Assigning tasks to hardware as needed

[IanDeaville(ZF)]

Hi,

This is a general enquiry, not related to a specific issue, but it will help feed purchasing decisions.  

We use NI hardware connected to third party software (Vector CANape) collecting data via DAQmx tasks.  I would like to build a catalogue of tasks that can be applied to various combinations of hardware in different situations to make life easier for the users.

For example:

A cDAQ chassis with 1× 9213 16-channel thermocouple inputs modules and 1× 9215 4-channel voltage input.  I would assign a thermocouple task to the NO-9213 module and an appropriate task to the NI-9215.

But then, for a different situation, we may have only the NI-9215, or multiple NI-9213 modules fitted.  

Can I manually assign a pre-existing task to a specific device within MAX, based on the physical combination of modules fitted at that time?

Of course, I would respect the maximum number of tasks allowed for the hardware (e.g. 3 for cDAQ chassis)

Or is there something about MAX and task definition which restricts a task in some way?

Thanks,

Ian

[ClaesELP]

 Good evening Ian,

Yes, you can manually assign a pre-existing task to a specific device within MAX, in order to cater for your desired combination of the modules. 

In addition to listing the steps of how to do so, I am going to provide you with some detail, that would prove useful to your general situation.

You need to:

1. Open NI MAX and then click on "my system" then "Data Neighborhood" then  "NI-DAQmx Tasks" and then the name of your task.

2. On the configuration tab of the window in the bottom half of the screen, you click on the blue plus sign right below the blue "Channel Settings" if you want to add a channel, and on the X if you want to remove a channel.

Based on the physical combination/position of modules within your chassis you can and should manually assign the specific device(channel) by using the X and + sign within NI MAX as described above.

Additional detail:

If you used LabVIEW instead of Vector CANape you would be able to change the source of the physical channel inside the LabVIEW code. Thus allowing you to skip the time it takes to go into MAX and do this. If you would like more detail on this, please let me know.

Also, I thought you would find it helpful to know that in NI MAX you can create a simulated NI DAQmx Device, this will let you check things like the concern you had today. To do so you right click on "devices and interfaces" in NI max, select create new, and then you click on "Simulated NI-DAQmx Device"

Let me know if you have any further questions, if further detail on the instructions would be needed or if I misinterpreted you question.

Thank you,

[ClaesELP]

Good evening Ian,

Please do not hesitate to reach out for additional questions, or if the professional feedback did not thoroughly address the general inquiry. 

Thank you,

Claes Gammelgaard

Applications Engineer

National Instruments