Mastec Labview
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MasTec LabVIEW Training Courses
Organise one today by emailing MasTec Ltd
Note: If you require a course at your company’s premises, we will require 4 people (minimum) to put on the three day course, fill open places by inviting another local company to join you for the training.
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To get started
- Tell us what you want to focus on.
- Tell us what equipment you have to learn.
- Tell us what you would like to achieve in three days.
- What version of LabVIEW are you using?
A Little Background
MasTec’s trainer has trained more people in LabVIEW than any other trainer, with a total of over 3000 people.
He has been using LabVIEW since version beta 0.9 right up to the present version.
The trainer is still involved in Commercial software development.
When they moved the famous Birdcage Pub in Auckland, it was MasTec LV code monitoring and displaying the lift and move.
Training can be offered for LabVIEW 6 onwards, as we have training books from LV 6.1 onwards.
We run our courses at our two facilites in Auckland.
We can rent machines to you also.
We can come to you anywhere in the world, expenses paid of course.
We have trained in the Arctic Circle, throughout UK, Ireland, Scotland, Europe, Australia and Fiji.
For small courses we use our site at East Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand
For larger courses we use other facilities.
The course sites can have a variety of hardware, DAQ, GPIB, SCXI interfacing, and a range of RS-232 and RS-485 modules.
We are able to teach Interfacing with products from several manufacturers, NI (National Instruments), Measurement Computing, Advantech, Adlink, etc
Students need to bring their own computer to the training. This is the preferred way, as the computers will have legal LabVIEW copies and student will be familiar with their computer setups and will be able to take away all their work they did during the course on their hard disk. Also the student will take away the training manual (several hundred pages) and disks also.
LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun (3rd Edition) [Hardcover] Jeffrey Travis (Author), Jim Kring (Author)
We have decided to standardise on this book above for all Beginner and Intermediate Level course, as it is so comprehensive and thorough.
Check the credentials on the web. Nearly everyone says this is the book to learn from, better than NIs courses. (see why below).
This is equivalent to the NI Core I, II, III and Connectivity and also into more advanced work as in the other NI courses
However unlike the NI courses which are individual steps, the “LabVIEW for Everyone” is all linked across all levels very nicely and acts as a full LabVIEW manual for programming from beginners to advanced.
A little more on this Course Book taken off the web.
The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to LabVIEW——Now Completely Updated for LabVIEW 8!
Master LabVIEW with the industry’s friendliest, most intuitive tutorial: LabVIEW for Everyone, Third Edition.
Top LabVIEW experts Jeffrey Travis and Jim Kring teach LabVIEW the easy way: through carefully explained, step-by-step examples that give you reusable code for your own projects!
This brand-new Third Edition has been fully revamped and expanded to reflect new features and techniques introduced in LabVIEW 8.
You’ll find two new chapters, plus dozens of new topics, including Project Explorer, AutoTool, XML, event-driven programming, error handling, regular expressions, polymorphic VIs, timed structures, advanced reporting, and much more.
Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD) candidates will find callouts linking to key objectives on NI’s newest exam, making this book a more valuable study tool than ever.
Not just what to do: why to do it!
Use LabVIEW to build your own virtual workbench
Master LabVIEW’s foundations: wiring, creating, editing, and debugging VIs; using controls and indicators; working with data structures; and much more
Learn the “art” and best practices of effective LabVIEW development
NEW: Streamline development with LabVIEW Express VIs
NEW: Acquire data with NI-DAQmx and the LabVIEW DAQmx VIs
NEW: Discover design patterns for error handling, control structures, state machines, queued messaging, and more
NEW: Create sophisticated user interfaces with tree and tab controls, drag and drop, subpanels, and more
Whatever your application, whatever your role, whether you’ve used LabVIEW or not, LabVIEW for Everyone, Third Edition is the fastest, easiest way to get the results you’re after!
The above info is marketing blurb of course but still, if you do a hunt on the web almost everyone agrees this is the material to use now to learn LV easily and quickly and broadly.
From the Tutor:
The advantage of this type of course is that, rather than saying we are going to do NI Courses Core I and II, we will proceed as far as each student can attain.
This means the clever/advanced students will go deep into the book and deeper into LabVIEW programming than Courses Core I and II.
My experience tells me there is always some that are slow and some that are fast and the fast ones usually become the resource later for helping the slower ones. So I always encourage the fast ones to get as far as they can into the book.
This way you will have a range of expertise in house and usually one who is just a natural that is so helpful to everyone after I leave.
And here is the nice part.
The cost to get to this more advanced state doesn’t require you to buy a series of new NI courses which are very expensive.
Everyone pays the same price and has the same book.
Later everyone can complete the book and get to an advanced state without more courses.
Once they are past the introductory parts where a tutor like myself is required, they can do self teaching.
If they really need advanced help they can ask the in-house guru or if it is really tough email myself.
Course time is 3 days.
7 hours each day I will be present.
Also available for discussions on projects etc after this time and during lunch etc.
In other words take advantage of my long experience & involvement with LabVIEW since 1986.
Cost:-
The cost per person is abase $600 NZD with additions for extra services.
Plus the cost of the “LabVIEW for Everyone “ book per person of $140 NZD.
Our trainer has personally written loads of LabVIEW commercial/instrumentation/automation programs installed all over the world, with hundreds in NZ and Australia.
