The latest NI Software Platform Bundle installer ISO disk image file (similar to a ZIP file) for Spring 2018 is available for download from the following location. Although it is a very large file, using it makes installation easier (compared to downloading all the individual media) assuming you have the network bandwidth and disk space available to handle it (at least 130 GBytes of space on a drive).
Notes:
1. You can install everything in a fully functional evaluation mode for 7 days without registering and an additional 30-45 days after registering.
2. The NI Software Platform Bundle contains nearly every software tool and driver that NI makes, including embedded FPGA/RT programming, co-simulation, and power electronics test. It is a great value and I recommend it for all power electronics development teams. To purchase it, go here. Also included is a year of Software Subscription Package (SSP) which includes free online LabVIEW core training courses and two New System Customer Success sessions with an NI applications engineer to help your devteam get familiar with the LabVIEW tools.
3. The ISO file is 60 GBytes before unzipping, and the total required space is more than twice that. You will need at least 130+ GBytes of space available on a drive.
4. The installer media can be downloaded and unzipped on any drive, but it is recommend to install LabVIEW on a Solid State Drive (SSD) if available for an order-of-magnitude speed improvement when loading projects and files.
Download Instructions:
After downloading to a drive with sufficient room available, use 7-Zip or Winzip to extract the ISO archive.
Then run the following installer:
..\SPB\setup.exe
Installation Instructions:
1. Click Next.
2. Select "Install LabVIEW 2018 only". Click Next. Reply "Yes" that you have already taken the assessment to determine which version of LabVIEW best meets the needs of your application. (For power electronics, it is LabVIEW 2018 only.)
3. Select "I want to evaluate products only." Click Next. Do this even if you have a license and then activate using the NI License Manager application after the installation is done.
4. Log in with your ni.com user profile.
5. Select the products to install. Below is what I recommend installing as a minimum.
Important Note: After adding LabVIEW FPGA 32-bit and 64-bit under "LabVIEW Add-Ons: Deploy", unselect "Xilinx Compilation Tools - ISE 14.7 for LabVIEW 2018" if you are running Windows 10. When prompted "Do you want to deselect the dependent products?" choose No. The installer incorrectly states that Xilinx ISE tools are required for LV FPGA 32-bit. Xilinx only supports these older ISE compilation tools on Windows 7, and they are only needed for older FPGA targets like Spartan-6 (i.e. the first generation sbRIO-9606 GPIC controller).
Below is what I recommend installing as a minimum by category. Your particular interests and language of choice may vary by application but required as a minimum I recommend LabVIEW 2018 (32-bit), LabVIEW FPGA, LabVIEW Real-Time, and Xilinx Compilation Tools - Vivado.
LabVIEW:
LabVIEW 2018 (32-bit) (English)
LabVIEW 2018 (64-bit)
VI Package Manager
LabVIEW Add-Ons: Design (click on this and select Install if you want to install everything in the category):
LabVIEW 2018 Control Design and Simulation Module
LabVIEW 2018 Control Design and Simulation Module (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2018 MathScript RT Module
LabVIEW 2018 MathScript RT Module (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2018 Statechart Module
LabVIEW 2018 SoftMotion Module
LabVIEW 2018 Digital Filter Design Toolkit
LabVIEW 2018 Digital Filter Design Toolkit (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2018 Robotics Module
LabVIEW Add-Ons: Deploy:
LabVIEW 2018 Real-Time Module (English)
LabVIEW 2018 FPGA Module (32-bit) (English)
LabVIEW 2018 FPGA Module (64-bit)
Click on "Xilinx Compilation Tools - ISE 14.7 for LabVIEW 2018" and choose "Do not install". Then choose "No" when prompted to deselect. See note above.
