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Our team of LabVIEW Consulting Developers is here to provide domain, application, and overall test development to help your team advance on the NI platform. LabVIEW Consulting & Development LabVIEW engineering services for automated test, measurement, and control applications. View services Speak to Engineer LabVIEW Engineering Services View services Hourly LabVIEW Consulting Get up and running with a new application or fix critical bugs  Get in touch  LabVIEW Code Reviews  Our experienced developers help audit your test and automation software for best practices and potential issues, improving quality and maintainability. Schedule a call  Architecture Consulting  Design in best practices for performance, scalability, and maintenance for complex automation applications Case Study  Legacy System Upgrades  Migrate existing code, add support for new hardware, or build in new functionality Case Study  Schedule a free consultation Explore Applications “Working with Cyth is refreshing. Status reports, budget updates, design meetings... they've perfected the way projects should be done.” -R.J., Senior Quality Engineer, Medical Device Manufacturer Why Partner with Cyth? De-risk complex projects Automation architecture expertise Our end-to-end engineering experience helps you avoid costly architecture mistakes and integration challenges so you can deploy solutions faster.  Flexible by Design Scalable development approach  Modular code architecture and adaptable service models allow you to evolve applications throughout development cycles and changing requirements Never Start from Scratch Build on proven foundations Accelerate development with our tested LabVIEW templates and design patterns for common automation tasks. Applications & Expertise Applications & Expertise Research & Development Tools Accelerate innovation with custom R&D software for repeatable measurements and process control Read the case study Test Automation & Measurement Systems Automate tests with precision, speed, and repeatability. Read the case study Production & Reliability Test Ensure product quality through comprehensive test coverage and results tracking. Read the case study Data Analysis & Visualization Transform test and measurement datasets with custom processing, robust UIs, and flexible data storage. Read the case study NI Platform Expertise As an experienced NI Systems Integrator, Cyth can help you overcome challenges and deliver scalable test and automation solutions Why LabVIEW? Let’s start building Success Stories  See Cyth and LabVIEW in action through real-world applications. Automated Battery QA Ensures Medical Device Reliability Robotic Automation Triples Sample Preparation Throughput CompactRIO Enables Automated Circuit Board Testing 1 2 3 4 5 Talk with an Engineer

Project Case Study Micron-Scale Inspection via Precision Vision & Motion Aug 8, 2025 e4d30d38-4fc3-4a43-89a7-a9d823836b9a e4d30d38-4fc3-4a43-89a7-a9d823836b9a Home > Case Studies > Medical validation company achieved micron-scale visual quality inspection using Cyth's vision and motion solution built on NI sbRIO and Cyth CircaFlex. Project Summary Medical validation company enhanced quality assurance capabilities with a micrometer-scale syringe lubrication inspection system built by Cyth using the NI sbRIO-9651 and Cyth CircaFlex-315. System Features & Components Micrometer-scale positioning accuracy for consistent syringe rotation and imaging alignment Automated inspection workflow integration with existing production systems Outcomes Achieved micrometer-scale precision in lubrication coverage measurement, eliminating variability of validation accuracy. Dramatically reduced inspection time per syringe while improving consistency across production runs Enabled expanded pharmaceutical contracts through enhanced quality assurance capabilities Technology at-a-glance NI sbRIO-9651 System on Module Cyth CircaFlex-315 Applied Motion stepper motors with encoders and integrated drives 20 Megapixel CMOS global shutter camera Custom LED array with RC Series LED strobe controller Telecentric illuminator NI LabVIEW image processing algorithms Emergency Drug Delivery Life-saving medical devices like EpiPens® rely on a silicon lubricant coating in the inner bore of the syringe to ensure precise and reliable deli very of emergency medications during allergi c reactions such as anaphylaxis. Even microscopic variations in syringe lubrication coating can affect delivery accuracy and patient outcomes. The coverage, consistency, and distribution profiles of the silicon-based lubricant coating inside every auto-injector must meet exacting standards and comply with federal regulations. Manual Process, Aging Technology A medical validation company specializing in auto-injector quality control faced critical limitations with their existing syringe lubrication inspection system. Manual processes and limited inspection tools presented risks to existing client relationships due to lack of scalability and aging technology. Inconsistent Performance: Lighting intensity decreased over time, causing measurement variations across production runs. Limited Capability: The system couldn't capture high-resolution images necessary for detecting microscopic lubrication defects. Scalability Constraints: Manual inspection processes couldn't meet increasing production volumes and faster client turnaround requirements. Expanding Throughput Capacity To scalably grow their business by maintaining and steadily expand their customer base, the validation company required a higher throughput, higher performance system that would also help simplify their regulatory compliance activites. Market Expansion: Advanced and scalable validation capabilities would enable the pursuit of larger pharmaceutical contracts previously beyond their capacity. Regulatory Compliance: FDA and international standards demand rigorous inspection processes with documented precision and repeatability to ensure patient safety. They required a technical solution capable of: Precise Inspection: High-resolution 2D imaging with consistent lighting, micrometer-levels of precision, and seamless integration with existing workflows. Automated Measurements and Datalogging: Overall reduction in manual processes to mitigate human error, optimize repeatability and increase mean validation rate Synchronized Motion & Image Acquisition Cyth built the validation solution using the NI sbRIO-9651 and Cyth CircaFlex-315 control hardware with Applied Motion stepper motors to deliver micrometer-scale positioning accuracy to ensure consistent, high-quality imaging. Why Choose NI Embedded Systems? For the validation company, the technical differentiation of the inspection solution was critical to attaining their throughput and quality goals. They required a highly synchronized and precise validation solution to be able to pursue larger customers and Synchronized Precision: Micrometer-scale accuracy and consistent imaging achieved through tight synchronization between stepper motors, dynamic lighting sources, and camera through the real-time capabilities of the NI sbRIO-9651. Cyth's CircaFlex platform enabled direct connectivity to stepper motor control I/O to minimize system jitter and ensure tight coordination of all system components. LabVIEW Real-Time software, running on Linux Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) enabled precise process synchronization between motor rotation, auto-injector illumination and image acquisition Cyth's CircaFlex platform provided all control signals directly to the motors' drives. Stepper motors were programmed to make predefined movements with accuracy on the micrometer scale. Learn more about stepper motor control Advanced Lighting Control: Custom LED strobing algorithm eliminated lighting degradation issues while extending lifespan through optimized pulse-width modulation control. The programmable logic controller integration with CircaFlex enabled synchronization between LED strobing sequences and camera acquisition cycles to ensure consistent illumination profiles and eliminate exposure timing variability. Custom strobing algorithm with optimized pulse-width modulation to ensure consistent syringe illumination and extended LED lifespan through controlled duty cycles and thermal management. CircaFlex provided built-in signal conditioning and hardwired connection to FPGA I/O on the sbRIO-9651 necessary to smoothly and precisely coordinate the system with millisecond-levels of precision Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) configured to strobe LEDs in tandem with camera capture sequences to ensure well-illuminated, detailed images. Automated Image Processing: Real-time image processing algorithms stitched together multiple captures together to create a 2D image that comprehensively represents the profile of the lubrication coating of the auto-injector. 