https://www.halvorsen.

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DAQ I/O Modules

with Python
Exemplified by using NI USB-6008 I/O Module

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Free Textbook with lots of Practical Examples

https://www.halvorsen.blog/documents/programming/python/
 Additional Python Resources

https://www.halvorsen.blog/documents/programming/python/
 Contents
• How can we use NI Hardware with Python?
• What is DAQ and I/O Modules?
• NI-DAQmx
• nidaqmx Python API Note! The Python Examples provided will

• Python Examples work for all NI-DAQ Devices using the NI-
DAQmx Driver, which is several hundreds

– Analog Out (Write) - AO different types. We will use the I/O Module
or DAQ Device NI USB-6008 as an Example

– Analog In (Read) - AI
– Digital Out (Write) - DO
– Digital In (Read) - DI
How can we use NI Hardware
with Python?
• NI is a company that manufacture and sell both Hardware and
Software
• The are most famous for their LabVIEW software
• LabVIEW is popular Graphical Programming Language
• Typically you use LabVIEW in combination with NI DAQ
Hardware, but the NI-DAQmx can also be used from C, C#,
Python, etc.
• Control NI DAQ Device with Python and NI DAQmx
– https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z0
00000P8o0SAC
 LabVIEW
• In this Tutorial we will use Python and
not LabVIEW
• But if you want to learn more about
LabVIEW, you may take a look at my
LabVIEW resources:
• https://halvorsen.blog/documents/prog
ramming/labview/labview.php
 NI DAQ Hardware Some Examples
TC-01 Thermocouple
myDAQ

NI-DAQmx
USB-6001 Hardware Driver
cDAQ
USB-6008

Note! The Python Examples provided will work for all NI-DAQ Devices using the NI-DAQmx Driver, which is several hundreds different types
 USB-600x
• NI has many DAQ devices (or I/O Modules) that
can be used together with NI-DAQmx Python API
• Examples of low-cost USB DAQ Devices from NI:
USB-6001, .. ,USB-6008, USB-6009

… …
USB-6001
USB-6008
 NI USB-6008
We will use NI USB-6008 in our examples I/O Pins

http://www.ni.com/en-no/support/model.usb-6008.html
 NI USB-6008
• The USB-6008 is a low-cost, multifunction DAQ device.
• It offers analog I/O, digital I/O, and a 32-bit counter.
• The USB-6008 provides basic functionality for applications such as
simple data logging, portable measurements, and academic lab
experiments.
• You can easily connect sensors and signals to the USB-6008 with
screw-terminal connectivity.
• 8 AI Single-ended or 4 AI Differential (12-Bit, 10 kS/s)
• 2 AO (150 Hz)
• 12 DIO (you can choose DI or DO)
http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/375295c.pdf
 NI DAQ Device with Python
How to use a NI DAQ Device with Python

Python Application Your Python Program

nidaqmx Python Package Python Library/API for Communication with NI DAQmx Driver
Free

Python Python Programming Language

Free

NI-DAQmx Hardware Driver Software

Free

NI DAQ
In this Tutorial we will use USB-6008
Hardware
 Data Acquisition (DAQ)
• To read sensor data you typically need a
DAQ (Data Acquisition) device
connected to you PC
• You can alos use devices like Arduino ,
Raspberry Pi, etc.
• In all cases you will typically need to
install a driver from the vendor of the
DAQ device or the sensor you are using
 DAQ System
A DAQ System consists of 4 parts:
• Physical input/output signals, sensors
• DAQ device/hardware
• Driver software
• Your software application (Application
Software) - in this case your Python
application
 DAQ System
Input/Output Signals
Analog Signals
Software
Analog IO
Digital Signals Application

USB, etc. Hardware Driver

Sensors Digital IO
(Analog/Digital
Interface) Data Acquisition PC
Hardware
 I/O Module
Analog Signals

0 − 5𝑉 or 0 − 10𝑉 Analog Input (AI)

Analog Sensors
Analog IO Analog Output (AO)

I/O Module

Digital IO Digital Signals

True
Digital Input (DI)
False
Digital Output (DO)
Sensors with Digital Interface (e.g., SPI, I2C)
 Digital Signals
A computer can only deal with discrete signals
You typically log data at specific intervals

The sampling Time (𝑇" ) is the time between 2 logged values

𝑡 = Continuous Time
𝑘 = Discrete Time
𝑻𝒔 = Sampling Time
𝑇"

𝑘=0 𝑘=1 𝑘=2 𝑘=3 𝑘=4 … 𝑘

𝑡=0 𝑡 = 𝑇" 𝑡 = 2𝑇" 𝑡 = 3𝑇" 𝑡 = 4𝑇" 𝑡 = 𝑘𝑇"
 DAQ
• Here you find more information,
resources, videos and examples
regarding DAQ:
• https://www.halvorsen.blog/docume
nts/technology/daq
 NI-DAQmx
• NI-DAQmx is the software you use to communicate
with and control your NI data acquisition (DAQ) device.
• NI-DAQmx supports only the Windows operating
system.
• Typically you use LabVIEW in combination with NI DAQ
Hardware, but the NI-DAQmx can also be used from C,
C#, Python, etc.
• The NI-DAQmx Driver is Free!
• Visit the ni.com/downloads to download the latest
version of NI-DAQmx
 Measurement & Automation
Explorer (MAX)
Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)
is a software you can use to configure and
test the DAQ device before you use it in
Python (or other programming languages).

