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How to build a measurement system using NI products and the system is outside PC

I would like to build a system that uses NI's following products:
1. Wave form generator
2. Switches
3. A/D board
My question is: How to build such a system such that
the system is outside PC? For example, the system is
like an ordinary instrument that can be connected to
PC through RS 485 port.

Thanks!
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Look at Field Point hardware.

It may be just what you are asking for.

Ben
Retired Senior Automation Systems Architect with Data Science Automation LabVIEW Champion Knight of NI and Prepper LinkedIn Profile YouTube Channel
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You have two options:

1) Fieldpoint
2) PXI

The fieldpoint system could be configured to be controlled via a RS-485 network. Unfortunately, the types of available modules are somewhat limited.

The types of modules currently include: analog input (thermocouples, voltage, current, rtd,strain gauge, etc...), analog output, discrete input, discrete output, counter, relay, pulse width, pulse generator and a few others. Unfortunately, we do not have any modules dedicated solely to wave form generation.

You could probably use a relay module to provide switching capability and an analog module to convert an analog signal to a digital signal.

The second option is to purchase a pxi system. The pxi system can give you all the capabilities you listed (wavefor
m generation, switching and a/d conversion). However, there is no real RS-485 control capability.

With a pxi system, however, you could have it be a standalone system (processor and os included). Or, if you'd rather control it from a remote computer, you could link up to it with a MXI-3 bus/connector.

After this long explanation, I guess my suggestion would be to use a pxi system:

Chassis (PXI-1000B)
Controller (PXI-8176)
Wave Form Generator (PXI-5411)
Switch (PXI-25xx)
A/D board (Contact Sales)

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.
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Thanks! I think I will go for the PXI system.
The configuration will be:
Chassis: PXI-1000B
wave form generator: NI 5401 for PXI/Compact PCI,
PXI remote controllers: PXI-PCI8330. (I want to build a system that is controlled by a desktop or notebook.)
A/D board: NI PXI-5102

There are still two problems with it:
1. The voltage through the switch board will be up to 150V sometimes, so the
switch board of PXI-25xx series won't work? I also need like 30 channels.
So I want to choose SCXI-1127. Can it be connected easily to a PXI chasis?
2. Does NI has an amplifier that can amplify signals
with frequency (50 KHz - 300 KHz) and peak voltage (5v) to peak voltage (120v)? If this amplifier can be inserted into a PXI chasis, it will be perfect for our

system.

If these two problems can be solved, I think I will definitely go for the PXI system.

Thanks!
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If you are planning on using SCXI, you have two options. You can still use the PXI-1000B chassis, and you will need to connect your DAQ board to the SCXI system with a cable.
You can also consider using a PXI-1010 or PXI-1011 chassis. We call them combo chassis because they come with some PXI slots and they have an SCXI chassis attached to them. In this chassis, you can connect your DAQ board in the PXI slot closest to the SCXI chassis, and the DAQ board will communicate with the SCXI chassis through the internal PXI backplane, so you will not need to connect them through a cable. The PXI-1010 chassis has 8 PXI slots and 4 SCXI slots, and the PXI-1011 chassis has 4 PXI slots and 8 SCXI slots.

The MXI-3 extender will let you control any PXI chas
sis from a desktop. Keep in mind that there are two interfaces: the PCI-PXI-8330, which uses a copper cable, and the PCI-PXI-8335, which uses a fiber optics cable. The advantage of the fiber optics cable is that it is less likely to have noise and the PXI chassis can be up to 200 meters away from the computer.

Now, given that your signals have a 150V amplitud, you will need a SCXI-1127 module instead of a PXI-250x.

Finally, we do not have an amplifier in PXI form that can read a 50 KHz - 300 KHz and peak voltage 5v, and amplify it to 120v. However you could check other PXI vendors for those boards. You can find some information of third party vendors by going to the NI Developer Zone and clicking on the Third Party Product Advisor link on the left.

Hope this helps,

Claudia Lorente
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
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