Plotting Frequency versus Time Data in LabVIEW

Issue Details

I am measuring vibration data with an accelerometer for my application, and I want to convert the data from G's versus time to frequency versus frequency. I have tried to use an intensity graph or chard but I cannot get meaningful data. Is there an easy way to do this in LabVIEW?

Solution

You can perform a spectrogram with an Intensity Graph / Chart using the LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit, or use the Sound and Vibration Toolkit to display the data using a Colormap, Waterfall or SV Intensity Graph. To learn about this, refer to the shipping examples:

1. In LabVIEW, click Help >> Find Examples to launch the Example Finder.
2. Expand Toolkits and Modules.

LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit

3. Expand Time Frequency Analysis >> Getting Started.
4. The Online Spectrogram Monitoring (DAQmx).vi and Online Spectrogram Monitoring (Simulated).vi examples demonstrate how to setup a Spectrogram using the functions from the LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit.

Sound and Vibration Toolkit

3. Expand Sound and Vibration.
   1. SV Intensity Graph: expand Transient Measurements and open the Transient Analysis (DAQmx).vi or Transient Analysis (Simulated).vi examples.
   2. Waterfall and Colormap Graphs: expand Graphs and Charts and refer to the following shipping examples.
      1. Waterfall and Cascade Plot (Analog Tach, DAQmx).vi
      2. Waterfall and Cascade Plot (Digital Tach, DAQmx).vi
      3. Waterfall and Cascade Plot (Offline).vi.
      4. Color Map (Offline).vi
      5. Waterfall Display for Octave Spectra (DAQmx).vi
      6. Waterfall Display for Power Spectra (Simulated).vi

Additional Information

This type of processing can be very intensive for the processor. If you experience performance issues with the acquisition when these options are included online, consider using them as offline analysis. Alternatively, you can acquire in larger packets of data to decrease the loop rate and see if the online analysis works as expected.