He has also managed several LabVIEW development teams over the years.
Learn Structured LabVIEW programming from a real programmer not just a trainer with no commercial experience.
A Little more
For more advanced LabVIEW programmers, a course in LCOP can be arranged also.
This is LabVIEW Component Object Programming
We recommend LCOP over OOP for medium to large projects.
LCOP takes the main features of OOP – Abstraction, Cohension, Loose coupling and Data Hiding in a much easier development form than OOP.
LCOP allows development of code that is robust, almost linear in time and easier to maintain and upgrade.
It is also not as rigid as OOPs
MasTec Projects
Over the last year MasTec has completed 6 major projects in sites through out NZ. Several hundred hours of programming work has been completed, as well as many hundreds of hours of commissioning, site management, and installation.
MasTec has several large projects on its books, spread out over about 3-4 years. There are gaps in this schedule.
Many sites still run XP and Win 7 for their LABs and Production areas. MasTec is still undertaking new projects in legacy LV 6.1 /7.1/8.2 and 8.6 systems.
All these projects involved LabVIEW at the core. However, many of these projects also include PACs, PLCs, Process Controllers, with peripherals like Servos, Actuators, VSDs, Water measurement and control, Hydraulic Control and other real world systems.
Major new projects are still undetaken in LabVIEW 7.1 that run in Windows 7 32 Bit OS, very successfully. LabVIEW 7.1 is still (in our opinion) the best LabVIEW ever released. Fast, efficient and stable. Win 7 32 bit OS will be available for some time. Most large corporations are still running Win 7 due to its excellent stability and IT staffs familiarity and history.
However, other projects using from LabVIEW 2010 up to the present version of 2015 SP1, which is good, but very processor hungry and much slower to develop in. We only recommend I7s CPUs with this software with SSDs for the OS and LV.
LabVIEW Notes
Five PDF Books
How to program more effectively in LabVIEW
Read the new Design Method for LCOP link
The 5 books introduce a thorough development of LCOP – LabVIEW Component Object Programming methods.
Book 1 “Hidden Data”
that is, cleaning up LV Program’s by Removing Constants from Diagrams and putting them in Configuration Files for Loading at runtime.
This method does not use ini files but a far more robust LabVIEW centric method, not seen in other literature. It also cleans up Diagrams and Self Documents.
A Level on step lower than this LCOP method is to make Diagram Constants a Type Def Cluster Constant set that is placed in a TAB on the front panel and the values of the constants are set as defaults from the Run menu.
This is a simpler version recommended for beginners to middle level programmers.
Book 2 “Abstraction”
that is, removing complexity in the top layer of a LabVIEW diagram by building Abstracted Message Driven LV Components.
This shows how to build Message driven (Test Verbs) Abstracted named (noun) State Engine Components that are safe & robust. It also leads to better cohension of course and no/low coupling
Book 3 “Real Time Cluster Constants Editor”
that is, Removed Diagram Constants that are loaded at Run Time from a config file, can now be edited, in situ, inside the Program /or its Component while it runs, allowing tuning of programs in Real Time.
Changes made to the Constants by the editor can also be saved back into their original configuration files at run time. This addition of the Real Time Editor removes the need to exit a component or program to edit constants.
Book 4 “Low Frequency Real Time Control”
is about how to use USB DAQ, DIO and DAC to control an Hydraulic RAM for Testing a UUT.
It is a close look at how to use State Engine for Control.
Simple but useful for anyone wanting to do closed loop control.
It embodies many of the LCOP methods discussed in the other three books.
Book 5 “An Off Line Constant Cluster and Calibration Editor”
For Editing, Loading and Saving Cluster Constants” and also built in into the editor “Adjust Calibration and System Data” off Line for easing commissioning. Plus more helpful bits.
This includes a section on setting up all Paths for an application as a large Cluster Constant, again easing commissioning, Typically a large Application will have in excess of 30 Paths to manage.
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MasTec Training
“LabVIEW for Everyone”
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MasTec recently under took a 4 day Training course for 15 Academics, (Professors and Grad Students), at one of Oceania’s largest universities.
The focus was on getting students to the point where they can undetake projects by the end of the course. A big ask. However, the focus was not on how to use all the bits inside LabVIEW to make software but the development of strategies to allow projects to be undertaken.
Keep up with MasTec’s latest LabVIEW Notes
The MasTec Instructor has trained all over the globe and has taught over 2000 students.
He will also come to your site and do training with your LabVIEW team, using traditional or these new LabVIEW methods MasTec has developed.
Portable LabVIEW on Tablets
Some important information for those wanting to do Portable LabVIEW applications.
Did you know that LabVIEW 6.1 runs very well on older ATOM WIndows XP Tablets.
Also did you know LabVIEW 7.1 runs very well on ATOM Windows 7 Tablets.
Do not use LV 8 and above on ATOM CPUs, it just is too slow.
If you need a Windows 7 tablet buy any new one and rip out the Windows 10 and put on Win 7 Embedded or even Win7 32 bit and you are away.
These tablets can have a relativelylow spec ATOM Intel Chip and run just fine.
This includes doing DAQ with USB or Serial.
So do not believe the blogs that say you can’t do this, they are talking about newer LabVIEWs that are huge bulky pieces of software and full of stuff you never will use for small portable apps.
I haven’t tried it but I am guessing even Windows Phones will run it fine under Win 7 or 8 OS