how to program Relay Driver, NI pxi-2567, to carry out hardware timed events

[KovAcevich7]

So im not sure if the title is exactly correct, but what i want to do is activate 4 relays total, within 5 milliseconds. The end goal would be to activate 1 relay, activate the next 2 simultaneously, and then activate the 4th and final relay. 

I am using a NI PXI-2567 Relay Driver, LabVIEW 15 and my OS is Windows 7. I was wondering if there is a way to program my relay driver to carry out the activation of those relays that i stated above, but do it all within 5 ms and automatically if i just send one command? This way, it would be a hardware timed event instead of software and i should easily be able to sequentially activate the stated relays within the 5ms time period. 

[KovAcevich7]

P.S. - I have not started the code yet so i do not have anything to attach. I read somewhere that this is something that i should be able do but I have no idea where to begin. Thanks!

[Kyle97330]

I would start by reading this article:

https://www.ni.com/en/support/documentation/supplemental/06/timing-and-synchronization-features-of-n...

Have you used DAQmx at all before?

[KovAcevich7]

to be honest, no.

[Kyle97330]

Well, your main options are really either to use LabVIEW and DAQmx to set up the hardware trigger configuration you want to use, or to buy a PXI controller such as this one that runs a real-time operating system and as such can meet exact timing requirements to a degree that Windows can't.

I can't rule out that there may be other options but those are the two that I know of.

[KovAcevich7]

I would like to use DAQmx and Labview to take care of this. And so you are saying it is doable to configure my relay driver to switch the appropriate relays sequentially within 5ms, and do this in a way so that i just have to send the Relay Driver a single command and it will execute?

[Kyle97330]

In theory yes.  In practice I've never used that particular board so I can't be certain.  

How are you getting the input trigger signal (i.e. what generates it, what voltage, and where does it plug in?

You best bet may be just to start with some general DAQmx examples or tutorials as I'm not just going to write code for you for hardware that I don't have...

[KovAcevich7]

I want to send a command from teststand into labview and in labview, it would send a boolean perhaps, to the relay driver to carry out my programmed relays (assuming i can manually program my relay driver). The relays i want to drive are on a board and connected to 5V on one side of the coil and to the relay driver on the other side through a cable connection, so when i activate a switch on the relay driver, it closes/opens a relay on my board. Is this what you meant by input trigger signal?

[FinchTrain]

Hi,

To get the most immediate response, you can use hardware triggers to activate or step through a scan list. While sending a command through software is an option, if you can set up your system in a way that uses real signals to trigger connections on your relay. Below is an example using a DMM and switch to utilize a handshaking method.

https://www.ni.com/en/support/documentation/supplemental/08/ni-pxi-4071---dc-current---dmm-switch-ha...

Let me know what questions you have.

Regards,

Finch Train