Parker's Compumotor OEM 750X. 

You can find all the serial commands you need to wrap a VI around here. From experience and from time to time during calibration the stepper motor on the sine drive mechanism will encounter some resonance, it is recommended to change out the recommended 1/4 watt resistor shorting our the REF and CURRENT inputs with a slightly higher value resistor. There are tuning curves with recommended resistor values inside the manual provided, this should allow for a little more smoother operation.

I hope this is helpful.

-rredshifted 

[Voikhoe]

Hello,

I just got the ND 6000 laser and wonder whether there is any update on this topic after 2 years.

Is anyone sucessful with using one PC to control laser by labview (with or without the ND6000 window software)?

Continuum experts do not have solutions either,

Thanks,

C

[cweidner0]

I'm far gone from the lab that I was working in at the time, but I remember that we had to use two computers--one that was older than I am that ran the Continuum software and one that sent LabVIEW commands to the old computer.  I'm sorry I can't provide any current help, but the VIs we used should be attached in earlier threads.  All of the help I can give I've given in earlier posts,

[RipRock99]

Hello,

We have two ND6000's, and while they still work as lasers, we were never able to get control of both of them from one computer.  I believe software support for these very expensive devices has always been poor, no matter who the manufacturer is.  On the other hand, if you need a laser, you find a way!

Enjoy,

S-

[Amirber]

In out lab we used an old PC running windows 95 connected directly to the laser, this computer was controlled by another PC running LV. I did a small change to the driver shown here, so that if the laser is read when the buffer is empty the vi won't crash.

[princephil]

hi sir,

good day...

can you please provide me a soft copy of ND6000 usre/installation/maintenance manual.?

just badly needing it...

Thanks,

Phil