What are resources that one has to use motion control in LabView?

[Graymalkin79]

I am a newbie at Labview and I am trying to get a stepper motor to drive a shaft for one rotation (the shaft is attached to a bearing which will rotate a laser around a fixed object in the center). I am very limited in experience and I am wondering if ValueMotion is the way to go. Do you have to purchase the PC controller from NI to use value or flex motion? It would appear that using the intialization and setup VI's that ship with LV 6i would be the easiest and quickest route.

What demos/programs for labview will be best in helping me in my efforts? I have yet to even select the controller or stepper motor for this application.

[MotionMaster]

Hello Graymalkin79...

LabVIEW and an NI motion controller for your PC are an excellent combination for the application that you describe. To answer your specific questions...Yes the ValueMotion and FlexMotion VI's require a PC based controller from NI. For your application, either the 7334 stepper controller (ValueMotion) or the 7344 step/servo controller (FlexMotion) will do the trick. For straighforward stepper control as you describe in your application, ValueMotion is fine and the VI's for init, setup and operation should have you up and running quickly. FlexMotion provides a significant level of motion capability and overall system integration that may enhance your total application, but that's difficult to determine from your brief description.

Most
any Stepper Motor requires a power driver unit like the MID7602, and the selection of this component really depends on the motor that you choose and its associated torque and speed requirements in your system.

Both ValueMotion and FlexMotion VI libraries provide motion demos that you can use interactively as well as VI's that you can integrate into your overall laser based LabVIEW application.

[Graymalkin79]

One of the biggest drawbacks to the controller from NI is the cost. Even though I will not be the one responsible for purchasing the card, I am wondering how I can justify the purchase of the NI card. Would it be better/easier/cheaper to go with a controller with a parallel or serial interface?

Your response was fantastic and I really appreciate it.

[asdf]

Hello Graymalkin79,

I wanted to expand on a couple of items that MotionMaster described:

1. The 7334 is a stepper only controller, but it is using the FlexMotion driver, which gives you all the benefits of FlexMotion (2D & 3D Vector Spaces) vs ValueMotion (simple point to point moves only).

2. If you compare the price of the 7334 with the ValueMotion 7324, they are the same price. FlexMotion is a significantly more advanced driver at the same price.

3. The price difference between the FlexMotion (PCI Based) Motion Controller and a serial based motion controller is only 1 factor. Communication speed, integration capability, complexity of available moves... are a few other factors to consider.

4. The last factor is the user interface with the motion contr
oller. If you are using LabVIEW, CVI, ComponentWorks, Visual Basic, C++ or any other compiler, the FlexMotion tools that are available will make developement easier and faster than any serial functions.