What's New: National Instruments Introduces High-Performance PXI Express Data Acquisition with Integrated Signal Conditioning

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National Instruments today announced the company’s first data acquisition (DAQ)  modules with integrated signal conditioning for scalable, high-performance  measurements on PXI Express. The new NI SC Express family delivers increased accuracy, high  data throughput and best-in-class synchronization for measuring strain gauges,  bridge-based transducers, thermocouples and high-voltage analog inputs. PXI  Express provides 250 MB/s of dedicated bandwidth for each SC Express module in  the chassis, which helps engineers increase channel count without compromising  sampling rates or data throughput. With a smaller footprint, simplified cable  management and new software features for automatic synchronization, the SC  Express modules make it easy for engineers to set up and program  high-channel-count sensor measurement systems.

The NI PXIe-4330 24-bit simultaneous bridge input module  offers 0.02 percent accuracy and 25 kS/s per channel sample rate for  high-performance strain, load, force and torque measurements. The bridge input  module achieves high accuracy with a ratiometric design where the ADC references  the excitation voltage. This approach removes the measurement’s dependence on  the stability and accuracy of the excitation voltage. In addition, unique  delta-sigma ADCs provide both excellent AC performance as well as DC accuracy,  while traditional delta-sigma ADCs only offer AC performance.

The NI  PXIe-4330 bridge input module can perform quarter, half and full bridge-based  measurements with automatic synchronization features. The included driver  software ensures tight synchronization across multiple modules and chassis with  inter-channel skews as low as 5 ppb. The 8-channel bridge input module can scale  to a 136-channel system in a single chassis and thousands of channels when  synchronizing across multiple chassis. The high-accuracy, simultaneity and  synchronization features make the NI PXIe-4330 module ideal for  high-channel-count structural test applications, such as wind tunnels, bridge  monitoring and crash tests.

With the NI PXIe-4353 thermocouple module, engineers can measure  temperatures with 0.30 °C accuracy on 32 channels. The isothermal terminal block  minimizes error with a unique design that optimizes thermal conductivity, making  it possible for the nearby cold-junction compensation (CJC) thermistors to  accurately measure at the thermocouple junctions. The 32-channel thermocouple  module can scale to a 544-channel system in a single chassis and thousands of  channels when synchronizing across multiple chassis. The increased accuracy and  scalable platform make the NI PXIe-4353 module well-suited for precision  measurements from a single channel to large systems for applications such as  fuel cell testing and monitoring thermal chambers.

The NI PXIe-4300 high-voltage isolated analog input module  is the first analog input module from National Instruments that can measure up  to 300 V with simultaneous sampling. With a 16-bit ADC per channel and a 250  kS/s per channel sampling rate, the NI PXIe-4300 module can stream 4 MB/s per  module and 68 MB/s in a single chassis. This 8-channel analog input module can  scale to a 136-channel system in a single chassis and thousands of channels when  synchronizing across multiple chassis. The ability to measure 300 V with CAT II  channel-to-channel isolation makes the NI PXIe-4300 module ideal for automotive  testing, such as fuel cell and battery tests.

The new SC Express modules  include NI-DAQmx driver software and support for multi-device tasks, a new  feature of NI-DAQmx that helps engineers easily synchronize multiple modules.  The same code that acquires data from one module can synchronize up to 17  modules in a chassis. The modules work with a variety of NI hardware including  NI X Series,  dynamic signal acquisition (DSA) and NI SCXI products, and more than 1,500 types of I/O  available on the PXI platform. The new modules also integrate with NI software including  NI LabVIEW and the LabVIEW  Real-Time Module, NI-Sync and NI DIAdem.

Readers can visit www.ni.com/lp/sc-express.htm to learn more about  achieving higher measurement performance with the SC Express family.

About PXI
PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) is an open  specification governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (www.pxisa.org) that defines  a rugged, CompactPCI-based platform optimized for test, measurement and control.  Founded in 1997, the PXI specification is supported by more than 70 vendors  offering more than 1,500 PXI products. PXI products are compatible with the  CompactPCI and CompactPCI Express industrial computer standards and offer  additional features such as environmental specifications, standardized software  and built-in timing and synchronization.

About National  Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and  scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and  embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as  NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of  more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer  representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing  more than 15 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more  than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the  past 11 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to  work for in America.

Visit ni.com for more information.