Self-Reflection Assignment 2
Teh Yee Wan A22EE0247 SEEE2133 Section 7 Group 7
I started off Assignment 2 by downloading the LabVIEW software first on my laptop, then I
read the manual on how to build a virtual instrument (VI), analyze and save a signal using virtual
instrument. Assignment 2 was constructed in a group of 3 people. Our group members are Chew Jing
Wen, Low Fang Yin and me. All of us collaborated well and put in our best efforts to complete the
assignments together.
First and foremost, we have to build a VI that generates a signal and displays that signal in a
graph. The output of our simulation will be portrayed in the front panel of the VI. We followed the
pre-lab instructions in the manual step-by-step. A new blank project is created. A template VI
generates and displays the signal in block diagram and front panel. This template consists of a
Stimulate Express VI, Configure Formula Dialog Box, a Knob terminal, Waveform Graph terminal to
display the frequency, amplitude and the type of the waveform, a Merge Signals tool to combine the
signals from Stimulate Signal Express VI and Configure Formula Dialog Box as well as a stop button
inside a gray loop. Configure Formula Dialog Box could amplify or reduce the amplitude of the
waveform while Stimulate Express VI could alter the type of the waveform displayed. To complete
this template, a knob was then added to the front panel and was wired to the Amplitude input of the
Stimulate Signal Express VI. Then, we tested the virtual instrument out by changing the signal type to
Sawtooth and running it a few times. Then, Configure Formula Dialog Box was then added to the
block diagram and the Sawtooth output on the Stimulate Signal Express VI was wired to the
Sawtooth input on the Configure Formula Dialog Box after changing its configuration the X1 label
from X1 to Sawtooth*10. The outputs of the Stimulate Signal Express VI and Configure Formula
Dialog Box were merged by using Merge Signals tool then is wired to the Waveform Graph. The Write
to Measurement File Express VI was also added to the block diagram and the merged outputs wired
to it.
Once this was all completed, to obtain Signal A, a sine wave with an amplitude range of 0 to
70 and a frequency range of 10Hz to 100Hz is set up by adding two knob controls in the front panel.
The signal type in Stimulate Signal Express VI was altered to Sine wave. One of the knob controls was
set to have a range between 0 to 70 and was labelled "Amplitude" while another knob control was
set to a range of 10 to 100 and was labelled "Frequency". The amplitude knob control is wired to the
Amplitude input for Stimulate Signal Express VI while frequency knob control is wired to the
Frequency input for Stimulate Signal Express VI. At the same time, to obtain Signal B, the
configuration X1 label in Configure Formula Dialog Box is changed to Sine/5 to obtain Signal B which
have a scale 5 times smaller than Signal A.
To obtain Signal X, the template above is copied and pasted within the same loop. The signal
type in Stimulate Signal Express VI was altered to Square wave. A sine wave with a constant
amplitude of 14 and a constant frequency of 70Hz is set up by adding two numeric controls in the
front panel. One of the numeric controls was set to 14 and was labelled "Amplitude" while another
numeric control was set to 70 and was labelled "Frequency". The amplitude numeric control is wired
to the Amplitude input for Stimulate Signal Express VI while frequency numeric control is wired to
the Frequency input for Stimulate Signal Express VI. At the same time, to obtain Signal Y, the
configuration X1 label in Configure Formula Dialog Box is changed to Square/2 to obtain Signal Y
which have a scale 2 times smaller than Signal X.
The Virtual Instrument was run. The desired output signals, Signal A and Signal B were obtained on
the Waveform Graph. The Write to Measurement File Express VI also produced a .Ivm file which the
amplitude of the signals will be displayed in Microsoft Excel in a numerical form at each instance.
Our group worked together to create a video based on this Virtual Instrument assignment
and demonstrate the stimulation to our lecturer, Dr Anita on 22 May 2023 from 8 to 10am. We had a
few difficulties as this is our first time building a virtual instrument, but we overcome together by
working as a team and solving the problems faced together through discussion. I am grateful for my
teammates as they are helpful, willing to solve the problems faced and cooperative. Furthermore, I
would also express my gratitude towards our lecturer, Dr Anita for giving us this opportunity to be
involved with lab works so that we are acquired the qualifications to become a skillful electronic
engineer in the future after graduating from our university. After completing this assignment, we can
display and analyse the data of the generated waveforms in different ways. This will be useful for
more complex uses in the future.