Using compactRIO for basic data acquisition

[ray456]

I am considering a cRIO-9076 for real-time control. However, I would like to get the most flexibility & value out of the hardware. Apart from real-time control applications, I also need to perform basic data acquisition using a PC. In fact, this is probably what I would initially use the device for. I know there are other NI devices better-suited to such simple applications, but as I say, I would like the most flexibility.

So I would like to know if it relatively straightforward to use cRIO for basic data input or output. Is it a programming nightmare? My labview skills are fairly basic.

thanks for any advice

Raymond

[Oli.P]

Hi Raymond,

I'm Oli, one of the Application Engineers at NIUK.  Welcome (back) to the forums!

Going straight for a cRIO system, rather than cDAQ, will definitely give you more flexibility for future use and it isn't significantly harder to program with for basic applications such as data logging.  It is more of a different 'type' of programming.  cRIOs are able to log to their local disk or publish data streams/variables to their network connections, so you will have a multitude of options as to how you want to get the data back to your PC.  Usually, a cDAQ would be more appropriate for this task and would certainly be quicker to get up and running from a programming perspective, but a RIO is more than capable.

Even with 'fairly basic' LabVIEW skills (as you put it!), you shouldn't struggle to get the RIO system up and running.  There is a lot of material available on these forums and our website that will help you get started.  Once you have configured your project and connected up the RIO hardware, it's mostly just a case of 'Drag and Drop' to get basic variables and start reading your data.

I'd suggest having a read through this document as it details pretty much exactly what you want to do.  It's quite lengthy, but will give you a good understanding of how things work.  For your basic application, you will probably want to use 'Scan Interface Mode' (unless you require high speed analysis or acquisition).  This will all become clear after reading the document.

The FPGA Mode will enable you to do extremely fast calculations on your data in real time, but is a bit more complicated to program with.

To work with a cRIO, you require LabVIEW, the LabVIEW RT Module and potentially the LabVIEW FPGA Module.  You can download 30 day evaluations of these if you want to have a go at programming.  You also need the NI-RIO Drivers to connect to and simulate the hardware.

You may also be aware of this already, but you can also simulate a complete cRIO system in the LabVIEW Project and start programming and playing around before you decide on the hardware you want.  Then as soon as you receive your hardware, you can simply set the IP correctly and carry on with the code you have been working on, which is pretty neat!

I hope that gives you some more information, if there's anything else I can help with, please feel free to post a reply and I'll be more than happy to assist.

Best Regards,

[apeace]

any can help me to give a link to install the real time module for labview2011 and also link to install the crio driver..i just use the evaluation labview..i use a crio-9022..tq