New cRIO Display Module by Mink Hollow Systems

[jpeg]

Hello, everyone!

I wanted to introduce the new MH-LCD-216, the very first cRIO display module. This is something that we know a lot of people have been asking for, so we are very excited to offer this new module to the LabVIEW community. We debuted the MH-LCD-216 at NI Week 2012 and the positive feedback was overwhelming. The website below has additional information and don't hesitate to give me a call or post here with any questions.

MH-LCD-216 cRIO Display Module

Happy compiling!

Jpeg

[crelf]

Ok, that's pretty damn cool right there!

[jpeg]

Thanks! I'm really proud of this module.

Honestly, one of the best things about this module is also the hardest to show on a spec sheet. It's extremely straight-forward to program. One guy came to NI Week looking for something exactly like this, bought one, and had it running in his project in about 4 hours.

We really believe this could allow developers a simple solution to what we've seen as a big limitation of the cRIO.

Now if only NI would support third-party on cDAQ!

[hooovahh]

Honestly, one of the best things about this module is also the hardest to show on a spec sheet. It's extremely straight-forward to program.

The first thing I did (after understanding what this is) was look at the example program to see how easy it is to interface with. Obviously being the one who would have to integrate with it, this is one of my major concerns.

I think an alternative to this could be using a serial port to talk to an Arduino. NI's toolkit has a set of VIs for manipulating a 16 X 2 LCD.

I'm also a little surprised something like this didn't exist already. Some kind of quick feed back to an operator would be nice to get the current state of a system without needing communication to a host.

[Jordan Kuehn]

Some kind of quick feed back to an operator would be nice to get the current state of a system without needing communication to a host.

Exactly! So when a customer calls they can provide useful information about the problem!

[jpeg]

The first thing I did (after understanding what this is) was look at the example program to see how easy it is to interface with. Obviously being the one who would have to integrate with it, this is one of my major concerns.

Was there anything there that looked confusing or difficult? I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you had about the code.

I think an alternative to this could be using a serial port to talk to an Arduino. NI's toolkit has a set of VIs for manipulating a 16 X 2 LCD.

The big motivation behind the LCD-216 was to design a module that could be inserted into the chassis, removing the need for any extra mounting hardware, enclosures, or power (<== THIS!!).

The module can also be run on the FPGA (a simple example project is also on the website), which is a huge bonus to cRIO developers as the RT can sometimes become clogged.

Most current display solutions also tie up the serial port, which is a precious commodity in a lot of the projects we deal with. We haven't had a single project in the last year which had the serial port free.

Anyway, I'll stop ranting about the module now, but if you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask!