Watlow 96 Labview VI's

I need to control 2, 96 watlow controllers via a rs232 to 485
interface. I only have to be able to set several set points to do
calibration of sensors. Does anyone have a labview library for this
version of this controller.
Thank you very much in advance for any help

On 10/14/2010 8:42 PM, billsspace wrote:
> I need to control 2, 96 watlow controllers via a rs232 to 485
> interface. I only have to be able to set several set points to do
> calibration of sensors. Does anyone have a labview library for this
> version of this controller.
I've not used it, but the following might be of interest:
http://sine.ni.com/apps/utf8/niid_web_display.model_page?p_model_id=4598
http://www.morechemistry.com/labview/driver-watlow/series-96.html
http://www.morechemistry.com/labview/driver-watlow/watlow%20-%20basic%20driver.llb

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Looking for LabView driver for Watlow 96 Series Temp. Controller.

In need of LabView driver to control a Watlow 96 Series Temperature Controller. The controller has a RS232 output, so I'm preferably looking for a serial port driver. Thanks in advance.

Nevermind....I found some very useful information in Brian Vibert's postings. Do a search for Watlow 96 Series.

Watlow F4 Controller with LabView

Hello all,
I have a HX300 circulating chiller that uses a Watlow F4 controller. I want to control the F4 controller and monitor the conditions from it such as pressure rate and temperature using LabView. I heard of the Modbus driver that helps make this communication possible and have downloaded it. I am using the LabView 8.6 version and followed the necessary steps to include it into Labview. I have very little experience with Labview and am wondering how to begin writing the code for this. Any help is very much appreciated!
Thank you,
Eric
Solved!
Go to Solution.
Attachments:
labview 86.zip ‏1900 KB

Start here:
http://www.ni.com/gettingstarted/labviewbasics/
and here:
http://www.ni.com/academic/students/learn/
and here:
http://labviewwiki.org/LabVIEW_tutorial#External_Links
And if you have an active SSP here:
http://sine.ni.com/myni/self-paced-training/app/main.xhtml
After all of that open the Examples in the code you posted and see if they work.
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If 10 out of 10 experts in any field say something is bad, you should probably take their opinion seriously.

Watlow EZ-Zone (R) LabVIEW Driver

I'm using the Watlow EZ-Zone LabVIEW Driver Example.vi to read the temperature of my Watlow controller with the "Parameter" set to 4001. Does anyone know how to find the Parameter to "SET" the temperature from the massive list "EZ-ZONE ALL Modbus register list in Excel" located on Watlow's website http://www.watlow.com/literature/manuals.cfm?prodmktcat=3&famid=15 ?
mcnearymw

Hi mcnearymw,
I will be glad to help you with any LabVIEW issues you're having, but this issue seems to be related to Watlow's documentation. It is possible that someone else on the forums is familiar with using Watlow devices in LabVIEW and can give you some advice. You may want to contact Watlow about this issue.
Good luck with everything!
Regards,
Jared R.
Precision DC Product Support Engineer
National Instruments

How to use shared variables to address multiple Watlow controllers on the same COM port

Hello,
I am trying to use LabVIEW 2010 to control 4 Watlow temperature controllers on one COM port. 3 are Model 96 and 1 is an EZ zone controller. Each controller has a unique modbus address, and I am trying to read from and write to individual registers (such as closed loop setpoint) using shared variables. I am getting return data when reading (although the data appears to be invalid), but am unable to change the value in the register by writing. How can I be sure that the Modbus server is sending commands to the correct controller?
Chuck
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Peter,
Thanks for the reply. I have actually solved that problem. I realized that the Modbus server address has to be the same as the controller's Modbus address.
I have, however, run into another problem. Perhaps you could help me with that. I have a system with 4 Watlow controllers, 3 are series 96 controllers, one is PID only and 2 are ramping. The 4th controller is an EZ zone. I am using RS485 for communications and the controllers are all wired in parallel for communications and power.
I have set up 2 Modbus servers for 2 of the controllers.
This is the first I have ever worked with Modbus based communications. I have successfully programmed using the Modbus read/write VIs, and am wanting to move to shared variables. My questions right now revolve around addressing, Modbus I/O servers and COM ports. Specifically, at this point, I know the addresses need to match up between the server and the slave device (Watlow controller in my case), how many servers can I create and use on one COM port? If the number is limited, is there a way I can specify an address that I want the server to talk to? Will the broadcast mode work to request data values from the controllers?
I'd appreciate any information you can help me with, or if you could point me to some sort of concise 'How-To' for Modbus communication.
Thanks.
Chuck

