MGC 647C MKS Intruments <--> Computer Communication

[pukumarathe]

Dear All,

I am new in the world of LabView and electronic communications. For my research work I am using Multi Gas Controller 647C of MKS Intruments. Following things I have done and trying to obtain data from the display of MGC to computer. But I am unable to. 😞

1. I have 2 MF1s, 1 MF meter and 647C. I have connected the cables from MF1s to 647C. They are showing flow values, units etc.

2. I have port for RS232 on controller. I have connected RS232 to my computer (COM1).

3. I have downloaded MGC 647C LabView drivers from following link. I have LabViwe 8.5. I have incorporated the zip file in LabView Pellet Library and am able to see it in the pellet menu in blockdiagram window.

http://sine.ni.com/apps/utf8/niid_web_display.model_page?p_model_id=4736

4. I have just basic idea of LabView. I have been watching online tutorials of DAQ and simple programming in LabView but its not helping me to excute what I am looking for.

I would sincerely appreaciate someones help.

Thanks a lot in advance. 🙂

[Dennis_Knutson]

Serial communication has nothing to do with DAQ. At the main instrument control page, there are links to tutorials.https://www.ni.com/en/support/downloads/instrument-drivers.html

I would also suggest you use a program such as hyperterminal, putty, etc, to get familiar with the communication. Search for basic rs-232 tutorials to gain familiarity with the protocol (parity, data bits, etc.).

[Dani87]

I agree with Dennis_Knutson. For better understanding how the rs232 communication works you can read this => http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3450/en/#toc5 

[clementw]

Maybe first of all you should check whether you are using the right cable. Especially if the Rx and Tx lines are crossed (Tx 647C <--> Rx PC and Rx 647C <--> Tx PC).

See this pdf for supported cables (Page 31):

http://www.mksinst.com/docs/R/647Cman.pdf

Then, as already mentioned here, you could connect to the device with a hyperterminal program (I used HTerm) and see if its responding to commands in general (see Page 35 for command syntax and a list of all commands).

I got this very device working in LabVIEW recently, so if you have any further questions, feel free to ask 😉

[Rasika88]

Thanks ! 🙂

[pukumarathe]

Hi ClementW,

Thanks for the infomation.

I have correct cables and made correct connections as showned on page 31 of the manual.

I have copy pasted (drivers?) in the library of the LabVIEW.

Then using the in-built example-1, I am able to read the flowrates with blockdiagram & frontpanel as shown in the figure following

After this I still need following things which I am unable to

1. The graph for flowrate of each channel(1-3)

2. The same flowrate simultaneoulsy recorded in Excel or any other data format which I can analyse later once my experiment is finished

Thanks a lot in advance !!

Pushkar

[clementw]

Hi Pushkar,

nice to hear you are able to talk to the device.

To graph the flow rates a simple solution might be this:

Here, the flow rates of each channel are collected in an array and the whole array is the input for the graph. But note, the values are not in absolut units! The Flow Rates are in the units of the Range Codes for every channel separately, so one cant compare them in the graph, in general (In fact, I am not even sure if the value of the VI "Read Flow" should be corrected with the GCF. Are the measured values in the example program the same as in the display of the actual device? Especially for Channel 2 where the Gas Correction Factor is not equal to one?).

To record the Flow Rates you could use the VI "Write To Measurement File" (https://www.ni.com/docs/en-US/bundle/labview-api-ref/page/vi-lib/express/express-output/exfilewriteb...) in the same manner.

Best Regards,

clementw

[amazed]

Side note. Having used the 647C, found that the communications faster and more reliable if RS232 cable set for soft handshake (8+7 shorted and 6+4 short on both ends of cable) .  647 will detect this cable automatically on pwr up.  Typical response = 60-70ms/rd

best regards

[pukumarathe]

Hi Clementw,

Thanks a lot and sorry for me replying late.

After trial and error and reading more about LabVIEW now i am in position to generate my own flowsheet. With this I can measure and store temperaure, pressure and mass flows in signle VI and .lvm file.

Thanks a lot once again for your help.

Regards

Pushkar

[Dr.JonesChemistry]

Hey. Im having the same issue right now, but I suck at Labview. Is it an option that you could send the "script" file to me, and then I would be able just to open it on my computer with labview and then it works?? I also have the mks 647C mass controller.

Kind Jonas