Instrumentation and Measurement Mizan-Tepi University
CHAPTER-6
INTRODUCTION TO NI LABVIEW AND MEASUREMENT
INTRODUCTION TO LabVIEW:
LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench) is a graphical
programming language that uses icons instead of lines of text to create applications. In contrast
to text-based programming languages, where instructions determine the order of program
execution, LabVIEW uses dataflow programming, where the flow of data through the nodes on
the block diagram determines the execution order of the VIs and functions. VIs, or virtual
instruments, is LabVIEW programs that imitate physical instruments.
In LabVIEW, you build a user interface by using a set of tools and objects. The user
interface is known as the front panel. You then add code using graphical representations of
functions to control the front panel objects.
This graphical source code is also known as G code or block diagram code.
The block diagram contains this code. In some ways, the block diagram resembles a flowchart.
You can purchase several add-on software toolkits for developing specialized
applications. All the toolkits integrate seamlessly in LabVIEW.
LabVIEW Documentation Resources:
LabVIEW includes extensive online and print documentation for new and experienced
LabVIEW users.
LabVIEW Help:
Use the LabVIEW Help to access information about LabVIEW programming concepts,
step-by-step instructions for using LabVIEW, and reference information about LabVIEW VIs,
functions, palettes, menus, and tools.
The LabVIEW Help includes links to the technical support resources on the National
Instruments Web site, such as NI Developer Zone, the KnowledgeBase, and the Product
Manuals Library.
Access the LabVIEW Help by selecting Help»Search the LabVIEW Help. You also
can print a help topic or a book of help topics from the LabVIEW Help.
Note: Refer to the LabVIEW Help for more information about printing help topics.
After you install a LabVIEW add-on such as a toolkit, module, or driver, the
documentation for that add-on appears in the LabVIEW Help or appears in a separate help
system you access by selecting Help»Add-On Help, where Add-On Help is the name of the
separate help system for the add-on.
Print Documents:
The following print documents contain information that you might find helpful as you
use LabVIEW:
• Getting Started with LabVIEW—Use this manual as a tutorial to familiarize yourself
with the LabVIEW graphical programming environment and the basic LabVIEW
features you use to build data acquisition and instrument control applications.
• LabVIEW Quick Reference Card—Use this card as a reference for information about
documentation resources, keyboard shortcuts, data type terminals, and tools for editing,
execution, and debugging.
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• LabVIEW Fundamentals—Use this manual to learn about LabVIEW programming
concepts, techniques, features, VIs, and functions you can use to create test and
measurement, data acquisition, instrument control, datalogging, measurement analysis,
and report generation applications. The LabVIEW Help includes all the content in this
manual.
• LabVIEW Release Notes—Use these release notes to install and uninstall LabVIEW.
The release notes also describe the system requirements for the LabVIEW software,
including the LabVIEW Application Builder.
• LabVIEW Upgrade Notes—Use these upgrade notes to upgrade LabVIEW for
Windows, Mac OS, and Linux to the latest version.
These documents are available in print and as PDFs in the labview\ manuals directory. You
must have Adobe Reader with Search and Accessibility 5.0.5 or later installed to view the
PDFs. You must have Adobe Reader with Search and Accessibility 6.x or later installed to
search PDF versions of these manuals. (Mac OS) You must have Adobe Reader with Search
and Accessibility 6.x or later installed to view the PDFs.
Readme Documents:
The following readme documents contain information that you might find helpful as you
use LabVIEW:
LabVIEW Readme—Use this file to learn important last-minute information about
LabVIEW, including installation and upgrade issues, compatibility issues, changes from
the previous version of LabVIEW, and known issues with LabVIEW. Open the
LabVIEW Readme by selecting Start»All Programs»National Instruments»
LabVIEW Application Builder Readme—Use this document to learn about installing the
LabVIEW Application Builder, which is included in the LabVIEW Professional
Development System and is available for purchase separately. Open the LabVIEW
Application Builder Readme by selecting Start»All Programs»National Instruments»
LabVIEW VI Templates, Example Vis, and Tools:
Use the LabVIEW VI templates, example VIs, and tools as a starting point to help you
design and build VIs.
LabVIEW VI Templates:
The built-in VI templates include the subVIs, functions, structures, and front panel
objects you need to get started building common measurement applications. VI templates open
as untitled VIs that you must save. Select
File»New to display the New dialog box, which lists the built-in VI templates. You also can
display the New dialog box by clicking the New link in the Getting Started window.
