LoadVUE User Guide LoadVUE LoadVUE Lite Thank you for choosing Loadstar Sensors. Need additional help? Call us at 510-623-9600 or email us at support@loadstarsensors.com LoadVUE is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. • Due to continuous improvements the actual screens of LoadVUE software may differ from the screenshots depicted in this user guide. • Screenshots for LoadVUE 4-Channel version are shown in the following pages.
Table of Contents Installation................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 iLoad Digital USB Sensor Driver Installation.......................................................................................................................... 2 Operation..........................................................................................................................
LoadVUE User Guide • 1 Installation Insert the LoadVUE CD-ROM into your drive. The installation Wizard should start up automatically. If it does not, click Start...Run…. and use the Browse button to select X:\setup.exe where X: stands for the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Click OK until the LoadVUE setup screen appears. Click Next. Select the installation folder. Click Next twice and LoadVUE will be installed. Note: LoadVUE requires the presence of Microsoft .NET Framework.
LoadVUE User Guide • 2 iLoad Digital USB Sensor Driver Installation LoadVUE installation will also install the drivers needed automatically. If you want to connect the sensors to other computers without LoadVUE however, you may need to install the drivers manually. In that case, please connect your sensors first and then install the drivers following the instructions in the section Driver Installation and Operation of iLoad Digital USB Sensors. Otherwise, please skip to the next section.
LoadVUE User Guide • 3 Operation To run LoadVUE, click All Programs...LoadVUE or double-click on the Desktop shortcut for LoadVUE. LoadVUE will scan all installed COM ports for attached sensors. Note: Loadstar Sensors Drivers should first be installed for the sensors to be detected. The LoadVUE main window is now shown with the default layout for displaying readings from up to 4 sensors as well as the total load. Peak and Low loads are also shown. Note: Graph options are not available in LoadVUE Lite.
LoadVUE User Guide • 4 Click on Log Settings to view an expanded layout that displays the log readings. You can select the number of sensors readings that are averaged for display by clicking on the Options... button. Averaging more readings will reduce the noise level while fewer readings will improve the frequency response. On this screen you can also select your preferred display units: lb, oz., kg, g, N (Newton), or kN (kiloNewton).
LoadVUE User Guide • 5 may not be available in all versions of LoadVUE). Click Tare to zero the load on the sensors. All four sensors and total will now display 0. (Further sensor readings will subtract the load at this point). Click Start to start reading the sensors. The sensors will be polled as fast as possible but the data is displayed at a more human-readable rate. Click on Increase Decimals or Decrease Decimals to adjust the decimals displayed.
LoadVUE User Guide • 6 Click on the arrow next to the Units on the status bar to change the units in which the load is displayed. Click on the Graph button to display a graph of the load on each sensor as well as the total load. Peak and Low loads are also shown. Note: Graph options are not available in LoadVUE Lite. Select Set Graph Limits… (or Graph Options… in some versions of LoadVUE) from the menu on the graph window to set scaling options on the time axis (x-axis) and the load axis (y-axis).
LoadVUE User Guide • 7 Enter the maximum time-axis range in seconds in the Range field. (Minimum: 5 sec). (You must close the graph and click on the Graph… button again for this change to take effect.) To stop the readings from scrolling to the left, click on Anchor the start time. This will show a cumulative graph. Please note that the cumulative data is limited to only about 10 minutes or so. Select Auto on the Load-Axis options for the load axis to scale automatically.
LoadVUE User Guide • 8 Calibrating your load cell Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 9 Troubleshooting If you see the error message below, it may sometimes be caused by a temporary problem in the COM port connection or the sensor connections. Check the connections and try again. As a last resort, close LoadVUE and restart the program. All data in the saved datasets and log files will be preserved.
LoadVUE User Guide • 10 Driver Installation and Hyperterminal Operation of iLoad Digital USB Sensors Driver Installation Insert the iLoad Digital USB Driver CD OR the LoadVUE or LoadVUE Lite CD into your computer’s drive. If you have downloaded the driver files from our web site onto a location in your hard disk, substitute that location instead of the CD drive in the instructions below. Drivers for Windows XP and Windows Vista are available here.
LoadVUE User Guide • 11 On the next screen make sure that Search for removable media is checked and click Next. Windows installs the first part of the driver. Click Finish. The driver is installed in two parts. Windows will ask you again for the driver, this time prompting you for a driver for ‘USB Serial Port’ Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 12 Repeat the steps above. Select ‘Install from a list or specific location’, click Next. On the next screen, select ‘Search removable media’, click Next. Windows will then install the second part of the driver and display the results. To verify the COM port number that has been assigned to the sensor, open the Hardware Device Manager. You can do so by going to the Control Panel in Windows and double-clicking on System.
LoadVUE User Guide • 13 If you have more COM ports than you have sensors connected, you can double-click on the entry for a COM port. The ports associated with iLoad Digital USB sensors will indicate that they have FTDI driver as shown below. You are now ready to start using your iLoad Digital USB sensor. Hyperterminal Operation In Windows XP, launch the Hyperterminal program. Start...All Programs...Accessories...Communications...Hyperterminal Note: Windows Vista does not include a terminal client.