Failure of LabVIEW DSC 8.0.1 to yield values of Modbus RTU holding registers

So, I know what I'm doing--or used to. Have done this before in LV 6 and 7. Previously used Lookout OPC drivers and the "Tag Engine".
Recently with 8.0.1, I first set up the Industrial Automation OPC servers (AKA Lookout) to communicate with the holding registers (40,001-49,999) of my modbus rtu Watlow 96 and MLS316 temperature controllers. Subsequently, with the Server Explorer all of my 133 parameters on our 2 rs485 serial ports are communicating bidirectionally.
So now Duh, why can I not bind a shared variable to register, say 40,334, and eliminate the OPC? The data is always reported as bad. Neither can I link shared variables to these addresses through the OPC I/O server.
Am I missing something? Are there any examples of code available where individual modbus holding registers are communicated with bidirectionally?

Well, this may seem rather silly but I viewed the video demo that NI has on binding modbus registers to shared variables before I even made my attempt.
Now, differing from the demo video, I am using modbus RTU on a serial port. Also differing from the video, when I create my shared variables, they are not placed in the same lvlib as the modbus server just created--LabVIEW prompts for a new library to be created.
Could the NI product service staff please test with a serial modbus RTU device (a real living creature and not just a simulation please) the bidirectional communications and prove functionality with the Shared Variable Monitor of your product? I suggest that you attempt communicating with holding registers 40,001 through 49,837.
By the way, my com is set up correctly for I can view and or change all of the desired modbus RTU registers using the OPC Lookout Protocol Drivers through the Server Explorer.
Please do not send me any more links to videos that test with simulations. A real solution is required.
Lloyd Ploense

How do I install instrument drivers contained in LLB into Labview 8.6?

I downloaded a third party Labview driver for a temperature chamber (Watlow) and unzipped it to find it had an LLB library. I can access all the VIs through the LLB manager, but how can I take those VIs and import them into Labview so that I can then find them in my I/O instrument control Palette? Since these VIs are in an LLB, I don't know how to take them out of there and put them into labview 8.6. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
Rick

Hi,
I am trying to use a Diolan DL2-N USB to I2C/SPI/GPIO adapter (https://diolan.com/dln2). This manufacrures provides Labview drivers for the board as well as example VIs. I just want to use them to access to all interfaces via Labview. After that I will design a test setup for our last product line using this adapter board.
What i did:
1) Fresh install of Labview 2014 (evaluaton version). System: DELL Precision M6800 (i7) , Windows 7 Professional SP1.
2) Install NI VISA drivers and NI-488.2 drivers (14.0).
3) Install manufacturer drivers as explained in the link given in this thread.
4) Run Labview. As said, I can see instrument driver VIs under the Function Palette and run example VIs.
5) Run NI MAX. No USB ports listed. Only COM1 and LPT1 (printer port).
6) I ran some windows test apps provided by the manufacturer to access to all the interfaces of the NXP microcontroller in the DLN2. Everything works. I can read analog/digital inputs, force digital out values and use the SPI and I2C (I see the SPI/I2C frame sin a scope).
I have spent one day seeing different links in NI website (have seen almost every demo video on the site) and still are not able to guess why Labview can't see my USB device.
Any hint?
Regards,
Jose

Monitoring a Watlow F4 Controller

Hey Everyone,
I have an ESPEC humidity chamber that uses a Watlow F4 controller. I am using this to run environmental tests on a device. Ideally I want to monitor the conditions inside the chamber and my device in the same VI. So far I have been having trouble communicating with the chamber using labview. It is using a serial port on the chamber and a serial to USB converter on the PC side. I have created a small Vi that will just act as a chamber monitor for me. I have attached the monitor VI below. It doesn't sense the chamber at all and give me the set points or current conditions. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated!
Regards,
PChemist
Solved!
Go to Solution.
Attachments:
ESPEC Monitor.vi ‏162 KB

I am not familiar with Hyperterminal. I was searching around and found this from another company who uses these contollers from the same thing.
http://chamber.testequity.com/rs232.html
RS-232 Troubleshooting
Tips for TestEquity Chambers
We receive many calls
each week regarding RS-232 communication issues. There are several
issues which must be addressed in order to communicate successfully
with the chamber. With thousands of chambers in the field, we have
never had a verified case of a bad serial interface in the controller.
Below are several of the most common communication issues.
Are you
using the correct cable?
The DB-9 connector is wired to accommodate a null-modem cable. A null-modem
cable has pins 2 and 3 swapped on each end. You CANNOT use a straight
through cable.
Is the baud
rate set correctly?
All TestEquity chambers
shipped since mid-2003 have the baud rate set at 9600. Older chambers
have the baud rate set at 19200. The baud rate of the controller MUST
match the baud rate in your communications program. The baud rate is
changed in the controller's Go to Setup\Communications menu. You may
require a password to enter the Setup menu. If so, call TestEquity to
get the password.
Does your
software communicate using the Modbus RTU protocol?
To communicate with
the controller from a PC, you need to run software that uses the Modbus
RTU protocol. You CANNOT use Hyperterminal.
Modbus Registers
Each controller
function has a "register" number which can be read or written to (when
applicable). These registers are listed Chapter Seven of the Series
F4 User's Manual (pdf, 4M) .
Common Modbus
Registers
The actual chamber
temperature reading is Modbus register 100 (Input 1 Value).
The static temperature
set point is Modbus register 300 (Set Point 1).
The temperature
set point during a profile is Modbus register 4122 (Set Point 1,
Current Profile Status).
The decimal points
are implied. For example, 1005 is actually 100.5 and -230 is -23.0.
The Digital Output
1 (Event 1) function is Modbus register is 2000
It appears that I can't use Hyperterminal for testing with the F4.
Since is says that I cannont use a straight through cable I wired up a quick cross over adapter ( http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/1EE0DD8AF67922FA86256F720071DECF?opendocument&Submitted&&... ) and tried it. I am getting error codes for function in MAX now. Do you guys know if the F4 requires Handshaking? I didn't wire that into the adapter, just pins 2, 3 & 5.

Convert from LabVIEW 2011 to LabVIEW 9.0

Please convert from LabVIEW 2011 to LabVIEW 9.0
Attachments:
Watlow Vis.zip ‏76 KB

Looks like somebody forgot to attach the zip file. Here you go.
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Attachments:
Watflow.zip ‏57 KB

Looking for labview driver to control Tennesy Chamber

Looking for Labview driver to control Tennesy Jr Environmental Chamber
(Watlow series 942 controller) LV6.0
Email [email protected] if you can help out.
Thanks,
David.

The first place to look for stuff like this is the vendor's web page--in this case www.watlow.com. How did I know this? I guessed. You can typically guess 90% of company websites...
In a couple minutes I was able to find your controller and a document on how to communicate with it. If you email me I can send it to you (it's too big to post...).
Next, reading the document (which by the way contains a good basic primer on serial communications)I saw that one of the protocols you can use for communicating with the 942 is Modbus RTU. I can also send you a set of modbus drivers.
Hope this helps in thermal testing your chips...
Mike...
Certified Professional Instructor
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW Champion
"... after all, He's not a tame lion..."
Be thinking ahead and mark your dance card for NI Week 2015 now: TS 6139 - Object Oriented First Steps

Watlow EZ-Zone PM ENET RS-485

I am having trouble talking to Watlow EZ-Zone PM controllers with labview.
I cannot get the ENET to RS-485 to show up in Max. I discovered that this is due to 64 bit windows? However I can talk to the ENET to RS-485 using VISA Resource Name: ASRL::xxx.xxx.xxx.xx::1::INSTR where xxx.xxx.xxx.xx is the IP of the ENET to RS-485.
I also tried using the Watlow driver however if I put the above resource name in for the PC Comms Port in the example included with the driver and try to initialize the port, I get the following error:
Error 1 occurred at an unidentified location
Possible reason(s):
LabVIEW: An input parameter is invalid. For example if the input is a path, the path might contain a character not allowed by the OS such as ? or @.
=========================
NI-488: Command requires GPIB Controller to be Controller-In-Charge.
I assume this is beacuse the ASRL::xxx.xxx.xxx.xx::1::INSTR is not a valid input to the Watlow driver.
Please let me know if you have any solutions. Thanks!
System:
Windows 7 64bit
labview 2011 32bit
Max 5.5.0f0
ENET to RS-485
Solved!
Go to Solution.

