Combining Bronkhorst flow-bus controller and my VI

[Molowe91]

I currently have a VI that records temperature and voltage for an experiment and another VI provided by LabVIEW which Bronkhorst developed to allow their flowmeters to be controlled via LabVIEW. 

How do I incorporate/combine the Bronkhorst driver into my VI which acquires data on voltage and temperatures for an experiment so that once my experiment is finished, the file created by my Write to measurements includes the flowrates of the gases with temperatures and voltage?

I have attached the 2 VI.

Note:-The flowmeters are connected via usb directly into the laptop and is detected via NI-VISA which is how the Bronkhorst driver is able to connect to the flowmeters. The temperature and voltage are connected into the ni-daq and then via usb to my laptop.

[ikaiser]

Hello Molowe91,

Unfortunately all SubVIs of the Bronkhorst VI you posted are missing, so it is impossible to find out what happens under the hood.

Apart from that I have a question: I used Bronkhorst devices myself in my thesis. I connected to the Bronkhorst controller(?) using DDE, which required the FlowDDE software from Bronkhorst. Are you using this approach as well or are you going the direct way, without an extra controller and without FlowDDE?

[Molowe91]

Hello Sir,

Im currently using the controller attached in my question to connect with bronkhorst flow meters.

I previously used FlowDDE but switched over to LabVIEW

[ikaiser]

Hello,

I am sorry, I should have used more clear technical terms; I had not noticed the name of the VI before. So my usage of "controller" could have related to the VI, the software, the Control System, and the FlowController. 

What I was trying to figure out is the way your hardware is connected. Please correct:

1) You have one/several FlowMeters or FlowControllers/FlowMeters. What models are you using exactly?

2) How are they connected to your PC? Directly via USB? Or Flowmeter -> Control System like the Bronkhorst E-8000 -> PC?

3) Have you installed any Bronkhorst software or driver on your PC?

To give you more background: My approach was: FlowController -> E-8000 -> FlowDDE software -> LabVIEW.

I used easy DDE commands to connect to FlowDDE.

I have the impression that you are trying to connect to the FlowControllers directly via VISA, is that correct?

[Molowe91]

I have attached a pdf of my current flow meter hook-up.

1) I have 5 flowmeters (model: MASS-STREAM D-6300 ) and an e-8000.

2) the flow meters are connected directly to PC

3) I have previously downloaded the software but stopped using it. LabVIEW provided drivers to connect to the flow meters. I had to download NI-VISA to detect the USB.

I previously used this approach: FlowController -> E-8000 -> FlowDDE software -> LabVIEW. But i thought it would be easy to have every controlled VIA one software.

[ikaiser]

The pdf shows some kind of adapter between the cable coming from the Mass-Stream and the Laptop. I guess you are using RS232 from the Mass-Stream and that adapter is an rs232-to-use adapter? If so, can you see the COM interface in Windows? And, have you verified the Mass-Stream uses the protocol you want (probably FLOW-BUS)?

Just to be sure and as reference for others coming accross this thread: You are using this Bronkhorst FLOW-BUS Controller Certified LabVIEW Plug and Play (project-style) Instrument Driver, right? (At least the one VI attached no your first posting seems to be from there.)

Had you seen the other Example VI in this Bronkhorst driver? The "Setpoint Configure and Read.vi"? It is a good and easy example that shows how to write and read a node ("data value on a device"). Basically it is the steps open connection, read/write data, close connection.

Adding this to your VI is then quite simple: Open the connection to the device first (outside of your loop), then read/write data inside the loop, afterwards close the connection again.

In the driver there are SubVIs implemented for all (most?) parameters (measures, setpoints, measure units) the FLOW-BUS protocol has, so you should do fine without having to know the parameter numbers inside the Mass-Stream. (If not, this is where to start: Instruction manual RS232 interface 9.17.027 page 15 onwards).

By the way, did you know there is a verbose manual about this driver, available here: Instruction Manual FLOW-BUS LabVIEW™ Driver