20-Megapixel CMOS global shutter camera with telecentric illuminator for detailed interior imaging Machine Vision Capabilities Hardware, camera, stepper motor, and programmable controls The final solution was contained in a compact, custom enclosure. The overall syringe lubrication inspection process included: Syringe oriented vertically then rotated at a predefined rate using a stepper motor with a built-in drive Illumination of syringe using a strobing array of LEDs Reflected light captured with high-resolution camera to create 2D images of interior lubricant coating High-definition composite images of interior syringe coating stitched together automatically Images analyzed automatically with pass/fail results and data for regulatory compliance needs The resulting high-defintion images enabled the validation company to accurately quantify the quality of syringe lubricant coating. The automated and precise nature of the vision inspection system streamlined regulatory compliance and augmented throughput capacity. Full Compliance, Market Expansion The upgraded system positioned the medical validation company as a leader in auto-injector lubrication inspection technology. The system exceeded their performance expectations and helped accelerate their growth. Precision Measurement: Delivered micrometer-scale lubrication coating measurements, eliminating variability that previously compromised validation results. Improved Compliance: Facilitated quantification of images, data storage and reporting to streamline regulatory compliance activities. Enhanced Throughput Capacity: Process automation dramatically reduced average cycle time per syringe, improving consistency across production runs. Business Growth: Pharmaceutical clients reported significantly improved confidence in validation results, leading to expanded contract opportunities and full regulatory compliance . Let's Talk

Cyth Systems | Whitepapers | Sensor Fundamentals | Measuring Load Key Sensor Fundamental Guide | Cyth Systems Measuring Load Key Sensor Fundamental Guide | Cyth Systems Measuring Load This guide helps you to understand the fundamentals of load measurements and how different sensor specifications impact load cell performance in your application. After you decide on your sensors, consider the required hardware and software to properly condition, acquire, and visualize load measurements. What are Force and Load? Force is the measure of interaction between two or more bodies and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Force is also defined as a push or pull on an object. It is a vector quantity with magnitude and direction. Load is a term which refers to the force exerted on a structure or body. The SI unit for force or load is the Newton (N). Load cells directly measure force or weight. These sensors convert mechanical force into electrical signals by measuring deformity produced by the force. An application of these devices is measuring dry materials in a hopper. A measure of the weight through a load cell yields a measure of the quantity of the material in the hopper. Measuring Load The way to measure load is using a load cell and the most commonly used load cell is the strain gage. Generally, you use a beam assembly that has several strain gages mounted in a Wheatstone bridge configuration so that the application of a force causes a strain upon gages actively measuring. These devices are traditionally calibrated for the force to be directly related to the resistance change. More rare pneumatic and hydraulic load cells translate force into pressure measurements. When force is applied to one side of the piston or diaphragm, the amount of pressure (pneumatic or hydraulic) applied to the other side to balance that force is measured. This rest of this white paper focuses on strain gage or bridge-based load cells. The most critical mechanical component of a load cell or strain gage transducer is the structure (spring element). The structure reacts to the applied load and focuses that load into an isolated, uniform strain field where strain gages can be placed for load measurement. The three common load cell structure designs—multiple-bending beam, multiple column, and shear web—form the basic building blocks for all possible load cell profiles and/or configurations. Multiple Bending Beam, Multiple Column, Shear Web Figure 2. Load cell structure designs mount strain gages to measure compression and tension in different ways. [1]. Multiple-bending beam load cells are low capacity (20 to 22K N) and feature a circular spring element that is adaptable to low-profile transducers. It contains four active gages or sets of gages per bridge arm that ensures pairs are subjected to equal and opposite strains of tension and compression. Multiple-column load cells consist of multiple columns for higher capacity (110K to 9M N). This arrangement allows for bridge arms to contain four active strain gages, with two aligned along the principal axis of strain and the other two in the traverse direction to allow for Poisson’s effect. Shear-web load cells have a medium capacity (2K to 1M N) and use a wheel form with radial webs subject to direct shear. The mutliple strain gages per bridge arm are bonded to the sides of the web. Choosing the Right Load Cell Load cells operate according to two modes: a compression mode, during which a weight sits on one or more load cells, and a tension mode, during which a weight hangs directly from one or more load cells. You can design the different load cell structures discussed in the previous section using any of these configurations for compression-only forces, or for both a tension and compression force. Beyond the principal measurement, its recommended to select a load cell primarily based on capacity, accuracy, and physical mounting constraints. One cannot determine expected performance by any one factor. It is critical to pinpoint it through a combination of different sensor parameters and the way you designed the load cell into your system. Refer to the table to compare the range, accuracy, and sensitivity different load cell types. Capacity —Define and set your minimum and maximum capacity requirements. Be sure to select the capacity over the maximum operating load including anything extra before selecting a load cell. The load capacity must be capable of supporting the following: Weight of the weighing structure (dead load) Maximum live load that can be applied (including any static overload) Additional overload arising from external factors such as wind loading or seismic activity Measurement frequency —Load cells are designed for general-purpose use or are fatigue-rated to withstand millions of load cycles with no effect on performance. General-purpose load cells are designed for static frequency load applications. They typically survive up to 1 million cycles depending on the load level and transducer material. Fatigue-rated load cells are typically designed to achieve 50 million to 100 million fully reversed load cycles, depending on the load level and amplitude. Physical and environmental constraints —One key characteristics to consider is how you are integrating the load cell into your system. Identify beforehand any physical restrictions that limit size (ex. width and length) or the way the load cell is mounted. Consider how the system will operate and what the worst-case operating conditions may be—the widest temperature range, the smallest weight change required to be measured, the worst environmental conditions (flood, tempest, seismic activity), and the maximum overload conditions.

