Need Help Implementing Ramp Function for Kikusui Electronic Load PLZ205W in LabVIEW

[Varghese89]

Hello LV Experts,

I am a student, and your guidance is invaluable to my studies. I am working with a Kikusui Electronic Load PLZ205W and have installed the kiplz5w instrument driver in LabVIEW for controlling the device. I have successfully established a connection with the load and can operate it in constant current mode, as well as enable and disable the load.

However, I need to implement a ramp function because the driver does not have a built-in function for this.

Example Requirement:

• Ramp to 5 A with a ramp rate of 0.1 A/s.
• Then ramp to 2 A with a ramp rate of 0.2 A/s. (so on)
• I would like to input the target current and ramp rate from the front panel to make the functionality flexible.

I understand that this involves incrementing the current in small steps over time, but I need advice on the best way to achieve this using LabVIEW's programming structures (e.g., loops, delays, etc.) and the driver commands.

Any guidance, tips, or example implementations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for contributing to my learning journey!

[Jay14159265]

It might be hard to get a true ramp if that is not a built in function of the load. You can step the current by setting it in a loop but again you will be limited by the response time of the load. Perhaps you can empirically determine the step time delta that approximates a ramp. 

[Varghese89]

Hi Jay,

Thank you for your reply. Can you please elaborate on how to determine the step time delta?. I am confused on how to implement the loop. Thanks in advance :')

[Jay14159265]

Here is an example of how to set current values in a timed loop. Replace the VISA VIs with your KIKUSUI driver VIs (I don't have that driver)