MAX is included with NI-DAQmx software

With MAX you can make sure your DAQ device works as expected before you start using it in your Python program.
You can use the Test Panels to test your analog and digital inputs and outputs channels.
 Measurement & Automation
Explorer (MAX)
Rename Device Name:

You can change the

Name of the Device by
right-clicking and select
“Rename”

You will use this Device Name

inside your Python code
The default Name is “Dev1”
 nidaqmx Python API
• Python Library/API for Communication with NI
DAQmx Driver
• Running nidaqmx requires NI-DAQmx or NI-
DAQmx Runtime
• Visit the ni.com/downloads to download the
latest version of NI-DAQmx
• nidaqmx can be installed with pip:
pip install nidaqmx
• https://github.com/ni/nidaqmx-python
nidaqmx Python Package
Installation
 nidaqmx Python Package
MAX

You can change the

Name of the Device by
right-clicking and select
“Rename”
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Python Examples

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Python Examples
Using a DAQ device we have 4 options
• Analog Out (Write) - AO
• Analog In (Read) - AI
• Digital Out (Write) - DO
• Digital In (Read) - DI
We will show some basic examples in each of
these categories
 Python Examples
• You can easily extend this examples to make them suit
your needs.
• Typically you need to include a while loop where you
write and/or read from the DAQ device inside the loop,
• E.g. read values from one or more sensors, e.g., a
Temperature sensor that are connected to the DAQ
device
• You may want to create a control system reading the
process value and then later write the calculated control
signal (e.g. using a PID controller) back to the DAQ device
and the process
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Analog Out (Write)

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Analog Out (Write)
• Note! The USB-6008 can only output a voltage
signal between 0 and 5V
• The USB-6008 has 2 Analog
Out Channels:
– AO0
– AO1
 Analog Out (Write)
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.ao_channels.add_ao_voltage_chan('Dev1/ao0','mychannel',0,5)
task.start()

value = 2
task.write(value)

task.stop()
task.close()

You can, e.g., use a Multimeter in order to check if the the program outputs the correct value
 Hardware Setup and Testing
task.ao_channels.add_ao_voltage_chan('Dev1/ao0','mychannel',0,5)
Multimeter
To PC

value = 2
task.write(value)

USB-6008

AO0
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Analog In (Read)

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Analog In (Read)
USB-6008 has
• 8 AI Referenced Single Ended (RSE)
Analog Inputs Channels
• or 4 AI Differential Analog
Inputs Channels Default
The Voltage Range is −10𝑉 − 20𝑉
0𝑉 − 5𝑉 is default
 Analog In (Read)
• In order to test your application you can connect, e.g., a
battery to the Analog Input channel used in the
program.
• Before you connect the battery to the DAQ device you
can check the Voltage Level using a Multimeter.
• Another test is to combine the Analog Write and
Analog Read examples and wire the Analog Write
channel directly to the Analog Read channel used in the
program, this is a so-called “Loop-back Test”.
 Analog In (Read)
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0")
task.start()

value = task.read()
print(value)

task.stop
task.close()
Hardware Setup and Testing
task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0")

AI0

value = task.read()
print(value)
 Hardware Setup and Testing
task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0", min_val=0, max_val=10)

value = task.read()
print(value)

AI0
 Analog In (Read)
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0", min_val=0, max_val=10)
task.start()

value = task.read()
print(value)

task.stop
task.close()

0𝑉 − 5𝑉 is default 9V Battery
 Loopback Test (Out + In)
Connect Analog Out connectors on DAQ device to the Analog In connectors:
 Loopback Test - Example
1. First run this Python code: Analog Out
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.ao_channels.add_ao_voltage_chan('Dev1/ao0','mychannel',0,5)
task.start()
import nidaqmx Analog In
value = 2
task.write(value)
task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0")
task.stop()
task.start()
task.close()
value = task.read()
2. Then run this Python code: print(value)
task.stop
task.close()
Loopback Test – Example2
import nidaqmx

task_write = nidaqmx.Task()
task_write.ao_channels.add_ao_voltage_chan('Dev1/ao0','mychannel',0,5)
task_write.start()

task_read = nidaqmx.Task()
task_read.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0")
task_read.start()

value = 4
task_write.write(value)

value = task_read.read()
print(value)

task_write.stop() Analog Out + analog In

task_write.close()
in the same program
task_read.stop()
task_read.close()
 import nidaqmx
import time

