My first project in LabVIEW (using version 2.1 for Windows) was an automated measuring system to profile freshly machined air compressor pistons for size and eccentricity.  The user placed the piston in a fixture and pressed a button to start the measurement.  The computer actuated an air cylinder to move the probes over the piston, rotated the piston, profiled its circumference using three non-contact capacitance gages, and showed the profile graphically in real time.