Can I use LabVIEW VI's with US Digital USB4 DAQ?

[kwilcox2013]

Hi,

I'm really new to using LabVIEW. I was asked to create a test that measures and records the angular position of two incremental encoders (quadtrature) and outputs this data to a file. Someone suggested I use LabVIEW for its graphical based programming. I'm not a programmer by any stretch of the imagination. I purchased 2 encoders and a USB4 DAQ from US Digital. I downloaded the .DLL, .lib, .lblib, .h, and many VI files from US Digitals website. I was having difficulty getting the results from the US Digital VI since there was not a lot of documentation explaining what the function of the various VI's. I tried opening LabVIEW Signal Express since it looks like a fast method of getting up and running, but LabVIEW doesn't display any supported devices. I checked and there are no drivers from National Instruments on any US digital products. Do I need to buy a NI DAQ and associated hardware to make this thing happen? Part of the reason I purchased the hardware from US Digital was the overnight lead time, but it appears that I give up a lot of the hardware support by purchasing from a 3rd party instead of NI. 

Help....?

[Dennis_Knutson]

Please explain what you want to use. LabVIEW is a full programming language and there is in fact a LabVIEW driver available. If you want to use SignalExpress instead of LabVIEW, then you need to use NI hardware. If you need up understanding the US Digital functions, I would suggest you ask US Digital.

[kwilcox2013]

I want to use LabVIEW to read incremental angular encoders and write the data to a file. I already have the encoders and DAQ. Both of which are from US Digital. I have the LabVIEW 2012 Professional Development System (full license). I already installed the drivers (and the ~110 VI's) from US Digital's website that you provided the link for. 

LabView looks extremely powerful and well thought out. I was hoping I could utilize some of the tools built into LabVIEW or one of the various other NI programs similar to LabVIEW (NI-DAQmx, Signal Express, etc) geared towards collecting data from a DAQ. It's my understanding that the tools I can use are limited because I'm using a 3rd party DAQ. What are my remaining options?  

[Dennis_Knutson]

As I said, you cannot use non-NI hardware and software with SignalExpress. Only DAQmx (NI) devices are supported). You would have to use LabVIEW and the provided driver. The driver appears to be simple wrappers around the US Digital dll. The functions in the dll are explained in the manual. I'vbe never used a US Digital device so I cannot help with the specifics. Besides contacting US Digital for help, run the provided program to verify device communication and measurements. If the US Digital interface is too daunting, the only other option I see is to purchase NI hardware.

[HollyBerry]

There are several shipping examples that come with the driver. There's a simple HelloWorld.vi, examples of how to use the FIFO, and a couple others. I would recommend looking there for examples of how to use the driver.

[Yamaeda]

Since the manufacturer provides VI's, i'd say the answer is: Yes, you can use US Digitals products. 🙂

As mentioned, since it's not a DAQmx-product you cant see it in MAX (or can you?) or use signal express, but must look at their examples and use the correct driver (there was a 32 and 64 bit driver version) and then modify as needed until you have your program.

/Y