How to install NI SoftMotion in LabView Community Edition

[ukitect]

I'm retired and working on home projects. I need to control a SolidWorks model using LabView/SoftMotion. I registered for the LabView 2022 Q3 Community Edition, then downloaded and installed NI SoftMotion Module 2020 as an evaluation version. However, when I'm inside the LabView project explorer, a right click on 'My Computer' does not show 'SolidWorks Assembly' in the shortcut menu. I'm guessing I must have installed SoftMotion incorrectly. Does anyone know how to do this?

[Bob_Schor]

NI Softmotion was last released for LabVIEW 2020.  I believe it is no longer a supported product (but might work with LabVIEW 2020).

Bob Schor

[ukitect]

I just installed LabView 2020, and still a right click on 'My Computer' --> 'new' will not bring up 'SolidWorks Assembly' in the shortcut menu. Could the problem be with Community Edition? Does LabView 2020 automatically link to the SoftMotion Module? Or is there something I need to do to make sure LabView 2020 knows the SoftMotion Module is present?

[ZYOng]

From LabVIEW SoftMotion™ Module Readme

The LabVIEW 2020 SoftMotion Module is compatible with the following National Instruments software. 

• LabVIEW 2020 Base, Full, or Professional Development System (32-bit)

LabVIEW Community Edition does not support any add-on modules.

[Bob_Schor]

This is getting complicated.  You are using LabVIEW Community Edition 2022 (which has some restrictions), and have downloaded (and installed) SoftMotion 2020 (which might not be supported in LabVIEW 2022), all to be able to import Solidworks data.  So many places for different software to interact (or not).

Before investing more time/energy/resources into this, I would suggest finding someone with a Full or Professional installation of 32-bit LabVIEW 2020, and see if you can add the SoftMotion 2020 module, and see if you can then open a Solidworks file, which may also require having a working version of Solidworks installed.  Note that the Report Generation Toolkit, which can generate Excel and Word reports, depend on your having Excel and Word to do some of the "heavy lifting".

Note that the Community Edition license restricts the kind of LabVIEW development you can do with it.  That, ultimately, might be where your problem originates.

Bob Schor

[rolfk · Accepted solution]

First important thing to consider: A Module/Toolkit or similar needs to always be installed after the actual LabVIEW installation, as the Module/Toolkit will normally only install into LabVIEW versions it supports AND which in can find on the system. This is somewhat less of an issue if the Module/Toolkit supports the new LabVIEW AddOns feature but that is LabVIEW 2023 and newer and according Toolkits 2023 and newer only.

Then, SoftMotion is NI legacy and not anymore supported. As you found out 2020 is the latest available and there likely never will be a newer one. It may not have been enabled to support the Community Edition as the release of that module likely was around the same time as LabVIEW 2020 itself and the Community Edition was somewhat later.

[ukitect]

Thanks to all who answered. Installing LabView 2020 (not the Community Edition) followed by SoftMotion Module 2020 seems to work. I've been able to read in the SolidWorks motor axes successfully, now working on figuring out how to put together programs.

[Bob_Schor]

The two responses just before your previous response suggested the method that worked, i.e. posted the "Solution" to your question.  Please mark one (or both) of them as the Solution -- it helps other users of the LabVIEW Forum to see that a Problem that they may also have has a Solution.

Bob Schor