Temperature control and logging

[sadine]

Hi everybody. I appreciate any help or comments concerning the following:

What is the best (easiest to set-up and run) temperature controller that can be computer controlled using labview. I need the ability to write a temperature profile in the computer and have temperature , time and sensor data logged (i.e saved in an excel file) in the computer.

Basically, I am trying to get the carbon dioxide gas concentration evolved as I heat a waste sample to 500F with 10 minute steps at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500F. The sensor for the carbon dioxide output is 4-20 mA.

I have not purchased anything yet so I am open to any set of temperature controller, interface and software.

Thanks

[Brian F.]

Hi sadine. 

Thank you for posting to the NI Discussion Forums.

I would like to clarify your setup and what you would like to so I can better assist you.  From my understanding, you are using a CO2 sensor to measure the CO2 level in an environment with temperatures varying between 100-500 degrees.  From this setup, you wish to record the time, temperature, and CO2 level in LabVIEW. 

From this setup, do you need help finding a piece of hardware that controls only the temperature level?  Or do you need help setting up the acquisition part of the system? 

If you need help picking out the data acquisition hardware and software, I would recommend LabVIEW with one of our USB-9211 modules which will be great for measuring low amplitude readings (like you 4-20 mA CO2 sensor). 

Let me know if this answers your questions, or if you have questions that are still unanswered.  We would be happy to help you further!

Have a great day!

Brian F

Applications Engineer

National Instruments