Project Case Study Embedded Monitoring System for Measuring Natural Gas Emissions Mar 30, 2025 83d943ef-f3d1-4522-99ea-a70ec6161271 83d943ef-f3d1-4522-99ea-a70ec6161271 Home > Case Studies > Remote natural gas emission sensing instrument. The Challenge Developing a remote sensing instrument for real-time detection and quantification of fugitive natural gas emissions that must also adapt to evolving customer requirements driven by emerging industry regulations. The Solution Using the timing and synchronization capabilities of the NI PXI platform, the integrated high-throughput I/O of a FlexRIO digitizer, and a LabVIEW-programmable FPGA to create the signal processing embedded system in a sophisticated differential absorption lidar product. Introduction The significant growth in the production, usage, and commercialization of natural gas is placing unprecedented demands on the nation’s pipeline system. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) develops and enforces regulations for the safe operation of the nation’s 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2016). Through PHMSA programs, serious pipeline incidents have decreased by 39 percent since 2009, according to the Department of Transportation (DoT). Recent incidents such as the 2010 San Bruno, California pipeline explosion and the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak are only two of more than 250 serious pipeline incidents since 2009. Left: Real-world methane plumes discovered by Methane Monitor, Right: Spectral features of the most common atmospheric gasses (above), with methane shown on an expanded scale (below). Natural gas consists primarily of methane. Methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States and accounted for about 11 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in 2014. Methane is emitted naturally and by human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems. The US Environmental Protection Agency says that the comparative impact of methane on climate change is more than 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Continued natural gas pipeline incidents and leaks, the associated impacts, and oil and gas industry regulations drive the need to promptly detect, classify, and resolve fugitive methane emissions. Under funding from the PHMSA and Ball Aerospace, Ball used more than 50 years of remote sensing expertise to develop a system called Methane Monitor. Methane Monitor identifies methane emissions on the ground from a fixed-wing aircraft. Unlike existing methods of aerial leak survey, Methane Monitor operates from a single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft for lower cost than sensors mounted on helicopters. It images the full plume of methane gas as a more precise method of monitoring leaks, it can notify facility operators immediately of large emission sources, and it provides full reports within hours of the end of the flight. Development of these advantages placed large demands on high-throughput signal acquisition, synchronization, and processing. Lidar Background In light detection and ranging (lidar) systems, a laser source emits a pulse of light. The pulse interacts with targets such as the ground or structures. Some of these interactions result in backscattered photons, which are collected and recorded as a function of time. This time-of-flight data directly corresponds with the range at which the scattering occurred, allowing generation of a 3D model of the illuminated topology. DIAL Background Lidar range measurements are inherently part of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements. DIAL operates at two laser wavelengths: one on-resonance and one off-resonance of a molecule of interest. Since the on-resonance wavelength is more strongly absorbed by the molecule, the difference between the two signals correlates to the amount of the molecule in the laser’s path. Thus, DIAL systems can measure the range and quantity of target molecules in the atmosphere (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2016). Challenges DIAL systems look at sharp absorption lines in the spectrum, and Methane Monitor targets the methane molecule (CH4). We designed Methane Monitor so we could compare the resonance features uniquely from other molecules that might confuse the measurement. These measurements require a signal-to-noise ratio approximately 500 times better than what’s needed to establish range alone. Methane Monitor system hardware. The environment imposes challenges because return signals are subject to changes in ground reflectivity. Imperfections in the laser impose challenges because the pulse energy and wavelengths of the two pulses vary independently across firings. Hence, Methane Monitor calibrates every measurement for background reflectivity and normalizes the received energy to the transmitted energy. Methane Monitor also measures a calibrated methane sample before each target measurement. We can use the calibrated methane measurement to correct shot-to-shot instabilities in laser wavelength by reverse calculating the absorption constant. Methane Monitor performs the background, reference, and receive measurements each time the laser fires. The on-resonance and off-resonance pulses are separated non-deterministically by a few hundred nanoseconds. The range depends on the customer’s survey objectives and the aircraft’s altitude and is generally 500 m to 1 km above ground level (AGL). Timing and Synchronization Methane Monitor’s timing and synchronization centers on the PXI-6683H module, which includes a GPS-aligned system reference clock to the laser and PXI embedded systems. The system reference clock is available to all PXI Express peripherals. The PXIe-6341 X Series DAQ uses reference clock synchronization to synchronize analog commands and telemetry. A PXIe-7965R FlexRIO FPGA module runs the custom digitizer and DIAL algorithms. The FPGA block diagram is synchronized to the system reference clock out of the box. The PXI-6683H also generates asynchronous counter-reset signals for the FPGA through PXI trigger lines. Counter values are packaged with each measurement. They can verify, geo-locate, and interpolate the measurements against data obtained from a position and orientation system (POS) and steering mirror controller. Custom Triggering Pulses from each serialized signal are precisely acquired about the peak A/D converter count using level-triggered circular buffers. The serialization, custom triggering, and custom acquisition reduce the data throughput. Timestamps are assigned to each peak for the lidar range measurement. DIAL Analysis The FPGA performs several quality checks on the data. For example, it verifies that ground pulses were received, and it sets various flags based on pulse parameters. The FPGA reshapes each pulse to correct deterministic electrical effects. It executes Methane Monitor’s methane concentration algorithm every time the laser fires and streams telemetry to a LabVIEW application running on a PXIe-8135 controller. The LabVIEW application provides the operator with an instantaneous view of the captured pulses, measurements, performance, system health, and more. The LabVIEW application serves as the final data product to Ball Aerospace’s lidar visualization software that overlays the range and concentration measurement on the context camera image. All data is logged to an NI 8260 1.2 TB PXI SSD. We used DIAdem software to post process Methane Monitor’s data for quality assurance and continuous improvement. Benefits and Impacts Over 100 