Analog Output Fast Waveform Generation

[Ashesh]

I want to generate a triangular analog waveform with parabolic turnarounds (to smoothen the motion of the optical scanner I'm planning to drive with it) using an NI card AT-Mio-16E. I would need update rates of around 1.6 MS/sec.Is such a speed possible with this card - I couldn't find the specs. Additionally, I'm using Labview to first generate a 1 d array with the waveform and then feed this into an AO Write VI where I simply specify updates/sec. Is this the fastest way to do it, or is there another way in which I can avoid buffer roll-over? Would appreciate any comments. Thanks, Ashesh

[HenrikJ]

This document should help u out.
http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/370507a.pdf

Look at page 110. It is said something of 1MS/s.

[Thaison_V]

Hi Ashesh,

As HenrichJ pointed out in the AT E Series manual, the board can't quite meet the 1.6 MS/s rate you are looking for.  You may want to look at one of our newer multi-function DAQ boards (M-Series comes to mind) if you are hoping to achieve these rates.  Regarding your question about "buffer roll-over" for your analog output, I would take a look at this KnowledgeBase article.  It discusses FIFO Mode Analog Output, which will allow you to load a predefined waveform to the hardware FIFO and continuously output from that buffer without interaction from your PC.  It also provides a link to an example program written in LabVIEW that shows you how to implement this.  Let us know if this helps!

Thaison V
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

[Ashesh]

Thank you both for your replies. The documents were extremely useful -Ashesh