Servo Motion Control in LabVIEW and OS?

[LVexpert2b]

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to know if anyone is involved in motion control (ranging from basic to advanced) with LabVIEW for servo application.

If LabVIEW is not being used as a programming platform of choice for your motion control application, then what is currently being used and why is LabVIEW not your choice at this time? Also, what OSes are used for servo applications?

Any feedback on this topic would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Jochen]

I'm working for more than 10 years now with LabVIEW in the area of motion control and I was involved in many successful projects. The range of usecases is huge. Here are some of the most common approaches:

1. Using NI Motion hardware. This is a very straight forward approach that works for a big range of standard applications. The control loop runs on the board and in LabVIEW a simple API is used to communicate with it. As the control algorithm runs onboard, there are no special requirements concerning the OS. You can use Windows with these boards but they are also supported under LabVIEW Real-Time. These boards provide good capabilities to synchronize motion control with data acquisition or machine vision.
2. Using the NI-SoftMotion Development Module for LabVIEW
   This is a very flexible software approach for motion control applications with special requirements in terms of control performance, control algorithms, reliability, form factor, power requirements and so on. NI-SoftMotion requires LabVIEW Real-Time and is frequently used with LabVIEW FPGA. This approach is used in robotics, special purpose machine building, big physics (more than 500 motors at the CERN LHC) and other applications with special requirements.
3. Using LabVIEW with 3rd party external motion controllers
   You can use LabVIEW to  interface to external 3rd party devices through RS232, CAN, Ethernet,... Some vendors ( e. g. Maxon or Isel) provide LabVIEW libraries for their solutions to simplify programming

I hope this gives you an idea about using LabVIEW in motion control applications. Please let me know, if you need more details about any of these topics.

Kind regards,

Jochen Klier

National Instruments

[Brian_Beal]

I prefer to pick out the motion controller based on what it needs to do.  You can interface to almost any motion controller with Labview.  NI products are the easiest to do that with.  I have used NI, Delta Tau, Yaskawa, Baldor, Applied Motion, Parker, Galil, Aerotech, Panasonic and?  With all of those, except for NI, programming is done in the the manufacturers development environment.  Again, Labview can be used to interface to those controllers.

[LVexpert2b]

Thanks everybody for your feedback.

Essentially, I specifically wanted to know if using LabVIEW for a motion control application (ex controlling a robotic platform, XYZ tables, etc) with a 3rd party servo drive is a common trend and if so, then what OSes are used besides Windows & maybe RT-OSes?

Once again, thanks in advance & any further info would be appreciated.

[Brian_Beal]

We should make sure that we are straight on the terminology.  Labview is a programming language.  Motion control is usually accomplished with a motion controller.  The motion controller can be stand alone or connected to a PC.  Labview can be used as a higher level language to interface to the motion controller, or in the case with NI motion controller, program the motion.  The way you have been describing your application is to not have a motion controller, and directly control the amplifier from Labview.  Please clarify the components in your system.

[LVexpert2b]

I appologize if I wasn't clear in my descriptions but my goal is to determine if it is a common trend in which LabVIEW is used to interface to a motion controller and not controlling the amplifier. Hence, from LabVIEW you program your algorithim and feed PVT type of data to the motion controller.

[Jochen]

As LabVIEW has emerged into more and more industrial areas within the last decade, control tasks have become more and more standard usecases for LabVIEW applications. NI has intensified the communication with several vendors in the motion control and robotics market and the main driving force for this communication is the increasing number of customers who approach these vendors for good LabVIEW connectivity. One of the strengths of LabVIEW is the open architecture, that allows to incorporate data acquisition, machine vision, fieldbus communication, (motion) control and so on in a single environment and according to the companies that I have mentioned beforhand, this is the feature that makes LabVIEW very attractive for them.

On the other hand NI will release a significant number of new products (hardware and software) for these markets in 2009 and there are several emerging cooperations and initiatives in the area of mechatronics. So from my (biased) pespective I can see a clear trend to increased usage of LabVIEW in motion control applications.

Jochen

P. S.: I hope, these statements don't sound like too much marketing, but this is my own experience.

[Brian_Beal]

Velocity and torque commands usually go directly to the amplifier.  More and more, with motion networks emerging, position data is sent directly to the amplifier.  The motion controller (or Labview), at this point becomes only a motion profile generator.  All loops are closed in the amplifier.

[LinaZ]

Hello!

I know time has passed, but in this moment I have a very similar question to the one you did in 2009 and I'd like to know if you could join your motion controller to LabVIEW. I'm planing to use some servomotors from Faulhaber, which can be controlled with the Motion Manager program the company offers (programs with mlc. extension basically in ASCII Code) but since the other applications of my system will be automated and controlled using LabVIEW, I'd like to know if it's possile to control this motor through LabVIEW.

Thank you very much for your help!

[Jochen]

Hello LinaZ,

could you please post a datasheet of the Faulhaber drive, that you are using? What interfaces does it provide (e. g. RS232, USB, +/- 10 V command input, EtherCat,...)

Thanks,

Jochen Klier

National Instruments