Configuring the Third-Party Master for the NI-9145 in FPGA Mode

To generate a user-defined I/O variables profile, you must compile and download an FPGA VI on the FPGA target. The profile is used for the third-party EtherCAT master software recognizing the user-defined I/O variables.
Note   Before downloading an FPGA VI to the FPGA target on the NI-9145, ensure the NI-9145 item deployed and the NI Scan Engine is in Configuration mode.

After successfully downloading the bitfile to the FPGA target on the NI-9145, LabVIEW generates a new XML file. This XML file is the user-defined variables profile and has the same file name as the FPGA bitfile.

Configure the third-party EtherCAT master for the NI-9145 in FPGA mode by completing the following steps.

  1. Copy NI9145slots.xml, all the files in the Modules folder, and the generated XML file to the third-party EtherCAT master's IO configuration folder.
    Note   The generated XML file must be in the same directory with the Modules folder at \LabVIEW\resource\Framework\Providers\indcomecat\DD\Modules.
  2. Open NI9145slots.xml with a text editor, add the generated XML file path at the end of the <InfoReference> section, and save the changes.
    For example, <InfoReference>Modules\example_9145_FPGA.lvbitx.xml</InfoReference>.
  3. Restart the third-party EtherCAT master system service.

Use the third-party EtherCAT master to discover the NI-9145 that contains the FPGA target. In the LabVIEW project, explore to the NI-9145 item. You can locate the FPGA target item under the NI-9145 item.