Riding the PXI wave
By Richard A. Quinnell, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 6/1/2006
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| Loofie Gutterman, president of Geotest and the PXI Systems
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Q: So, business was booming so much that you had to expand?
A: Yes, we ran out of room. We saw a growth rate of 25% last year and are forecasting 35% to 40% this year. We needed more space for engineering, production, and integration. We were literally working in the hallways.
Q: What's causing this surge in interest in PXI?
A: There are two things happening. One is growing acceptance of PXI in markets such as mil-aero. Also, there is a rotation from other types of systems to PXI.
Q: What kind of systems are moving to PXI?
A: Modular instrumentation technology such as VXI is moving over. VXI is getting long in the tooth, suffering from obsolescence, and nothing really new is being developed. The data bandwidth for VXI just isn't there, so new programs looking for modular instrumentation are turning to PXI. It's amazing the performance being squeezed out of PXI now. Size is another factor. Users are looking for a smaller footprint.
Q: What are the new applications areas that PXI is entering?
A: There are a couple of areas that PXI is entering. One is semiconductor test systems. Companies are under pressure to get their costs down. One way to do that is to use open architecture test systems where there are multiple suppliers for the equipment, and companies are turning to that approach. The Semiconductor Test Consortium OpenStar platform, for instance, is getting PXI. This approach also has the benefit that customers can build on the platform themselves.
Using its own products in its system-integration business helps keep Geotest on top of the PXI wave.
Courtesy of Geotest.
RF is another applications area for PXI that is growing. There has been an amazing increase in RF capabilities for a modular platform. Companies are delivering products now that operate up to 6 GHz, fast enough for cellular testing. And they keep ratcheting up performance all the time.
Q: What do you see as the keys to success in the PXI market—ones that give you the ability to ride the wave?
A: One is to keep on the forefront of technology. Companies need to continuously come up with new technology, performance increases, and innovative new products. You also need to spend a lot of time with customers, to keep pace with what they really want. For instance, we have found it best to offer both 3U and 6U products. Most companies only offer 3U products, but having both form factors allows us to cover more applications.
Geotest has an advantage in that we have a system-integration business in addition to manufacturing, so we are users of our own products. We get to see how usable our products are, and our internal users help refine the product. That way, our customers get a product that was not only designed for test but was successfully used in test before it got to market.
Technical support is also a key. Most PXI vendors give good instrument support; they know how their product works. Our support people are experienced test engineers, so they know how the product works and how to test. This lets us help customers use the equipment more efficiently in their application.
All these things are letting us keep pace, or better, with the growing PXI market.
