Summary of meeting with Dr. Bay
Three things you need to define for every measurement in a system to be controlled by LabVIEW.
1) Physical Range
2) Desired Resolution
3) Rate
Dr. Bay then explained how the modules acquire data with regard to range, speed, and resolution as well as looking over our proposed DAQ modules. He is of the opinion that the selected system will satisfy our needs as far as the DAQ modules are concerned.
We then spent the rest of the meeting talking about motor and fan control with the DAQ assistant. The unit we proposed to provide voltage to the motors and fans is overkill. Instead we need a simple speed controller. This will be able to regulate a DC or AC motor with computer controlled voltage.
National Instruments sells these speed controllers. They are called switching modules (relay modules).
These switching modules will scale up the voltage to allow the voltage I/O module to control the fan, motors, and solenoids.
Dr. Bay also explained Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), which is another way of controlling fan or motor speed. PWM works by turning the fan/motor on and off at a controlled frequency such that the unit moves at the desired speed. This is simple to do and inexpensive. It is important to check with manufactures if the fan/motor can handle PWM though.
Three things you need to define for every measurement in a system to be controlled by LabVIEW.
1) Physical Range
2) Desired Resolution
3) Rate
Dr. Bay then explained how the modules acquire data with regard to range, speed, and resolution as well as looking over our proposed DAQ modules. He is of the opinion that the selected system will satisfy our needs as far as the DAQ modules are concerned.
We then spent the rest of the meeting talking about motor and fan control with the DAQ assistant. The unit we proposed to provide voltage to the motors and fans is overkill. Instead we need a simple speed controller. This will be able to regulate a DC or AC motor with computer controlled voltage.
National Instruments sells these speed controllers. They are called switching modules (relay modules).
These switching modules will scale up the voltage to allow the voltage I/O module to control the fan, motors, and solenoids.
Dr. Bay also explained Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), which is another way of controlling fan or motor speed. PWM works by turning the fan/motor on and off at a controlled frequency such that the unit moves at the desired speed. This is simple to do and inexpensive. It is important to check with manufactures if the fan/motor can handle PWM though.