hours of flight time have been logged, and the methane detection threshold has been determined as a function of wind speed. We have detected methane flow rates as low as 50 standard cubic feet/hour (SCFH). We can configure Methane Monitor’s sensing swath width up to 200 meters wide. The system has a spatial resolution and geo-location accuracy of better than 2 meters each. Methane measurements are color-coded and superimposed on co-bore sighted context images to provide a real-time view of methane emissions to the operator. Original Authors: Steve Karcher, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Double Decker Hybrid Powertrain Monitored Using Circaflex Embedded Controls Mar 30, 2025 29c38610-c1e9-4565-bd8c-690fc4c6cecb 29c38610-c1e9-4565-bd8c-690fc4c6cecb Home > Case Studies > Vantage Power's Hybrid Double Decker Bus featuring Cyth’s Hybrid Management System (HMS). The Challenge Retrofitting the drive trains of double-decker buses to increase the fuel efficiency of London’s public transportation. The Solution Using Cyth’s embedded control system Circaflex paired with the NI RIO SOM, we designed a communication and monitoring system to improve hybrid buses’ regenerative braking and efficiency. The Cyth Story Vantage Power’s diesel hybrid drive train technology was retrofitted onto the existing double-decker buses of London’s public transportation fleet. Cyth’s embedded control platform, Circaflex, provides scalability for our customer’s I/O requirements as the hybrid monitoring system (HMS) communicates with a diesel and hybrid motor controller and the vehicle’s brake system. Packaged into our HMS was the NI RIO SOM which provides highly deterministic and safety-critical functions. The quick processing of inputs such as the driver's gas & brake pedals, and diesel engine power vs. hybrid engine power levels are accounted for in high-speed repeating calculations. The Hybrid Monitoring System (HMS) is programmed in LabVIEW software to ensure the benefits of a real-time processor and a user-programmable FPGA. Left: The HMS’s rugged weather-proof and vibration-proof enclosure. Center: The Circaflex provides scalable I/O for the HMU’s communication and monitoring requirements. Right: Input and output connectors located in the enclosure exterior, for example, 4 CAN bus connectors for high-speed data communication. The system architecture of the Vantage Power hybrid powertrain and Cyth HMS system. Delivering the Outcome Overall, Vantage Power’s double-decker hybrid powertrain system incorporated Circaflex and NI sbRIO SOM boards for a 40% greater fuel efficiency across all vehicles retrofitted amongst the London fleet. Our Circaflex HMS system provides the communication and monitoring capabilities required of a hybrid drive train. The large number of subcomponents working together in the hybrid power train such as the hybrid battery and motor, diesel engine, regenerative braking system, generator, driver inputs, etc. show the value of a control system with scalable I/O as well as high-speed data acquisition. The NI hardware and software platform enables a deterministic system for the repetitive calculations of the bus's critical functions further improving the functionality and passenger safety of London’s hybrid fleet. Technical Specifications 1 x Circaflex 315 1 x Mezzanine Board 1 x NI sbRIO-9651SOM 1 x Custom Weather-proof Enclosure Circaflex Modules 1 x Inertial Measurement Module 1 x GPS Module Qty 1 x 16 ch 24V Industrial Digital Input Modules (Sinking & Sourcing) Qty 1 x 16 ch 24V Industrial Digital Output Modules (Sinking & Sourcing) Qty 1 x 8ch Analog Voltage Input Module, 100kS/s. 16-bit Qty 1 x 8ch Analog Current Input Module, 100kS/s, 16-bit Qty 1 x 8ch Analog Voltage Output Module, 100kS/s, 16-bit Qty 1 x Strain Gauge 1 x K-Type Thermocouple I/O Connectors 4 x CANbus 2 x Input DOS 1 x Industrial Digital Input 2 x Analog Input Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study PXI Enables the I/O Data Acquisition of an F-35 Aug 29, 2023 9d04b9c3-fa64-4bdf-9977-400a29622ea4 9d04b9c3-fa64-4bdf-9977-400a29622ea4 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Michael Fortenberry, G Systems, Inc. Edited by Cyth Systems PXI enables the I/O data acquisition of an F35 fighter jet. "Through the use of advanced software architecture and NI hardware, G Systems was able to provide Lockheed Martin Aeronautics with a highly configurable, expandable system to meet current and future requirements of the F-35 VSIF." - Michael Fortenberry, G Systems, Inc. The Challenge Developing an integrated system to acquire various types of data including analog, digital, video, and additional data transferred from other systems through reflective memory to be used by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in the F-35 Vehicle Systems Integration Facility (VSIF) to monitor aircraft subsystems integration tests. The Solution Using custom software developed by G Systems along with National Instruments hardware and other third-party tools to create a system that exceeds the initial requirements for the system. Building the System with NI DAQ Boards G Systems, Inc. was contracted by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to construct an F-35 Vehicle Systems Integration Facility (VSIF) to monitor aircraft subsystem integration tests. The VSIF system was distributed across several servers to enable load balancing and achieve the required system performance. The distributed software architecture, which included six major custom applications, provided for the future expansion of the system. We performed analog and digital data acquisition using five PXI chassis populated with a variety of NI data acquisition (DAQ) boards to achieve a system total of 640 analog channels and 480 digital channels. The ability to “mix-and-match” different types of DAQ boards while maintaining time synchronization was important to control the overall hardware costs for the system. The system maintained the time synchronization through the use of an IRIG time signal provided by the VSIF data acquisition or another source within the VSIF lab. The system used this time source to provide the start pulse and 10 MHz clock, which was routed through the PXI-6653 synchronization boards to each PXI chassis. PXIe-1095 The application that acquired the analog and digital data also performed the following operations using an external DC source controlled by GPIB: PXI board verification and internal calibration Signal path calibration This automation of the signal path calibration allowed a system verification to be performed automatically within 20 minutes. In past similar systems, this type of operation could take several hours and required significant operator interaction. The system delivered all data to the user in engineering units (EU) and took into account the calibration values for the A/D, signal conditioning module, transducer, and zero nulling values where appropriate. Derived channels (i.e., channels that are calculated from information contained in other channels, like Watts=Volts*Amps) could also be calculated. Additionally, there was a defined interface to link user-defined external DLLs into the system (without recompiling the software) to create more complex derived channels. System Configuration and Data Display The system stored configuration information for the VSIF data acquisition system in a relational database. We developed a custom graphical user interface used by the system administrator to configure every system aspect. Some of the abilities of this program included: 