09-02-2008 01:33 PM
I am trying to find a jumping in point to learn more about hardware control. I have some experience with PWM motion control and have built chopper motor drivers. However, I am missing some bits on the LabVIEW to controller connection.
Can I use a NI USB 6501 to drive a motor controller with PWM? e.g.How difficult would this be to setup?
Is there a better solution using my PC as a controller? ( I am looking to try labview on some real hardware without spending a fortune)
Thank you,
Andrew
09-03-2008 05:52 PM
Hi Andrew
Unfortunantly our DAQ devices are not able to do single loop hardware timed I/O and are thus not recommended for motion control applications. We do offer a wide range of motion control cards which will fit inside your computer in PCI format. Our motion controller cards are supported by easy to use VI's that will allow you to setup your computer as a motion controller very quickly and efficiently. I have linked our wepage covering the motion controller cards below, please let me know if you have any futher questions.
NI Motion Hardware:
http://www.ni.com/motion/hardware_selection.htm
Thank You
Eric Reid
09-15-2008 08:38 AM
09-16-2008 09:34 AM
Hi Gingerhale
While it may be possible to generate a PWM from your USB 6501 you will not be able to maintain the same control as you would have with one of our motion controller cards. The NI motion controller card runs your move trajectory and calculates PID control loop responses via a digital signal processor on board itself to provide the necessary torque. Our motion controller cards are fully supported with a wide range of different VI's to help you setup you axis. The motion controller card will also provide you with a higher level of safety as it will continue to operate even if your system locks up.
Resources regarding our Motion Controller Cards:
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3367
Listing of different Motion Controller Cards:
http://www.ni.com/motion/hardware_selection.htm
Thank You
Eric Reid
09-18-2008 03:13 PM
09-19-2008 10:19 AM
Hi Gingerhale
Try looking in the example finder for digital pulse train generation. There are several examples that focus around generating digital pulse trains you could perhaps use the finite example of this to control the number of peaks you send to your drive. The issue of using DAQ cards versus motion controls was discussed in the past in this thread.
Thank You
Eric Reid
02-17-2009 11:22 PM
I asked around and was able to program Mdrive 23 using USB 6501. I used few different type of loops. The time that I can provide for one cycle of pulse to generate motor movement is within 2-5ms for one . Sometimes the motor had noise that slowed down its speed, but it's not severe. I could also change the direction of the motor and was able to have control on on/off signal.
It was a good experience for me.