PXI enables high-channel-count, single-chassis data acquisition
At Autotestcon, the PXISA demonstrated a single-chassis data-acquisition system that gathered data from a jet-engine simulation.
Nicole Faubert, Marketing Manager, GaGe/KineticSystems -- Test & Measurement World, 11/1/2007 2:00:00 AM
| PXISA Demonstration System: *Instrument configuration *Equipment used *Channels used |
The PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA) has demonstrated a data-acquisition system that packs a groundbreaking 864 channels in a single PXI/CompactPCI chassis. The live, multivendor demonstration was one of three that the PXISA presented at Autotestcon (September 17–20, Baltimore, MD) to mark the 10th anniversary of the PXI standard.
The demonstration system, which acquired data from a jet-engine simulation, included hardware and software from six PXISA members: KineticSystems, GaGe, Geotest, Keithley Instruments, ADLINK, and National Instruments. KineticSystems integrated 10 different PXI/cPCI modules into a 3U/6U combo chassis from Geotest. With previous standards, it would have been difficult if not impossible to implement such a high-channel-count data-acquisition system within a single chassis.
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A demonstration at Autotestcon showed that a single-chassis PXI/cPCI system could serve in real-world jet-engine tests. Courtesy of the US Air Force. |
The PXI/cPCI system collected temperature, pressure, flow, RPM, and ARINC-429 measurements from the jet-engine simulation. It included digital I/O, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, signal conditioning, digitizers, frequency counters, and multifunction data acquisition. Both 3U and 6U PXI/cPCI modules were used in the system. Figure 1 shows how the instruments interface to the jet-engine simulation. Table 1 shows the equipment used, and Table 2 details the channel type and count for each.
| Figure 1. The data-acquisition system that the PXISA demonstrated at Autotestcon 2007 used this instrument configuration. |
“The extra real estate gained by the use of 6U PXI/cPCI is an important design factor in high-channel-density instruments,” said Steve Krebs, director of engineering for KineticSystems. “The combination 3U/6U chassis from Geotest also proved very valuable in the overall integration of all manufacturers' instruments. LabWindows/CVI was an efficient development environment to create a user-friendly interface for this high-channel-count data-acquisition system.”
The PXISA also presented two other demonstrations at Autotestcon: One showed the integration of PXI modules from multiple vendors performing JTAG boundary-scan and radio frequency (RF) tests; the other showed the interoperability, compact footprint, and performance of the PXI platform for both digital and analog test applications.
Table 1. Equipment used in PXISA demonstration at Autotestcon 2007
| Vendor | Qty. | Model | Description |
| KineticSystems | 2 | CP387 | High-density digital I/O (6U) |
| KineticSystems | 2 | CP213 | 64-channel 16-bit scanning ADC with signal conditioning (6U) |
| KineticSystems | 1 | CP266 | 64-channel 16-bit DAC (6U) |
| KineticSystems | 1 | P580 | 34x2 scanning differential relay multiplexer (3U) |
| KineticSystems | 1 | P635 | 8-channel frequency counter with signal conditioning (3U) |
| KineticSystems | 1 | V765 | Termination panel |
| KineticSystems | 1 | V792 | Isothermal termination panel |
| GaGe | 1 | CS14100C | 2-channel, 14-bit, 100-MHz digitizer (6U) |
| Keithley | 1 | KPXI-DAQ-96-3M | Multifunction DAQ (3U) |
| Geotest | 1 | GX7100A | 3U/6U Combo chassis |
| Geotest | 1 | GX7910-17512E | Embedded 1.7-GHz P4/512-MB PXI processor (6U) |
| ADLINK | 1 | cPCI-8554 | Counter/timer (3U) |
| National Instruments | 1 | LabWindowsCVI | Development software |
Table 2. Channels used in PXISA demonstration system
| Model | Channels used |
| CP387 | 256 digital I/O |
| CP387 | 256 digital I/O |
| CP213 | 64 ADC, 16 digital I/O, 2 frequency, 2 timer, 2 counter* |
| CP213 | 64 ADC, 16 digital I/O, 2 frequency, 2 timer, 2 counter* |
| CP266 | 64 DAC |
| P580 | 34 relay |
| P635 | 8 frequency |
| CS14100C | 2 digitizer (with gain) |
| KPXI-DAQ-96-3M | 48 ADC, 24 digital I/O 2 timer, 2 counter (with gain) |
| cPCI-8554 | 12 timer, 12 counter |
| Total channels | 884 |
*employs gain/filter signal conditioning.
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