1. User management: Administrating eight levels of user privileges for the system 2. Hardware inventory Managing available hardware such as PXI boards and transducers Updating calibration information and date for all equipment 3. System configuration Managing current hardware connections Identifying user-defined derived channels 4. Data administration Archiving or exporting data and database to tape or other media Cleaning up unused data in the database 5. Reports Creating several standard reports of system or channel configuration (including historical data on calibration) Providing capability to add new user-defined reports We designed the application to help the system administrators handle the large channel count of the system by providing capabilities such as column sorting and filtering, channel group definitions, multi-record editing, and copy/paste functionality. Through user permissions, any user could use this application to view the system configuration, but only authorized administrators could change values. In addition, we provided several administrator permission levels to give users precise definitions of privileges. Because the VSIF data acquisition system was used by many different groups to test various aircraft subsystems during integration tests, a single static user display was not a good solution. Instead, G Systems created a dynamic user-configurable data display application so any user could create custom views of data with several choices of indicators available. This application supported advanced navigation functions for a user to instantly review data in real-time or recall and view logged data from previous test runs. Users could set triggers and alarms to quickly find data points of interest. The system stored all information for an individual user configuration in the database, and this information could be exported with test data for stand-alone review or playback. This made it possible for a user to take a snapshot of test data (including all calibration and transducer information) from several test runs and use it independently of the main VSIF data acquisition database, which could be useful for offline analysis or a group presentation. The test control/monitoring/playback application provided several modes of operation for a user. The system constantly acquired data and published it in a low-resolution form to six client workstations. As the published data was received, it was continuously buffered on the local client in a 30-minute rolling buffer. From this buffer, a user could look back in time at published or logged data and replay it in real-time, if desired. When the operator chose to log data, the high-resolution data was logged to a file and was later transferred to a central repository. These test runs could be downloaded from the repository to a workstation for a detailed review of the data in the playback mode. Again, the user could play back the data in real-time or navigate through the logged data timeline using several navigation options. The VSIF system controlled and protected all logged data. The system data automatically moved the data from the acquisition servers to a central data storage unit (RAID) when a user started logging a test run. Users could freely review the test data but were prohibited from deleting any test data from the RAID. Both the data display and data analysis export application could directly call up data that existed either on the RAID or in an archived dataset. As a result, relatively unskilled users could easily review previously logged data with minimal VSIF-specific training. A custom application DIAdem data interface (DDI) provided advanced analysis capabilities in the VSIF data acquisition system. DDI leveraged all of the database interface and engineering unit conversion functionality developed for the data display application to feed data directly into DIAdem through an OLE interface. The application was structured so the operator could easily select the test run(s) and channel(s) to export to DIAdem and support the merging of data from several test runs. A Practical, Effective Solution Through the use of advanced software architecture and NI hardware, G Systems was able to provide Lockheed Martin Aeronautics with a highly configurable, expandable system to meet the current and future requirements of the F-35 VSIF. The expandable nature of the NI PXI platform also enabled the expansion of the channel count by 60 percent over the initial system requirements. Original Authors: Michael Fortenberry, G Systems, Inc. Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Distributed Generation-Based Smart Grid System Using NI CompactRIO & NI LabVIEW Mar 27, 2024 84b975a0-789b-4d4a-9b2b-17bda55aced7 84b975a0-789b-4d4a-9b2b-17bda55aced7 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Alekhya Datta, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Edited by Cyth Systems Distributed Generation-Based Smart Grid System The Challenge Enhancing energy security and energy access, particularly in emerging economies with depleting energy resources, and generating power effectively and intelligently, which is equally important at the national level in India. The Solution Developing the first-of-its-kind smart mini grid (SMG) system in India, driven by state-of-the-art power electronics devices and controlled through ultra-fast digital technology based on NI CompactRIO hardware and NI LabVIEW system design software, which ensures a higher degree of flexibility, reliability, efficiency, and safety for the complete power system. Left: Complete Single Line Diagram of an SMG System, Center: NI cRIO-9022 and C Series Modules Used in the SMG System, Right: LabVIEW source code of SMG Dashboard. To cope with utility changes and challenges, many utility companies in India are planning to implement smart grid technology. An SMG system is a subset of a smart electric grid and is generally defined as an intelligent electricity distribution network operating at or below 11 kV and providing electricity to a community. It is supplied by a diverse range of distributed energy resources (DERs), including small, conventional generators such as diesel generators combined with a range of renewable generators such as hydro, wind turbine, biomass, and solar photovoltaic. SMGs can either be connected to the conventional utility grid or be isolated and provide electricity to a localized load only. An SMG is an application of digital information and communication technology (ICT) and uses advanced sensing, communication, and control technologies to optimize electrical power generation, delivery, and ultimately its end use within the domain of microgrids. An SMG provides dynamic communication and balancing of the electrical network, thus minimizing losses and increasing the stability of the grid. Benefits of an SMG The benefits of an SMG include the following: Fostering demand-side management and demand-side response Reducing power outages and increasing the reliability, efficiency, and safety of the grid Reducing the carbon footprint and minimizing fossil fuel consumption Providing better autonomy to customers to manage their electricity needs Initiative Taken by TERI on SMG Systems Under the auspices of the Asia Pacific Partnership program, TERI submitted a proposal to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization submitted a proposal to the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts to obtain funding to develop and demonstrate distributed generation-based SMG systems and control techniques that could