TTI CPX400DP PS 64-bit LabVIEW Support - Vendor missing 64 bit bersion of CPX400DP_32.dll

[ssezgin]

I would like to integrate the TTI CPX400DP PS using 64-bit LabVIEW. The provided LabVIEW instrument driver on their website is calling a 32-bit DLL (CPX400DP_32.dll) that makes it only possible to use it with 32-bit LabVIEW. I verified the link below actually works with 32 bit LabVIEW and the VIs in the attachment are shown in my palette.
https://www.aimtti.com/resources/cpx-series-combined-labview-and-labwindows-cvi-driver-v140
I am currently waiting a response from the TTI vendor on if 64 bit version of the DLL exists or recompiled for 64bit and be provided.
By the mean time I would like to check here to see if there is anyone who have developed PS library for the given PS to be used with 64 bit LabVIEW? 

Could not find anything on third party driver page, I think using common SCPI commands over serial using NI-VISA, or using device IVI drivers (https://www.aimtti.com/resources/cpx-series-power-supplies-ivi-driver-v140) should also work but before going developing something new was wondering if there is any HW driver solution already out there for this particular PS?

[rolfk · Accepted solution]

The according Instrument Manual describes the command protocol of this device pretty clearly and it does not have many different and complex commands. So the most easy way aside from waiting for the Thurlby Thandar to send you a 64-bit compiled version of their IVI driver would be actually to simply reimplement everything through a LabVIEW native driver using VISA functions.

I would start by downloading a driver from the Instrument Driver Network for a power supply, possibly another Thurlby Thandar one and modifying it to match the commands for this device. There is a good chance that other Thurlby Thandar devices use similar commands. Unfortunately it does not use SCPI command syntax, otherwise it would be fairly straightforward to take any SCPI compatible power supply driver and adapt it to this specific device.

A LabVIEW native driver has the advantage that it will work on every LabVIEW platform, even NI Realtime targets and the Raspberry Pi if you want. An IVI driver is compiled and needs to be recompiled from sources for every new platform, and Thurlby Thandar seems to consider the source code for that driver a company secret. At least there is nowhere any download for that.

[ssezgin]

Thanks for your reply Rolf. LabVIEW native driver development is the path already taken as you suggested as it seems to be the only way right now. Will update the thread if I receive anything from the vendor.

[rolfk]

It's definitely the best in terms of being able to actually debug anything when things don't work as expected.

However I want to correct one statement I did in my previous post. I found on the TTI download page two drivers to install. One is just the IVI driver and the other is the combined IVI and LabVIEW driver. Both install also the C source code to the IVI driver although it is not trivial to find that if you don't know how IVI is setup. It is located in C:\Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\VISA\WinNT\CPX400DP.

This is the C source code and instrument driver front panel and needs to be compiled with LabWindows/CVI. Unless you have a recent LabWindows/CVI installation in 64-bit mode you can't do that and getting the whole think compiled in Microsoft Visual Studio, while possible is an exercise as you have to setup your own Visual Studio project with all the correct settings.

So Thurlby Thandar is not treating its instrument driver source code as a secret as I falsely claimed. It is still a hassle if you want to use that driver in anything but LabWindows/CVI or LabVIEW 32-bit. 

[ssezgin]

Yes I also realized the CPX400.c file within the folder you specified and was wondering if in theory file can be used to be recompiled to 64 bit DLL with LabWindows CVI or any other C IDE.

[jaroslaw_swider]

Hi There, 

sory for digging such old topic out, but i'm also strugling with 32bit dll. Have you managed to get the 64bit dll versvion from vendor? 

Regards

Jaroslaw