Connecting to PL068-P by Aimtti in Python

Instrument Card

Bench/System Linear Regulated DC Power Supply Single Output, 6V/8A, USB, RS232, LAN(LXI) and Analogue interfaces

Device Specification: here

Manufacturer card: AIMTTI

TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments) is a leading manufacturer of electronic test and measurement instruments. These products are sold throughout the world via carefully selected distributors and agents in each country. We are located in Huntingdon near to the famous university city of Cambridge, within one of the high technology areas of the United Kingdom.

• Headquarters: UK
• Yearly Revenue (millions, USD): 9000
• Vendor Website: here

Demo: Measure a solar panel IV curve with a Keithley 2400

Connect to the PL068-P in Python

Read our guide for turning Python scripts into Flojoy nodes.

Flojoy

PROTOCOLS > SCPI

📄 IDN

Query a device's identity through the universal *IDN? SCPI command.

📄 MEASURE VOLTAGE

Query an instrument's measured output voltage, such as a DMM or power supply.

📄 SCPI WRITE

Write a SCPI command to a connected bench-top instrument and return the result.

QCodes

Here is a Python script that uses Qcodes to connect to a PL068-P Power Supply:

from qcodes.instrument.visa import VisaInstrument
from qcodes.instrument.channel import ChannelList
from qcodes.instrument.parameter import Parameter
from qcodes import validators as vals


class AimTTiChannel(Parameter):
    def __init__(self, parent, name, channel):
        super().__init__(name, label=name, unit='', get_cmd=None, set_cmd=None)
        self.parent = parent
        self.channel = channel

    def get_raw(self):
        return self.parent.ask(f"V{self.channel}?")

    def set_raw(self, value):
        self.parent.write(f"V{self.channel} {value}")


class AimTTi(VisaInstrument):
    def __init__(self, name, address):
        super().__init__(name, address)
        self.channels = ChannelList(self, "Channels", AimTTiChannel, snapshotable=False)
        self.add_submodule("channels", self.channels)

        self.add_parameter(
            "output",
            get_cmd="OP?",
            set_cmd="OP {}",
            val_mapping={0: 'off', 1: 'on'}
        )

        self.add_parameter(
            "voltage",
            get_cmd="V?",
            set_cmd="V {}",
            get_parser=float,
            set_parser=float,
            unit="V",
            vals=vals.Numbers(0, 30)
        )

        self.connect_message()

    def get_idn(self):
        return {'vendor': 'Aim', 'model': 'PL068-P', 'serial': '1234', 'firmware': '1.0'}

    def get_address(self):
        return 1


aim_tti = AimTTi("aim_tti", "TCPIP::192.168.1.1::INSTR")
print(aim_tti.get_idn())
print(aim_tti.get_address())
print(aim_tti.channels)
print(aim_tti.voltage())
aim_tti.voltage(10)
print(aim_tti.voltage())
aim_tti.output('on')
print(aim_tti.output())

This script creates a custom AimTTiChannel class that inherits from Parameter and represents a single channel of the Aim TTi power supply. It also creates a AimTTi class that inherits from VisaInstrument and represents the entire power supply instrument.

The AimTTi class defines parameters for the output state (output) and voltage (voltage). It also overrides the get_idn and get_address methods to provide the identification and address information of the power supply.

The script creates an instance of the AimTTi class, connects to the power supply at the specified address, and demonstrates how to use the defined parameters to get and set values.