be applicable to Indian sites and facilitate the deployment of SMGs in India. To optimize the multiple generating resources and the varying loads to be served, TERI designed and developed the SMG system in one of its research facilities at TERI Retreat in Haryana, India. Unique Features of the TERI SMG Model The unique features of the TERI SMG model include the following: Integrated multiple DERs to ensure maximum utilization of renewable energy sources Performing resource and load profiling, controlling, and forecasting Centralized control (intelligent dispatch controller) for resource optimization and demand management Initiated load prioritization—total loads were classified into critical, essential, and nonessential loads Integrated, high-speed, FPGA-based digital communication using LabVIEW system design software for acquiring data and sending and receiving controls Completing real-time data acquisition and monitoring of several electrical, weather, and physical parameters through installed sensors Minimizing outages and fast responses to network disturbances through automatic connect/disconnect of system components The TERI SMG system also integrated the following DERs: 10.5 kWP solar photovoltaic (crystalline silicon-based solar module) systems installed on the roof of the north block of the TERI Retreat 2 kWP solar photovoltaic (crystalline silicon-based solar module) systems installed on the roof of the Biomass Gasifier building 1 kWP thin-film-based solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the south block of the TERI Retreat 3.3 kW wind turbine generator (WTG) 100 kW biomass gasifier (woody) system in the Biomass Gasifier building Battery bank of 48 V, 600 Ah for energy storage Diesel generators and a utility grid The TERI Retreat is a residential, multifacility complex equipped with modern facilities including conference halls, official and residential premises, laboratories, and sports grounds. The electricity demand of the complex varies widely depending on the season, occupancy level of the residential premises, the number of conferences being held, and several other factors. Original Authors: Alekhya Datta, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

NI digital multimeters measure voltage, resistance, current, capacitance, inductance, and temperature. NI Digital Multimeters NI Authorized Distributor and System Integration Partner Home > Products > Digital Multimeters Digital Multimeters Digital Multimeters measure voltage, resistance, current, capacitance, inductance, and temperature. Some models also have an isolated digitizer mode. Use these products to test consumer electronics, fuel cells, aerospace production, and more. PLATFORM MODULES Platform modules integrate with modular hardware platforms that allow you to combine different types of modules in a custom system that leverages shared platform features. NI offers three hardware platforms—CompactDAQ , CompactRIO , and PXI —though all platforms may not be represented in this category. PXI Digital Multimeter Bundle The PXI Digital Multimeter Bundle includes a chassis with a PXI Digital Multimeter to help you test electronic equipment. PXI Digital Multimeter Performs voltage, current, resistance, temperature, inductance, capacitance, and frequency/period measurements, as well as diode tests, in PXI systems. Feature Highlights: Platform: PXI Bus: PXI, PXI Express STAND-ALONE OR COMPUTER-BASED DEVICES Stand-alone or computer-based devices either integrate with standard desktop and laptop computers or allow you to use them without the need for other modular hardware. Digital Multimeter Device Performs voltage, current, resistance, temperature, and frequency/period measurements, as well as diode tests, as a part of PC-based systems. Feature Highlights: Bus: PCI, PCI Express, USB

Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD) The Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD) exam verifies the user’s ability to design and develop functional programs while minimizing development time and ensuring maintainability through proper documentation and style. Certified Developers can provide technical leadership to less experienced engineers, helping ensure their team is following best practices and becoming more competent and efficient LabVIEW programmers. 1 Review the Requirements 2 Prepare for the Exam 3 Schedule an Exam 4 Share your Success 5 Recertify Review the Requirements Step 1. The Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD) verifies your a ability to create functional, well-documented LabVIEW code with minimal development. This certification is valid for 3 years and recertification is required to maintain credentials. Benefits include the use of the professional certification badge logo and related digital credentials. NI recommends that you have 12 to 18 months of experience in developing medium to large applications in LabVIEW. Completing the LabVIEW Core 1 , LabVIEW Core 2 and LabVIEW Core 3 courses may substitute for three months of LabVIEW development experience. Exam Details Prerequisite: None Format: Application Development Duration: 4 hours Location: Online Prepare for the Exam Step 2. Preparing for Your Exam CTA Exam Topics TestStand Advanced Architecture Series Step 3. Schedule the Exam Once you have completed your exam preparation and have met all prerequisite requirements, you are ready to schedule your exam. For in-person exam registration, please email us at solutions@cyth.com Share your success Step 4. 1. When you complete the CLD exam, your exam will be graded by engineers at NI. 2. You will be advised if you passed or failed. -If you passed you will receive a notification email with your digital credential. -If you have not received your notification email within 3 days of receiving the notification that you passed the assessment, email services@ni.com 3. To share your badge, please follow these instructions: a. Log into your account at Credly b. Click on the profile icon at the top right-hand corner of the page and go to “Badge Management” c. Click on the badge you are looking to share d. Scroll down and click “Share” e. You will be brought to the “Share Badge” screen where you can find different tabs directing you to connect your social media accounts and share your badge1. Recertify Step 5. Certified professionals can recertify using one of two methods: -Recertification exam -Recertification by points. Recertification Interval -4 Years Recertification Exam Details Format: Multiple Choice Duration: 1 hour Location: Online Prepare: CLD-R Exam Preparation Resources Recertification by Points -By participating and completing approved activities, certified professionals can earn and accumulate points redeemable toward recertification. For information on recertifying with points. Enroll

