Using EDS Files With NI-IndCom for CANopen

Functions and properties of CANopen devices are largely described by objects and are managed in an object directory. The object directory is represented in electronic form by so-called Electronic Data Sheet (EDS) files. EDS files are used by network configuration tools to help identify products and easily commission them on a network.

EDS files can be used on all NI CANopen hardwares which include PCI-8531, PXI-8531 and NI-9881.

Preparation

In LabVIEW, select Tools >> CANopen EDS File Paths to display a dialog box. This dialog box is used to specify one or multiple default folders of EDS files. LabVIEW searches these folders for the corresponding EDS file when you open a batch SDO object. If you list multiple folders as EDS file paths, LabVIEW searches these folders one by one according to the folder order in this dialog box.

 

Process

1. Right-click a target (My Computer or RT Target) in the Project Explorer window and select New >> CANopen Batch SDO from the shortcut menu. The Batch SDO General Settings dialog box appears. 

2. Enter a name for the batch SDO that you want to create in the Name text box. The name must be a string without any spaces.
3. Specify an EDS file in the EDS File field.
4. Click the OK button to display the Batch SDO dialog box.
5. Select Object Dictionary from the Category list to display the Batch SDO - Object Dictionary page. 

6. Select an object from the list and click the Add to Batch... button to add this object to the Batch SDO list. You can also double-click a CANopen object to add this object to the Batch SDO list
7. (Optional) Preview and validate the batch SDO. If you notice any issues when you preview or validate the batch SDOs, you can modify the batch SDOs in the Batch SDO - Object Dictionary page.

 

8. Click the OK button to close this dialog box and create the batch SDO.
9. Use the example CANopen SDO Batch Write.vi to send a set of pre-defined SDO write requests. You must deploy the batch SDO to the target in the Project Explorer window before using this VI.

10. The example VI, CANopen BatchSDO.vi, demonstrates how to write a Batch SDO to a CANopen device.

Note: If you want to deploy a batch SDO on the localhost, you must enable the NI Scan Engine on the computer.

11. In the Project Explorer, right-click My Computer and select Properties from the shortcut menu.

12. In this dialog box, select Scan Engine from the left pane to display the Scan Engine page.
13. In this page, place a checkmark in the Start Scan Engine on Deploy check box to enable the NI Scan Engine.