OPC example to control instrument

[Moonself]

Hi,

I have an HV power supply from ISEG for which I need to write a VI to be able to control and monitor each individual channel (32 in total). The communication happens with an OPC server and I should point out that we do not have the LabVIEW DSC module .

So far, I have managed to talk with the instrument and bind the controls and indicators on my VI to one HV channel. I also made a VI which programactically changes the URL to bind the indicators to a different channel, when executed. So I guess I can do all I need. However, the overall code is sloppy and not very flexible so I am looking for an example of how to write a nice piece of code.

Ideally, what I want is a front panel with a quick overview of all the channels (status, on/off, current voltage) and some additional panels which can be opened with a button to view more details for each channel. I realize this request is rather vague but any help and suggestion (even in terms of "look chapter X of book Y") would be greatly appreciated.

As an additional question, I am still a bit confused about the data binding for controls. Sometimes you can have a LabVIEW control which acts as both reader and writer to the corresponding OPC value and this makes me feel a bit unease. What is the "good etiquette" for using front panel elements and data binding?

Cheers,

Paolo

[Cla_Cup]

Hi Paolo,

are you using datasocket in order to communicate with OPC?

Datasocket is an alternative communication method withou using DSC Module.

This is a good tutorial that will help you. Here instead you can find how connect LabVIEW to OPC with datasocket.

Best Regards

Cla_CUP

[Moonself]

Hi Cla_Cup,

thanks for your reply.

As I wrote, I can communicate with the server. I use both datasockets and control data binding. However, my code looks really really bad and I was hoping to find some style guide on how to setup an OPC VI.

Thanks for the links.

Paolo