LabVIEW Example Vis:
LabVIEW searches among hundreds of example VIs you can use and incorporate into
VIs that you create. You can modify an example to fit an application, or you can copy and paste
from one or more examples into a VI that you create. Browse or search the example VIs with
the NI Example
LabVIEW Tools for DAQ Configuration (Windows):
Use Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) to help you configure measurement
devices. Select Tools » Measurement & Automation Explorer to launch MAX and configure
National Instruments hardware and software. You install MAX from the National Instruments
Device Drivers CD.
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Refer to the Controlling Instruments book on the Contents tab in the LabVIEW Help
for information about controlling other types of instruments.
Use the DAQ Assistant to graphically configure channels or common measurement
tasks. The DAQ Assistant Express VI does not appear on the Functions palette unless you have
NI-DAQmx installed. Refer to the DAQ
MEASUREMENT AND VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION:
You take measurements with instruments. Instrumentation helps science and technology
progress. Scientists and engineers around the world use instruments to observe, control, and
understand the physical universe.
Our quality of life depends on the future of instrumentation—from basic research in life
sciences and medicine to design, test and manufacturing of electronics, to machine and process
control in countless industries.
History of Instrumentation:
As a first step in understanding how instruments are built, consider the history of
instrumentation. Instruments have always made use of widely available technology. In the 19th
century, the jeweled movement of the clock was first used to build analog meters. In the 1930s,
the variable capacitor, the variable resistor, and the vacuum tube from radios were used to build
the first electronic instruments. Display technology from the television has contributed to
modern oscilloscopes and analyzers. And finally, modern personal computers contribute high-
performance computation and display capabilities at an ever-improving performance-to-price
ratio.
Virtual Instrumentation:
Virtual instrumentation is defined as combining hardware and software with industry-
standard computer technologies to create user-defined instrumentation solutions. National
Instruments specializes in developing plug-in hardware and driver software for data acquisition
(DAQ), IEEE 488 (GPIB), VXI, serial, and industrial communications. The driver software is
the programming interface to the hardware and is consistent across a wide range of platforms.
Application software such as LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Component Works, and Measure
deliver sophisticated display and analysis capabilities required for virtual instrumentation.
You can use virtual instrumentation to create a customized system for test,
measurement, and industrial automation by combining different hardware and software
components.
System Components for Taking Measurements with Virtual Instruments:
Different hardware and software components can make up your virtual instrumentation
system. Many of these options are described in more detail throughout this manual. There is a
wide variety of hardware components you can use to monitor or control a process or test a
device. As long as you can connect the hardware to the computer and understand how it makes
measurements, you can incorporate it into your system.
COMPUTER BASED DATA ACQUISITION OVERVIEW:
This overview will help you understand the basics of data acquisition on a computer.
Traditionally, measurements are done on standalone instruments of various types
oscilloscopes, multimeters, counters etc. However, the need to record the measurements and
process the collected data for visualization has become increasingly important.
There are several ways in which the data can be exchanged between instruments and a
computer. Many instruments have a serial port which can exchange data to and from a computer
or another instrument.
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Another way to measure signals and transfer the data into a computer is by using a Data
Acquisition board. A typical commercial DAQ card or module allows input of analog signals
through an ADC and output of analog signals through a DAQ. In addition a DAQ card may
facilitate input and output of digital signals.
In the following overview we will attempt to explain various aspects of a DAQ system
used in the Systems Design Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Lab.
Sampling:
The data is acquired by an ADC using a process called sampling. Sampling an analog
signal occurs at discrete time intervals. The rate at which the signal is sampled is known as the
sampling frequency. The process of sampling generates values of the signal as a function of
time as shown in following figure:
Sampling process
The sampling frequency determines the quality of the analog signal conversion process.
A Higher sampling frequency achieves better conversion of the analog signals. The minimum
sampling frequency required to represent the signal should be at least twice the maximum
frequency of the analog signal under test (this is called the Nyquist rate). In the following figure
an example of sampling is shown. If the sampling frequency is equal or less than twice the
frequency of the input signal, a signal of lower frequency is generated from such a process (this
is called aliasing).
Effects of Sampling and aliasing due to under sampling
Analog to Digital Conversions (ADC):
Once the signal has been sampled, the analog signal is converted into a digital code. This
process is called analog to digital conversion. This is shown in Figure:
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Analog to Digital Conversion for a 3-bit ADC
Commercially available boards allow for different ranges of sampling frequencies. The
DAQ modules in the Systems Undergraduate Lab have a 12 bit ADC with sampling rate up to
1.2 KHz.
Most boards also have a multiplexer that acts a like a switch to feed different channels to
the ADC. Therefore with 1 ADC, it is possible to have a multi-channel input DAQ board. All
boards in the Systems Undergraduate Lab are 8 channel analog input boards. This makes it
possible to acquire up to 8 analog signals in parallel.
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