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How to control a Thor Lab NRT150 motorised translation stage with LabView?

Hi there. I have very little understandig of LabView since I have only attended an introductory course, however I have been asked to control a translation stage (ThorLabs NRT150) with LabView. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone with experince in this situation could help me set this up. Many thanks in advance!!

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Hi alexios, 

 

Is this still a problem for you? 

 

Nathan

Nathan
Applications Engineer
National Instruments UK & Ireland
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Hi Nathan,

 

I am just starting to look into doing the same thing. I'm trying to control a series of Thorlabs stages (NRT150, NRT100, NR360S) using LabView 2012 interfaced via a NI PXI-7356 and MID-7604. I'm looking around the site for tutorials or others who have accomplished this in the past, but if you can offer any insight that would help get me started I would appreciate it.

 

Best,

Cris

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Hi Cris,

 

Welcome to the NI Discussion Forums, are you looking for help with the software or hardware side of things (or both)?

 

To start with connections comparing the two following PDFs should give you a guide on how to wire them, the given names of the signal are the same (or similar with respect to limits).

 

MID 7604 (See Back Panel Connector Wiring): http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/372454g.pdf

Thor Labs NRT150 (See Pin Diagram): http://www.thorlabs.de/NewGroupPage9.cfm?ObjectGroup_ID=2132

Regards,

Ben Clark
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Hi Ben,

 

I've compared the diagrams previously and got everything wired up except the +5V Limit pin from the NRT150 (using a D-Sub 15 breakout board). I'm not sure what the corresponding input on the back of the MID is - since my home and negative limit are the same with this stage I currently have the positive limit in Limit 1, the negative (home) limit in Limit 3, and the limit ground in Limit 6.

 

Do you have a suggestion for the +5V limit pin connection on the MID side?

 

This is my first venture into both motorized assemblies and LabView, so I suppose I'm seeking help on first the hardware (achieving motion of any sort) and then the software, which it looks like there are a fair number of built-in examples to help get me started.

 

On the controller side, I'm using a NI PXI 7356, and I will eventually be connecting a MID 7602 to have 6 total axes, in case that is relevant.

 

Thanks for the reply,

Cris

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Hi Cris,

 

I believe that in this case the switches need a 5V line for power, if this is the case then you can use any of the 5V lines but i'd check with the manufacturer first.

 

With regards to software the examples are a very good place to start, but feel free to post here if there's anything you're having trouble with.

 

As a note each port on the 7356 controllers has IO for up to four axes, each MID 7602 only has access to two of these axes.

Regards,

Ben Clark
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Hi Ben,

 

I wanted to follow up that I got my stage moving yesterday, so the hardware seems to be set up fine now. I wanted to make a few comments in case anyone else searches these forums in the future to ease integration.

 

You're correct that any +5V source will do; the limit gets activated by closing the limit circuit to ground, so the 5V just ensures that you're above the off voltage for the limit switches.

 

It's also worth noting that the pin diagram and numbering listed in the NRT150 manual is backwards, i.e. the manual currently has numbering left to right, when in fact it should be numbered right to left (the 1 pin is on the concave side of the pins and the 5 pin is on the convex side). Lastly, these NRT motorized stages come with a cable that is not wired straight through, so I used a multimeter to verify which pin was which on the other end.

 

I found that only two of the 68-pin VHDCI outputs on the PXI 7356 work to connect to my MIDs (which is fine since I have a 7604 for four axes and a 7602 for the remaining two), but I hadn't seen any previous indication of this in the manuals.

 

I'm going to start using some examples today and will definitely follow up if (when) I run into additional questions. Thanks for your willingness to help!

 

Cris

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