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I'd like to start by acknowledging the similarity of this question to this one, but I really need a more basic, step-by-step explanation.

I am trying to help a student in my lab design a program to remotely operate an instrument (necessitated by the global shutdown). The part of this instrument that needs automation is a motorized sample stage. The stage is moved by a motor controller which comes attached to a physical joystick that goes up/down/left/right by a fixed increment each time it is moved. The joystick also has the ability to switch between motors that rotate vs. translate, but that is a minor point.

My student would like to replace this joystick with a LabView program. Push "left" in the program, motor moves left one increment. What we need to know is: What hardware do we need to link a computer to the motor controller? Some specific facts/questions:

  1. It has been suggested that all we need is a GPIO to USB device, such as those mentioned in 1, wired to the motor controller. Is this true, or do we also need relays or other equipment to connect to the GPIO pins?
  2. Can we avoid using an Arduino or Raspberry Pi, or are these the best options out there?
  3. Does hardware exist with prewritten LabView drivers? If not, I am capable of writing these or transitioning to python.
  4. Are there any other things I need to be concerned about, such as installing fuses or resistors to mediate current? Safety concerns?

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated, as neither of us have connected a device to a computer with neither predesigned cables nor software before. What would you do in our place, with a focus on safety, simplicity, and efficiency?

Edit: I believe our joystick is made by this company. Wires leaving each side of the physical joystick (corresponding to left, right, etc.) are connected to the circuit board of our motor controller. Neither the joystick nor the motor controller have any connections to a computer, serial cables, etc. It's all just plain wires and soldered connections, and a think the "circuit board" is mainly a series of resistors and connections to a voltage source, and has no programming, so to speak.

sbernie2
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  • What's the interface between the joy stick and your device ? – Hilmar Jul 07 '20 at 19:42
  • You can easily assign some keys to perform some task but you need to tell us the device interface schematic or datasheet. Then the User interface and machine interface needs to be specified. If the machine has no smart serial interface, then you will need the low level hardware switching parts to run in parallel with the Normally open Joystick contacts and replace the selector for rotate and translate. Some CNC G-CODE programs for Windows have a nice user interface, but your machine is unlike to have that , so an interface device must be designed for remote control. – Tony Stewart EE75 Jul 07 '20 at 20:29
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    There are hundreds of ways to simulate the joystick using IO from a PC. I think using an arduino would be the easiest way. ..But the number of devices supported natively by labview is probably much smaller; I would start with one of them. – Drew Jul 07 '20 at 20:43

1 Answers1

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I've done this in the past, using PWM and optical_isolators.

That gave us students one of the few autonomous vehicles in the world, for about $500 total (mostly for the GE 128 X 128 camera.

analogsystemsrf
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