Labview 7.1

[Rebuke 0]

I've discovered my company owns a copy of Labview 7.1 application builder. Will I be able to create a HMI program with this software? I also have Labview 7 Express and 2 device driver CDS. What I want to do is have a Labview executable communicate with an existing Omron CJ1 Ethernet link. I don't really want to learn another software the hard way but time is tight, as usual.

[JimRowell 1]

It's been a while since I opened up LabView but I can tell you that some people like it and some don't. I'd say it's one of those things that demos really well. Looks like a piece of cake to learn and use until you get far enough into it to hang yourself. For very simple applications it can be great. It simplifies many tasks. For complex work, it multiplies the complexity. That may not be a fair summary for everyone as it depends a great deal on you personally. Regardless, there is a vast depth to plumb in LabView and it's not as simple as National Instruments would have you believe. I'd hazard a guess that people who have never programmed much and who are very visually oriented, will think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread while those with a more traditional programming background will cringe in horror from it. I guess I'm in the latter category. I'd recommend you try it a bit and see what you think and if you call National Instruments (they have great support) they will invite you to one of the intro seminars they have constantly in every major city in N. America (including Toronto). One downside is you will get drawn slowly into using more & more National Instruments hardware once you get hooked onto the software (it's one of their goals). They have ok stuff but it's very pricey. To answer your question (sorry I took so long), yes, you can make an HMI with it. If time is tight and you have no experience with it, you may regret the attempt though. I'd give a much higher recommendation to using TestPoint if you decide you like the LabView sort of thing (www.cec488.com). I'm certified as a TestPoint CTAS specialist if you need help. Or get yourself a copy of Citect which is made for doing HMI work. It's free until you actually are ready to commision the output. That means you can take as long as you wish to get the hang of it. Since you say that time is tight, you are probably best to get something from Omron that's a little bit more "ready-to-go". I'm sure that would be the least painful and most productive in the near term. One of the Omron experts here can steer you in the right direction.

[Rebuke 0]

I'd appreciate if anyone could forward me a sample copy of a Labview HMI program interfacing with an Omron PLC.