So I borrowed a USB to RS-485 from another project and got it working with the Watlow controllers. I also used Free Serial Analyzer to "sniff" the serial commands sent/received over the serial port. Here is what I found out:
Seems like the .DLL sets up the serial port with the following parameters:
Baud Rate=38400
WordLength=8
StopBits=1 stop bit
Parity=No parity
EofChar=0x0
ErrorChar=0x0
BreakChar=0x0
EventChar=0x0
XonChar=0x11
XoffChar=0x13
ControlHandShake=1
FlowReplace=64
XonLimit=2048
XoffLimit=512
ReadIntervalTimeout=4294967295
ReadTotalTimeoutMultiplier=0
ReadTotalTimeoutConstant=0
WriteTotalTimeoutMultiplier=0
WriteTotalTimeoutConstant=0
Then the .dll continuously sends a purge command:
Purge mask=TXCLEAR: Write requests
Followed by a write command:
55 FF 01 03 00 00 00 E4
This must be some kind of connection check?
When I try to read a value from the controller, in this case the controller at address 1, parameter 4001, instance 2, the DLL writes this:
55 FF 05 10 00 00 06 E8 01 03 01 04 01 01 E3 99
It then reads:
55 FF 06 00 10 00 0B 88 02 03 01 04 01 01 08 C2 09 D3 75 AA 85
Which is a float on the order of -100 (the value is bouncing around).
I tired sending the read value hex to the controller with VISA however, I never got a response.
Any ideas on how to re-engineer this driver/get it to work with VISA?

485 modbus communication with Watlow PM trouble

I have a Watlow PM that I can see over MAX now and using the EZ zone code can get manufacture info from. I also am using (for the first time) the add-on Modbus over serial tool from Saphire to try to write or read anything from it and I always get a "time out" error from the slave. I tried to do a simple VISA read as I found on some posts and I get the same time out error. It seems if I try anything from Labview I get this error. I even tried writing Hex to the thing with the same results. Can someone throw me a bone?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

There are a couple of free libraries.
http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/201711
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-30140

Watlow PM with Modbus TCP

Hi community,
I have a watlow pm temperature controller connected to my computer with an ethernet cable. I need to communicate with the device via modbus tcp. I know for sure that the unit is functioning as if I use a modbustcp test program (see the first attachement), then I can read the temperature of the K type thermocouple which is connected to the unit. (the IP is 192.168.10.3, and I read two words from address 360). The temperature on the screenshot is 23.61992C
I would like to do this from LabVIEW by using an IO server. My problem starts at the beginning. I right click on my computer >> new >> I/O server >> Modbus
then in the popup window I select "Modbus ethernet" in the top right corner. I have attached this popup window. What is the Address in the communication settings section. The IP need to be entered at the bottom, so I have no clue what is the Address field is referring to.
Then I try to create bound variables... I see a huge list of registers, but honestly I dont understand how the address 360 I use in the standalone program translates to this list. Which one should I select from the list? Whatever I select gives me either 0 or FALSE if its a boolean. According to the documentation 360 is the relative address and the absolute is 400361. Actually there are a register list from 400001-465535, but if I select 400361-400362 I still read zero.
Reading only zeros and FALSE values... thats suspicious. Something is wrong.
Please help out with your thought!
Attachments:
modbustcp_OK.png ‏132 KB
modbus_config.png ‏56 KB
modbus_reg_list.png ‏98 KB

OK, just a quick (and dirty) test. Can you try this VI.
Kees
Attachments:
MB TCP test.vi ‏20 KB

Watlow 96 controller VI's needed

I need to control 2, 96 watlow controllers via a rs232
to 485 interface. I only have to be able to set several set points for
calibration of sensors. Does anyone have a labview library for this
version of this controller. Thank you very much in advance for any help.

Watlow has a LabVIEW driver. It's linked on the Instrument Driver Network.

Looking for labview to midi interface

Hi
For a demonstration I am looking for a vi that can interface with a standard
soundcard e.g a soundblaster compatible card.
ed droog
university of twente
the netherlands
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981

The first place to look for stuff like this is the vendor's web page--in this case www.watlow.com. How did I know this? I guessed. You can typically guess 90% of company websites...
In a couple minutes I was able to find your controller and a document on how to communicate with it. If you email me I can send it to you (it's too big to post...).
Next, reading the document (which by the way contains a good basic primer on serial communications)I saw that one of the protocols you can use for communicating with the 942 is Modbus RTU. I can also send you a set of modbus drivers.
Hope this helps in thermal testing your chips...
Mike...
Certified Professional Instructor
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW Champion
"... after all, He's not a tame lion..."
Be thinking ahead and mark your dance card for NI Week 2015 now: TS 6139 - Object Oriented First Steps

Watlow 96 Labview VI's

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