Loopback Test task_write = nidaqmx.Task()

task_write.ao_channels.add_ao_voltage_chan('Dev1/ao0','mychannel',0,5)
task_write.start()

– Example3 task_read = nidaqmx.Task()

task_read.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0")
task_read.start()

start=0; stop=6; increment=1

for k in range(start, stop, increment):

value = k
if value>5:
value=5
task_write.write(value)
time.sleep(1)

value = task_read.read()
print(round(value,2))

task_write.stop()
task_write.close()

task_read.stop()
task_read.close()
Analog In – RSE vs Differential
USB-6008 has
• 8 AI Referenced Single Ended (RSE)
Analog Inputs Channels
• or 4 AI Differential Analog
Inputs Channels
Analog In – RSE vs Differential
AI Differential Analog - 4 channels
AI Referenced Single Ended (RSE) - 8 channels
The Analog Channels have common ground

AI0
AI0
 Analog In with RSE
import nidaqmx

from nidaqmx.constants import (

TerminalConfiguration)

task = nidaqmx.Task()

task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0",
terminal_config=TerminalConfiguration.RSE)

task.start()

value = task.read()
print(value)
task.stop()
task.close()
 Analog In with Differential
import nidaqmx

from nidaqmx.constants import (

TerminalConfiguration)

task = nidaqmx.Task()

task.ai_channels.add_ai_voltage_chan("Dev1/ai0",
terminal_config=TerminalConfiguration.DIFFERENTIAL)
task.start()

value = task.read()
print(value)

task.stop()
task.close()
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Digital I/O

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Digital I/O
• 12 Digital Channels
– Port 0 Digital I/O Channels 0 to 7
– Port 1 Digital I/O Channels 0 to 3

• You can individually configure each signal as an input

or output.
Digital I/O
Dev1/port0/line0
Dev1/port0/line1
Dev1/port0/line2
Dev1/port0/line3
port0
Dev1/port0/line4
Dev1/port0/line5
Dev1/port0/line6
port1 Dev1/port0/line7

Dev1/port1/line0
Dev1/port1/line1
Dev1/port1/line2
Dev1/port1/line3
 Digital I/O

Dev1/Port0/line0:7
P0.<0..7> Port 0 Digital I/O Channels 0 to 7 — You can individually configure each signal as
an input or output.

Dev1/Port1/line0:3
P1.<0..3> Port 1 Digital I/O Channels 0 to 3 — You can individually configure each signal as
an input or output
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Digital Out (Write)

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Digital Out (Write)
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0")
task.start()

value = True
task.write(value)

task.stop
task.close()

value = True value = False

We measure ~5𝑉 using a Multimeter We measure ~0𝑉 using a Multimeter
Digital Out (Write)
+ We test with
- a Multimeter
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task() True

task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0")
task.start()

value = True
task.write(value)

task.stop
task.close()

False

import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0")
task.start()

value = False
task.write(value)

task.stop
task.close()
Digital Out – For Loop import nidaqmx
import time

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0")
task.start()

value = True

N = 10
for k in range(N):
print(value)
task.write(value)
value = not value
time.sleep(5)

task.stop
task.close()
Digital I/O
Dev1/port0/line0
Dev1/port0/line1
Dev1/port0/line2
Dev1/port0/line3
port0
Dev1/port0/line4
Dev1/port0/line5
Dev1/port0/line6
port1 Dev1/port0/line7

Dev1/port1/line0
Dev1/port1/line1
Dev1/port1/line2
Dev1/port1/line3
Multiple Digital Out import nidaqmx
import time

from nidaqmx.constants import (

LineGrouping)

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0:7","MyDOChannels",
line_grouping=LineGrouping.CHAN_PER_LINE)
task.start()

data = [True,False,True,True,False,True,False,True]
task.write(data)
time.sleep(5)

data[1] = True
task.write(data)

task.stop
task.close()
https://www.halvorsen.blog

Digital In (Read)

Hans-Petter Halvorsen
 Digital In (Read)
import nidaqmx

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.di_channels.add_di_chan("Dev1/port0/line1")
task.start()

value = task.read()
print(value)

task.stop
task.close()
Loopback Testing
Digital Out (P0.0)

Digital In (P0.1)
 import nidaqmx

Digital Out + In task = nidaqmx.Task()

task.do_channels.add_do_chan("Dev1/port0/line0")
task.start()

DO value = False #Change between True and False

task.write(value)
In this example we
task.stop connect DO0 and DI1
task.close()

task = nidaqmx.Task()
task.di_channels.add_di_chan("Dev1/port0/line1")
task.start()

DI value = task.read()
print(value)

task.stop
task.close()
 Additional Python Resources

https://www.halvorsen.blog/documents/programming/python/
Hans-Petter Halvorsen
University of South-Eastern Norway
www.usn.no

E-mail: [email protected]
Web: https://www.halvorsen.blog