LabVIEW Commnication with FPGA

[sout23]

I am looking to using LabVIEW as a Control Interface for a small power system. The system is controlled by a FPGA chip and has a RS485 port. Just looking for ideas and guidance on how i can achieve serial communication from LabVIEW to the FPGA and also start developing a control interface.

(Currently to Power system is being controlled by an Arduino which i am looking to replace with a LabVIEW interface)

[NapDynamite]

You will have to create a custom design inside FPGA for serial communication and then hook your PC with FPGA via this serial port. 

You can do better with NI Embedded Hardware.

[sout23]

Is There a way to achieve this without extra hardware?

[natasftw]

The FPGA will have to be programmed separately.  LabVIEW FPGA works with NI FPGA products.

Once that's in place, you'd want to see how it connects to the outside world.  Here, you said serially.  In that case, you'd build a program using NI VISA to send serial commands from your computer to the FPGA.

[NapDynamite]

Yes it is, as I mentioned earlier, you have to  code your FPGA for RS485 communication protocol so it could communicate via its digital I/O lines. 

[sout23]

Oh right, of course, thanks.

Is there any tutorials/literature you could direct me to?

[sout23]

Does LabVIEW FPGA work only exclusively with NI FPGA products or can it still program other FPGA devices?

[NapDynamite]

Currently LabVIEW supports only NI based FPGA hardware and one of the Xilinx Spartan 3E-XUP. 

[ToeCutter]

Maybe I'm reading the question wrong, but it sounds to me like you don't need to program the FPGA- you have a power controller that already communicates via serial - so the FPGA has been programmed by the manufacturer. Is that correct? If so, you just need to recreate the Arduino end using serial output functions.

[sout23]

No the Arduino is connected to the FPGA and communicates with it.