LoadVUE User Guide • 14 Set up a new connection to connect to the iLoad Digital USB sensor's COM port. In the "Connect To" window, select the appropriate COM port. Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 15 In the "Port Settings" dialog box, select 9600 as Bits per Second and None as the Flow Control. (If you have a high-speed version of an interface or load cell, your select 230400 as Bits per Second). Click OK to accept the settings. Then click "Enter" a few times. You should see the sensor respond with an "A". Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 16 Type "O0W1" and hit . The sensor will respond with the current load on the sensor in millipounds. In the figure below the load is 2.853 pounds. Type "CT0" to tare the sensor. This will zero the load (all further readings will subtract the load sensed at this point.) Type "O0W0" to output the load continuously. Hitting at any time will stop outputting the readings. Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 17 Basic command set The iLoad Digital USB sensor can be used through LoadVUE or LoadVUE Lite software from Loadstar Sensors. It can also be used directly as a COM port using any terminal emulation software such as HyperTerminal that is included with Windows XP. To set up Hyperterminal or other terminal emulation program to communicate with the sensor, select the appropriate COM port in the program and connect.
LoadVUE User Guide • 18 Writing Your Own Software to Communicate with iLoad Digital USB Sensors Since the iLoad Digital USB Sensors present themselves to Windows as COM ports, it is very easy to write your own program to read the sensor loads. Simply open the COM port from your application and send the string O0W1. Then read the returned string back in millipounds. We recommend the following steps: 1. Open the port at 9600, N, 8, 1, No flow control.
LoadVUE User Guide • 19 Appendix A: Special Instructions for High Data Output Rate Sensors Some versions of iLoad Digital USB load cells offer a high data output rate of more than 500 weight readings per sec. When used with these load cells, LoadVUE can log data at these high rates (at the Maximum log interval setting). To obtain data at these higher rates, you must change the COM port settings as shown below. Note: The actual logging rate will depend on the computer speed.
LoadVUE User Guide • 20 Right-click on the COM port and select Properties. Select the Port Settings tab and click on Advanced… Set the Latency Timer to 2 Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 21 Click OK to save the settings. Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 22 Appendix B: LoadVUE with USB Relay Control An optional LoadVUE feature is the ability to control a USB Single Pole Switchover relay at preset loading or loading rate events. A Sentinel USB SPS relay is shipped along with LoadVUE. Simply connect the relay to any USB port on your PC, no drivers are needed. The relay is in the ‘closed’ position when not connected to the PC. It is also in the ‘closed’ position as soon as it is connected to the PC.
LoadVUE User Guide • 23 Example 1: The relay is closed from 0 – 10 lb. The relay is open for values > 10 lb. > 10 lb <= 10 lb Simulation area, use the slider to verify if the relay is operating as per your settings. Note: The relay will open and close, so please make sure the relay is disconnected from the external circuit, if necessary. Use these buttons to open and close the relay manually. Set L2 = 10, L1=10 Select ‘Close’ for values below L1 and ‘Open’ for values above L2.
LoadVUE User Guide • 24 Example 2: The relay is closed from 0 to 11 lb. The relay is open for values > 11 lb. The relay retains its status between 10 and 11 lb. That is, if the load decreases from 11.5 to 10.5 lbs, the relay will stay open. If the load increases from 9.5 lb to 10.5 lb, the relay will stay closed. Set L2 = 11, L1=10 Select ‘Close’ for values below L1 and ‘Open” for values above L2. Select ‘Hold’ for values between 10 and 11 lb.
LoadVUE User Guide • 25 • • • When LoadVUE is started When LoadVUE is shut down When the Start button is clicked, or • When the Stop button is clicked Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 26 At each of these instants, you can choose to • Open the relay. • Close the relay, or • Do nothing. (Hold the relay in its current state). Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 27 Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
LoadVUE User Guide • 28 Appendix C: Email and Text Messages from LoadVUE (Optional) LoadVUE can email you the latest readings at preset time intervals; you can also receive the readings on your mobile phone as a text message (SMS). This feature will enable monitoring of your sensors remotely and if necessary, to control any associated relays or other equipments using other software or hardware. Note: This feature may not be available on all versions of LoadVUE.
LoadVUE User Guide • 29 To send a text message to your phone, LoadVUE uses the email to SMS gateway of your mobile carrier. For example, if your mobile carrier is AT&T, LoadVUE will attempt to send an email to [10 digit phone number]@txt.att.com. If your phone is not receiving these messages, please contact your carrier to see if their email to SMS gateway is functioning, and also the correct formatting of your phone number.
LoadVUE User Guide • 30 Appendix D: LoadVUE for Displacement Sensing Certain versions of LoadVUE also support a displacement sensor to read displacements. Displacements are logged and plotted in addition to the load readings. Loadstar Sensors, Inc. • www.loadstarsensors.