Xilinx Compilation Tools - Vivado 2017.2 for LabVIEW 2018
LabVIEW 2018 myRIO Toolkit
Automotive Diagnostic Command Set 15.0
LabVIEW Add-Ons: Interface:
None
LabVIEW Add-Ons: Analyze (note that some power analysis functions such as motor harmonic analysis use IP from both NI Sound and Vibration Toolkit and Electrical Power Toolkit):
NI Sound and Vibration Toolkit 2018
LabVIEW 2018 Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit
LabVIEW 2018 Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit (64-bit)
Electrical Power Toolkit 2018
LabVIEW Modulation Toolkit 18.0
LabVIEW 2018 DataFinder Toolkit
LabVIEW Add-Ons: Validate:
LabVIEW 2018 Unit Test Framework Toolkit
LabVIEW 2018 Unit Test Framework Toolkit (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2018 VI Analyzer Toolkit
LabVIEW 2018 VI Analyzer Toolkit (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2018 Desktop Execution Trace Toolkit (32-bit and 64-bit)
NI Requirements Gateway 2018
LabVIEW Communications:
None
TestStand (if you are performing automated testing on your power converters):
NI TestStand 2017 (32-bit)
NI TestStand 2017 (64-bit)
LabWindows/CVI (tools for C programming):
None
Measurement Studio (tools for .NET programming):
None
DIAdem (useful for analyzing logged TDMS files such as power converter fault records or real-time test data):
DIAdem 2017 SP1 (32-bit) (English)
DIAdem 2017 SP1 (64-bit) (English)
Stand-Alone Waveform Editors:
None
Stand-Alone Vision Software (may be desired if you are using thermal imaging cameras for thermal analysis of your power converters):
None
Circuit Design Suite:
Circuit Design Suite 14.1.0 Professional (Includes Multisim and Ultiboard)
Note that co-simulation tools for co-simulating your LabVIEW FPGA power electronics control applications along with Multisim power converter circuit models is possible in LabVIEW 2018 (32-bit only), but you must follow the special instructions below to install.
Device Drivers:
None
The device drivers on this media are out of date. So select None and after the installation is done, install NI CompactRIO Device Drivers and NI FlexRIO drivers using these links. You can install these drivers before rebooting, but you must reboot after installing them. Depending on your application, you may want to download and install additional device drivers from ni.com/downloads.
NI CompactRIO Device Drivers (download from here)
NI FlexRIO (download from here)
6. Click Next. Click next again to search for important updates and notifications.
7. Choose your installation directories for a drive with sufficient disk space.
Note: Installing LabVIEW onto a solid state drive (SSD) is highly recommended as the performance in loading projects and applications is an order of magnitude faster than if installed on a spinning hard drive.
8. Click Next again multiple times to review the license agreements and list of products to install. Allow this installer to run.
Note: There is no need to disable virus scanning and I do not recommend it for security reasons.
9. When the installation completes, select No when prompted if you want to reboot. You can install the latest version of the device drivers before rebooting.
For GPIC development, only the NI CompactRIO Device Drivers are required. If you are using FlexRIO for power level test or HIL testing, you will also need to install the NI FlexRIO Device Drivers. See the links below. Depending on your hardware modules, you may also want to download and install additional device drivers available from ni.com/downloads.
NI CompactRIO Device Drivers (download from here)
NI FlexRIO (download from here)
10. After you have completed installing device drivers, reboot your computer.
SystemLink:
In addition, if you are interested in remotely managing your power converters or Windows monitoring servers such as by securely installing software updates, monitoring system health, logging data using tags or files, or having web based dashboards, I also recommend NI SystemLink 18.2 or higher. Learn more. It is also referred to as "Skyline" and you'll find the example code under that name.
NI SystemLink
My colleague maintains another open source repository for LabVIEW FPGA power electronics IP on Github at this location:
https://github.com/LabVIEW-Power-Electronic-Control?language=labview
Programming the sbRIO GPIC or CompactRIO Real-Time Processsors like an RT Linux Box with C/C++ Text Based Tools:
If your development team prefers, you can program the sbRIO GPIC or CompactRIO Real-Time Processsors like an RT Linux Box with C/C++ Text Based Tools using the FPGA Interface C API. The NI Linux RT stack can be used for text based (or LabVIEW Real-Time) based development, and FPGA Interface tools provide an API for communicating between your C/C++ application and your LabVIEW FPGA application. To learn more see this application note. To download the interface API, use the link below.
