LabVIEW

Dar Scott provides computer programming services. For many customers he creates laboratory systems, control systems and instruments using LabVIEW from National Instruments. For all of these customers, prototypes are created very quickly.

Dar Scott is Perfect for LabVIEW

Dar Scott's background has the right mix of technology and computer science to make him a good LabVIEW programmer. He has over twenty years experience in designing DAQ boards & computer boards, designing controllers, programming controllers & instruments, and designing and programming computer based instruments and instrument systems. During that time he has also worked on applicative language strategies (such as dataflow, the method used in LabVIEW), intelligent systems, operating systems and sundry applications in Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, OS X and workstation UNIX in languages from Forth to Common Lisp.

Selected LabVIEW Projects

Optical Instrument Manufacturing. Using LabVIEW Dar Scott developed the software for the factory testing, calibration, and troubleshooting of a computer controlled optical instrument. The system used the LabVIEW drivers that Dar Scott had created for the instrument during its development. These drivers were made available to customers.

Computer Controlled Microscopes. Dar Scott developed the LabVIEW drivers for two computer controlled microscopes with manipulation capability for Cell Robotics. He created the microscope control application for the first microscope. For the other, he created an application for full computer control and live computer video observation. That application has become the foundation for a series of products. Special consideration was given to easy-to-use special graphical controls packed in a small space. LabVIEW was called upon to respond to rapid cycles of requirements changes.

Instrument Prototyping. In a few days Dar Scott simulated several instrument components and the human interface for a company considering developing a spectrometer instrument.

Projects using Digital and Analog I/O Boards. Projects for various customers used NI DAQ products such as the AT-MIO-16D and the PC-DIO-24. Some projects used I/O boards from other manufacturers; Dar Scott created drivers for those. These projects ranged from a single VI to an application consisting of a couple hundred VIs.

Drivers for a High-voltage Power Supply. For a small manufacturing company, Dar Scott created LabVIEW drivers for a high-voltage power supply. These were used to create a simple test application. Within minutes after that application was applied to items on the line, manufacturing problems were identified. Until that time the manufacturer was aware of customer complaints, but did not associate them with real product problems.

This application communicated with several devices using the SECS serial communication standard used in the semiconductor industry. It used a SECS driver designed by Dar Scott in LabVIEW. The SECS driver handled multiple transactions on several channels.

Man-Machine Interface

Dar Scott takes advantage of LabVIEW for quick MMI design. He takes a special effort in operator panel design to make panels easy to use with reliable results. This involves the creation of psychological associations and the organizing of the panel into conceptual chunks. If you want fast turnaround and flexibility on scientific and MMI panels, consider using LabVIEW and having Dar Scott put your system together.

Dar Scott has designed panels with special considerations such as use on limited color displays, platform portability and special custom control problems. He has also created real-time graphics over video as part of a LabVIEW panel. As needed, Dar Scott has written special systems interface code to handle nonstandard controls and nonstandard keyboard functions.

Instrument Driver Development

Dar Scott develops LabVIEW instrument drivers based on customer needs. He guided CVI Laser Corporation through the National Instruments ILDP program and created drivers for some of their products. Since then the company has gone on and written drivers for many products, changing them as protocols changed. Manufacturers have found that having LabVIEW drivers available for customers increases sales and lowers support. Dar Scott has created drivers for video boards, optical instruments, microscopes, power supplies, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, various I/O boards and joysticks.

Microcontroller Development

Dar Scott used the LabVIEW system for the testing of microcontroller projects while under development. He has also used it for the creation of development-cycle calibration tables and parameters ready to include in C code for a 68HCll controller for microstepping motors.

Advanced LabVIEW Programming