Transfer function in LabView

[Shay]

Hi all,
I'm very new to LabView and I need a little bit of help to get started.

I'm hoping to build a simple roll bender and I'm looking to see if
LabView would be a good option for controlling the system.

To start off with i want to see if labview 5 can control this system:

My PC interface will be: NI USB-6009 14-Bit, 48 kS/s Multifunction Data
Acquisition for USB
I hope to set up a test rig where I have an LVDT as my input and 2
LED's as my outputs (the led's will indicate FWD/REV... in the future
this output will control an actuator... e.g. motor forward & Reverse).

I want to have a set point where the actuator will move to. In the
future I hope to have the actuator bending a sheet of metal, the LVDT
will input the the sheets position and the actuator will bend to this
position.

If you would like further info e.g. diagrams etc please email me.

Please forgive the fact that I know very little 🙂

Thanks loads,
Shay

[Otis]

Hi Shay,

While what you are describing certainly sounds within the realm of something that could be done with LabVIEW and a DAQ device.  You will find that there are a few problems with the initial setup.  DAQmx (the drivers for the USB-6009) only can be run in LabVIEW 7.0 or higher.  So you will need to get a newer version of LabVIEW to operate your USB-6009.

Secondly, I'm not sure what speeds you're dealing with in your system, but you may find that the USB bus has a bit too much latency for really fast operations.  The delay between acquisition, analysis and presentation may only be a few tens milliseconds, but for some applications even that it too long.  If you need something faster you might want to look at something like a PXI system with an RT operating system.

Finally, if you want to read the LVDT, then you will need to use external excitation.  Also, typically with LVDTs it's good to have some external signal conditioning that cannot really be done by the USB-6009. 

Bottom line is that you can definitely use our products to accomplish what you posted.  However, you will need to upgrade your software and/or get some newer/different hardware in order for everything to work appropriately.

Regards,