Spinlab Slow Controls Database

Monitoring the environment in the lab and the status of various parameters in our experiments is key to understanding how changes in these parameters affect the experiments.  To accomplish this, a database and software system was designed and built to monitor these slow control parameters in the lab.  A data model was implemented as a MySQL database, and a series of Python modules and LabView virtual instruments (VI’s) were created to interact with the database.  Information about the sensors and that measurements they record are all stored within the database and are easily accessible via the SpinlabSC Python library.  The LabView VI’s allow for easy integration of the database functionality into the existing software used to control the experiments.  This system also serves as an additional safety monitor for hazardous work in the lab; our electrode conditioning high-voltage status is monitored in the database, and is displayed on a screen outside of the lab entrance.

Documentation and Python scripts are here at the Spinlab Github.

-SF