Newmark Systems Motion Controller

[Hematemesis]

I am trying to control A Newmark Systems Motion Controller using Labview 8.5. The Model number is NSC-M4 and it connects to the computer using an RS-232 connection.

Using Visa Write commands in Labview I have been able to get some motion out of the linear stages connected to the controller. I have also been able to issue basic commands.

The difficulty I am having is that typically after a few movements the controller stops responding to my commands. I believe that the controller is encountering an error, but I have no way of knowing because I have been unsuccesful in getting labview to read any values or messages from the device.

I haven't been able to find any device drivers for the controller, nor have I been able to find any sample Labview programs to give me some guidance on where to go next with this.

I guess my questions are;

How do I read any requested information from the device?

What could be causing my sudden loss of control of the device?(If I'm wrong and it's not just the device erroring out)

And are VISA read/write commands the best way to communicate with this type of device or is there a better method than what I'm using?

I'm still pretty new to Labview so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Christopher_T.]

Hi Hematemesis,

VISA is a really good way of communicating with RS-232 in the LabVIEW environment. When the controller stops responding, do you get any errors on the LabVIEW side? This would be helpful in determining what is going on.

Thanks!

[beckology]

Hi Chris,

I am also programming a VI which control a 2-axis stepper motor of Newmark systems. I have managed to control the motion with VISA, communication is rs232. What I need is to simulate the motion of the device on VI. This is because I want to control the deice remotely, without actually seeng the response of the device. I thought this may be managed with the VISA read however, I couldn't manage it. This simulation might be a chart or graph, or I have 3D images of my device and it would be really great if I see the motion actually on these images.

How can I do that?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Berk.