I want to use the Function Generator VI to send command signals through the NI 7344 motion controller. This will be a closed loop servo valve system. I want to be able to change from say a square wave to a sine wave on the fly. Idea's?

Question

I am going to run tests that require an actuator to move using various types of arbitrary waveforms such as sine or square. The NI 7344 is hooked to the UMI that is going through a driver for a servo valve. The loop is analog and it is closed. I have played with some of the examples but can't get it to work. I have used the function generator VI to generate a signal but I think I am using the wrong input VI to the motion control board. When I use what I have it moves the servo and then stops. It doesn't continually generate the signal.
I would love to use the controls on the function generator vi to control frequency and amplitude ect. Any help or pointer would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Hello,
I'm not clear on exactly how you want to use the generated data but I'm assuming they will be used as your target points.
There's a built-in example for motion called 'One-Axis Contour Move.vi'. This example demonstrates how to provide your target points as 1-D array. All you need to do is to replace the input array with the output of the function generator. In order to have it run continuously, use a while loop. You can further program your application so that it'll change the waveform on the fly by monitoring the user interface but this might be little little tricky as you will need to reset the move and load the new generated points while keeping track of your current position.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions regarding this
application.
Best regards,
Yusuf C.
Applications Engineering
National Instruments