Project Case Study Wind Tunnel Test Bench Improving Pro Cyclist Performance Aug 28, 2023 7e49c7d2-2a8f-45ee-99c7-5b0b80ef8b75 7e49c7d2-2a8f-45ee-99c7-5b0b80ef8b75 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Mikel Fauri Larrea, Epsilon Euskadi SL Edited by Cyth Systems Cyclist in a wind tunnel, all sensors I/O controlled using NI CompactDAQ. The compact size of the CompactDAQ and its versatility to acquire signals as diverse as those from load cells, various analog sensors, digital pulse input for speed, and analog outputs to set the resistance control set point, have made it possible to integrate the entire system in the minimum space possible." - Mikel Fauri Larrea, Epsilon Euskadi SL The Challenge Develop a data acquisition system for the aerodynamics test of professional cyclists in a wind tunnel. The Solution Using NI CompactDAQ hardware and the LabVIEW software platform we created a versatile test operator system that provides real-time data logging, an intuitive user interface, and data visualization for the test operator (located in the wind tunnel’s exterior) and test subject (located in the wind tunnel’s interior). Introduction The competitive degree that professional cycling has reached today means that the difference between first and second place can be measured in a few seconds, within the framework of a three-week competition. That is why top-level cyclists cannot leave any detail to chance, and why they focus on those disciplines where the method and the study of controllable factors can bring some benefit, even if it is minimal, it can mean success. The individual time trial is the clearest example of this, and an improvement of a few grams in aerodynamic resistance can become a differential factor. Requirements As in any test carried out in a wind tunnel, the main objective is the measurement of the 6 components, forces, and moments, that act on the model, associated with the selected reference axis. In this case, the model is the cyclist himself pedaling in conditions that are as close to the real world as possible. For this reason, it is necessary to introduce a system of rollers that simulates rolling resistance, adjustable in real-time according to the objectives of the test. In the same way, it is necessary to measure the cyclist’s power output (in Watts) generated during pedaling, the cyclist’s speed on the rollers, the cyclist’s pedaling cadence, and other associated parameters. Other factors such as temperature, total and dynamic pressures, and relative humidity, are also measured. LabVIEW algorithms were used to determine aerodynamic coefficients and efficiencies to ensure optimal test conditions and the repeatability of the test. The LabVIEW Real-Time data processing is paired with a set of cameras that gives video feedback to the cyclist under test about their performance and bike positioning. NI cDAQ-9178 Summary of System Functions: Data acquisition of forces and moments. Acquisition of variable wind speed, dynamic pressure, temperature, humidity, and air flow. Acquisition of rolling speed, rolling resistance, pedaling cadence, and power generated. Calculation using LabVIEW algorithms and real-time processing of data and coefficients, and their storage for later analysis. Video image capture and live playback for the operator and cyclist under test. Test Bench The test bench acquired all the data of the environment variables using sensor I/O incorporated into the wind tunnel. The force, torque, speed sensors, etc. for the cyclist and the bicycle, the electromagnetic hysteresis brake, and rotational servomotor, all were I/O acquired by the CompactDAQs. Conclusion The LabVIEW software architecture made it possible to in real-time acquire the data and develop software with an interface that allows it to be used simultaneously by the operator to control the test and by the cyclist himself to view his performance in real-time. Functions as diverse as the acquisition, processing, storage of data and the control of attached subsystems have been developed in very short periods of time, of the order of those contemplated in the main business area of Epsilon Euskadi: Motorsports of competition. LabVIEW software architecture has made it possible to acquire data in real-time and display it in a synchronized format for the test operator and cyclist under test. Likewise, the compact size of the CompactDAQ has allowed us to acquire measurements from over 20+ sensors and integrate into the wind tunnel’s existing system with a minimal footprint envelope. Author Information Original Authors: Mikel Fauri Larrea, Epsilon Euskadi SL Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

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Project Case Study Retail Help Button Made Possible by Cyth ATE Equipment Mar 27, 2024 c6d796bc-88c0-4fe6-9af3-55d19329ae03 c6d796bc-88c0-4fe6-9af3-55d19329ae03 Home > Case Studies > Retail help button The Challenge An electronics company approached us with the need for a system to test circuit boards featured in retail help button systems. The Solution Using hardware and software to create a full turnkey solution for printed circuit board (PCB) testing we were able to provide the client with increased test efficiency and improved quality assurance. Customer Device Summary Retail help button system: When the button on the customer’s device is pressed, it sends out a radio frequency (RF) signal to a receiver/computer server which plays a track over the store audio, for example, “An associate is needed in the paint aisle”. The audio plays until the button is pressed again, meaning that the customer has been helped by a store associate. The device is battery-powered and is installed using in-aisle mounts, wall mounts, and stanchion mounts. Critical to the device’s success was efficient power consumption so the battery life would last years in a retail setting. This required the system to enter “deep sleep”, or a low energy usage mode when not in use. Retail help button mounted to the store shelving. PCB Automated Test Fixture Our two full turnkey enclosures for PCB testing ran respectively an in-depth diagnostics test and an RF test. Both bed-of-nails style fixtures had a PXI system, an embedded industrial PC, and were programmed using LabVIEW and NI TestStand to ensure reliable test sequencing. Left: “Bed of nails” PCB test fixture. Right: Fixture’s internal wiring and cabling. Circuit boards awaiting testing at customer facility. System Order of Operations: The automated test enclosure is opened by the operator. Eight of the client circuit boards are slotted into provided nests. The enclosure cover is closed to provide electrical connections to the board. The system automatically uploads the board’s audio files. A power consumption test is performed simulating the device “asleep” vs. “awake”. Signal is validated from the RF signal analyzer (signal generator). All data read and stored on PXI hardware. The operator opens the enclosure cover, removes tested boards, and repeats. Delivering the Outcome Overall, our engineering team was able to deliver a full turnkey solution of two PCB test enclosures. This was achieved by integrating NI PXI hardware and NI TestStand software into a system that automated the procedural sequence of testing several circuit boards at once. In collaboration with the client, we were able to achieve a design iteration that best tested eight circuit boards simultaneously and came within the budget of their research and development phase. In delivering the customer an automated test solution capable of validating their product, we were able to improve the client’s test efficiency and quality assurance. Our equipment is still in use by the customer as their retail help button system is featured in most North American department stores including Target, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Technical Specifications 1 x RF Faraday PCB Automated Test Enclosure 1 x Dell Inspiron Industrial Embedded PC 1 x NI PXIe-1078 Chassis 1 x NI PXIe-4113 1 x NI PXIe-4112 1 x NI PXI-2564 1 x NI PXI-8432 1 x NI PXI-6229 1 x NI PXI-2534 Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study CompactRIO Monitors the Main Gearbox of a Bucket-Wheel Excavator Mar 27, 2024 c903bc98-a90f-4abe-ad42-fd7a41a4d9ef c903bc98-a90f-4abe-ad42-fd7a41a4d9ef Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Pawel