Download FPGA Interface C API
Note:
1. The FPGA is always programmed graphically with LabVIEW FPGA but you can integrate text based VHDL or Verilog into your application using the integration nodes (learn more).
Simulating Motors and Generators at Real-Time Speed Using LabVIEW FPGA:
The Electric Motor Simulation Toolkit by OPAL-RT for LabVIEW 2018 is now available. This is most commonly used for real-time HIL and/or embedded digital twin simulation for electric vehicle traction inverter control system testing, and can also be used for grid tied asynchronous and synchronous generator simulation. PMSM, ACIM, and SRM motor models are all supported at various levels of fidelity up to near finite-element-analysis (FEA) accuracy. 3-phase two level inverter models are also included, including support for fault condition simulation. All simulation models are provided in version that execute on desktop for slower than real-time development and testing, as well as in LabVIEW FPGA for real-time performance. Purchase using the link above, or follow the download link to install a trial version.
Note: A sufficiently large FPGA target is required. The recommended CompactRIO target is cRIO-9049, which is also available in a 'GPIC Clone' configuration for rapid control prototyping from ViewPoint Systems by using their GPIC Interposer Board and the correct set of 8 C-Series Modules. A complete development kit is available from ViewPoint Systems.
Simulating Power Electronics Circuit Schematics at Real-Time Speeds in LabVIEW FPGA:
Opal-RT Technologies and ModelingTech are world leaders in real-time power electronics and power system simulation.
OPAL-RT TECHNOLOGIES provides the Opal-RT Power Electronics SDK software suite which includes power electronics IP and EHS16, EHS64, and EHS128 power electronics circuit simulation solvers for LabVIEW FPGA on Zynq (i.e. EHS16 running on sbRIO-9607) and Kintex-7 targets (i.e. EHS64 running on cRIO-9049 or PXI FlexRIO K7 board). To learn more, visit Opal-RT, download user manual, or view a demo presentation. To install a trial version for CompactRIO, launch the NI VI Package Manager application and search on "opal" or purchase and download from the NI Tools Network.
Notes:
1. These HIL simulation tools are sold by Opal-RT and are not included in the NI Software Platform Bundle.
2. A sufficiently large FPGA target is required. The recommended CompactRIO target is cRIO-9049, which is also available in a 'GPIC Clone' configuration for rapid control prototyping from ViewPoint Systems.
ModelingTech provides tools for desktop, real-time and FPGA real-time simulation of power converters, motor/generators, and power systems. This includes StarSim Offline, StarSim Real-Time, StarSim HIL, StarSim FPGA Solver, and StarSim RCP. These tools are optimized to run on NI PXIe, CompactRIO and sbRIO targets. To learn more, visit the ModelingTech website or view this post.
Semikron SKiiP3 Back-to-Back Converter Cabinets:
Semikron offers development cabinets with 16-bit sbRIO-GPIC development bundle and Semikron Interface Board pre-installed and wired up to the dual SKiiP3 units and voltage and current sensors. The cabinet is oversized to allow for modifications and expansions and includes one set of active front end (AFE) LCL filters. Open source reference design example code is available. watch a demonstration video.
Mini-Scale SKiiP Replica Boards for Rapid Control Prototyping
The mini-scale back-to-back SKiiP replica boards are an open source hardware design that enables rapid control prototyping (RCP) at 'safe-to-touch' voltages (below 60 Volts). They are used as a tool for training and development and designed to mimic the same I/O connections as a full scale converter cabinet, so only scaling and gains need to change when going to full power (and sometimes a bit of I/O channel remapping). They provide a great way to build your confidence and validate/test your FPGA control application before moving to full voltage and current. To learn more or download the design files view this application note, or to order visit the ViewPoint Systems products page and scroll down to Power Electronics.
Notes:
1. For RCP using full power converter cabinets, you can also use a variac and optionally the ViewPoint low voltage and current sensing boards to achieve good voltage and current resolution at low power levels.
2. The primary documentation for these boards is their circuit schematic. To answer most common wiring and usage questions you'll need to study the schematics.
Recorded Presentations and Training Videos:
A range of recorded presentations and training videos for various topics are available on my Vimeo site by visiting the link below.
https://vimeo.com/user9218752
