Webench teams up with SignalExpress
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2004
National Semiconductor Corp. (NSC) has adapted National Instruments' SignalExpress software to extend NSC's Webench online design and simulation environment. Using Webench in conjunction with PXI modular instruments and SignalExpress, NSC's customers can quickly develop prototypes and compare simulation results with physical measurements.
Using the Webench/SignalExpress combination, a designer selects an NSC part, creates and analyzes a design online, builds a prototype, and tests it. SignalExpress can automate swept-signal measurements to allow the modular instruments to capture the data necessary to generate plots such as Bode plots and transient-response plots. The combination initially supports power-supply designs employing NSC's power-management ICs. Webench also supports wireless devices and op amps. (See "Triple Play," Test & Measurement World, August 2004, p. 22, www.tmworld.com/archives.)
For power-supply designs, NSC recommends a standard instrumentation suite consisting of an NI PXI-5122
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| SignalExpress automates real-world measurements made by modular instruments and enables quick comparisons with simulation results, such as those from Webench. Courtesy of National Instruments. |
Simulation tools such as Webench "give engineers a preliminary look at how a circuit works," said NSC staff scientist Bob Pease in a prepared statement. Pease continued, "With SignalExpress, an engineer can quickly do a reality check on designs using real-time measurement data. I wouldn't build a production board based on Spice alone."
For further information, visit www.national.com/webench and www.ni.com/signalexpress.
