How to control a Porter Instruments Mass Flow Controller using LabVIEW?

[Pushpak]

Hello,

I have a Porter Instruments Mass Flow Controller model no: 201(Series 200) http://www.porterinstrument.com/pdfs/WS-0009.PDF

I wish to connect it to LabVIEW and control the flow of a gas and calibrate it for different gases.

The MFC does not have a RS-232 option. It has a 9-pin connector to which I have connected a cable and a breadboard circuit mimicking its power options for controlling it.
However, I am unable to find any drivers for this MFC. I also need help as to what I should do to develop the LabVIEW interface for this.

The DAQ that I have is NI cDAQ 9172.

Any help in the form of suggestions, examples and samples, drivers etc. will be appreciated.

Thank you!

[Dennis_Knutson]

There are several control/sense options and you will need a matching DAQ module. The 9172 is just a chassis.

[Thør]

It looks to me like that device has a standard serial connection (RS-232).  It doesn't seem to say anywhere in this datasheet what kind of interface this controller has, or what kinds of commands it's expecting.  I searched around the NI instrument driver network (www.ni.com/idnet) for drivers, but Porter hasn't posted any for this device.  Have you tried connecting a serial cable to this device?  How do you know it's not RS-232? 

[Pushpak]

I have contacted Porter and they confirmed that it does not have an RS232.

I connected a 9pin serial communication cable to the port and to a breadboard trying to calibrate it and it listens to the changes.
My question is how do I go about from here developing an interface for it.

Attached is a complete manual for it.
Thanks!

[Dennis_Knutson]

And do you have voltage i/o or a current loop (4-20ma). That is what I meant by having different options and finding a matching module. No one can recomend NI hardware with out knowing what you have.

Coding is simple with just DAQmx Writes and Reads. The DAQ Assistant would be of help for a beginner.

[FrodoNI]

Yes, its a voltage loop. 
As seen in this thread that Porter does not have any drivers available for download for NI, can I still connect the MFC to LabVIEW?
How should I go about making a code for this MFC?

[Thør]

You could use a digital output line on a DAQ device to write data out serially.  You'd have to figure out what the commands are by contacting Porter though.

[Dennis_Knutson]

You use analog inputs and outputs to control/read the 0 to 10 volt signals. According to the data sheet, it's not digital.

[M-G-M]

What you have is a standard Porter ANALOG flow controller. The only communication available a setpoint (0-5 Vdc or 4-20 mAdc) to the unit and a flow signal from the unit. There are no options for digital communications. To generate a setpoint from Labview, you would need D/A and A/D converters between the computer and the device. Probably not cost effective considering the Porter also has a line of digital MFC (model 601).