Pawlik - AGH University of Science and Technology Dariusz Dabrowski - AGH University of Science and Technology Edited by Cyth Systems Bucket-Wheel Excavator The Challenge Monitoring the planetary gearbox of a bucket-wheel excavator power transmission system to proactively predict parts failures before they occur. The Solution Using NI CompactRIO hardware and LabVIEW software to develop a rugged condition monitoring system to track multiple gearbox parameters using high-speed analog and digital I/O. The Story//Process Machine condition monitoring in mines is economically critical. The costs of unplanned downtimes can quickly cripple a mine’s revenue due to the reduction in production and costs of repairs. Machine condition monitoring systems help minimize down time by predicting failures before they happen. In the Konin opencast mine (Poland), we developed a machine condition monitoring system for the bevel planetary gearbox, which is part of the power transmission system of the bucket-wheel excavator KWK-1500s (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Bucket Wheel of KWK-1500s Excavator. System Hardware Due to demanding industrial and environmental conditions the machine condition monitoring system had to be resistant to shock, vibration, and temperature. It also needed to ensure failure-free operation with the guarantee of diagnostics tasks. Due to these requirements, we chose the NI cRIO-9022 controller and NI cRIO-9114 chassis for our system. To being, we used the NI CompactRIO and the NI 9234 C Series modules to acquire vibration signals. Accelerometers we installed on the gearbox casing measured the signals. The CompactRIO controller facilitated communication with the programmable logic controller via Modbus TCP/IP protocol. As a result, the user could read excavator operation conditions such as oil temperature, oil pressure, power, and rotational speed remotely from controller registers. The CompactRIO device was connected to the industrial panel computer IPPC-6192A by TCP/IP protocol. The system used a touch panel computer for data logging, results presentation, and communication with PC computers that had access privileges. Figure 2. Left: A conveyor in an open-cast coal mine. Right: I/O vibration data points located along the frame of the excavator. System Software Using LabVIEW, we configured the FPGA to perform parallel data acquisition. Afterward, the system sent data to the real-time controller via a first-in-first-out (FIFO) memory buffer, which was configured in the DMA mode. The main application ran on the real-time controller as a multithreaded structure. The structure featured four basic threads: acquisition, ACQ programmable logic controller (PLC), analysis, and communication with the panel PC. The system listed the threads from the highest priority to the lowest. With the multithreaded structure, we could add functionality to the system, such as acquisition analysis or communication, without interfering with the existing program code. Figure 3: Left: Window of data analysis. Right: The software structure on the real-time controller. In the structure, the communication with the PC panel thread was the master thread because it sent commands to the other threads and was responsible for communication with the panel PC. The industrial panel computer used Secure Digital (SD) disks for data storage where the raw signals and all calculated estimates were archived. The system used Technical Data Management Streaming (TDMS) binary files for data logging and acquisition parameters storage. The touch panel PC connected to the mine’s internet remotely for data transmission from the excavator to the PCs. Users with privileges could remotely control system parameters. Diagnostic Signal Analysis The planetary bevel KPB 190-214 transmission gear (nominal power 630 kW, transmission ratio 190 and input shaft rotation 990 rpm) is especially designed for drive systems of bucket-wheel excavators in open-pit mining. The gearbox is divided into four parts from a diagnostics point of view: input shaft, bevel gear, first planetary gear stage, and second planetary gear stage. Figure 3 shows the front panel of the PC application. Rugged, Flexible System Overall, we developed a machine condition monitoring system for the bevel planetary gearbox on the bucket-wheel excavator KWK-1500s located in the Konin opencast mine (Poland). By using NI CompactRIO hardware, we were able to build a rugged system capable of withstanding harsh industrial conditions (vibration) and environmental conditions (weather). We remotely controlled the system parameters and observation of registered data via the mine’s internet by VPN connection. Using LabVIEW’s software architecture, we were able to capture continuous data logging, develop new diagnostics procedures, after verification of new algorithms, incorporate them into the system. References 1 National Instruments, NI LabVIEW for CompactRIO Developer’s Guide, 2012 2 http://www.flsmidth.com , 19.09.2012 Author Information Pawel Pawlik - AGH University of Science and Technology Dariusz Dabrowski - AGH University of Science and Technology Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

In this course you will explore the fundamentals of data acquisition using sensors, NI data acquisition hardware, and LabVIEW. Certification Program Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview In the Data Acquisition Using NI-DAQmx and LabVIEW Course, you will explore the fundamentals of data acquisition using sensors, NI data acquisition hardware, and LabVIEW. The first part of this class teaches the basics of hardware selection, including resolution and sample rate, and the foundation of sensor connectivity, including grounding and wiring configurations. The second part of this class focuses on using the NI-DAQmx driver to measure, generate, and synchronize data acquisition tasks. You will learn about programming finite and continuous acquisitions, as well as best practices in hardware/software timing, triggering, and logging. In this class, you will get hands-on experience configuring and programming NI data acquisition hardware using NI-DAQmx and LabVIEW. NI Course Objectives Develop integrated, high-performance data acquisition systems that produce accurate measurements Acquire data from sensors, such as thermocouples and strain gages, using NI data acquisition hardware Apply advanced understanding of LabVIEW and the NI-DAQmx API to create applications Eliminate measurement errors due to aliasing and incorrect signal grounding Initiate measurements using hardware and software triggering Acquire and generate single-point and buffered analog waveforms Acquire and generate digital signals Use signal conditioning to improve the quality of acquired signals Synchronize multiple data acquisition operations and devices NI Course Details Duration Instructor-led Classroom: Two (2) days Instructor-led Virtual: Three (3) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 4.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience Developers using LabVIEW with NI data acquisition hardware to create data acquisition applications Users familiar with the DAQ Assistant or basic NI-DAQmx code that want to expand their programming capabilities Users new to PC-based data acquisition and signal conditioning Prerequisites LabVIEW Core 1 LabVIEW Core 2 NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: -NI DAQmx 2022 Q3 -LabVIEW 2022 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: -LabVIEW -NI-DAQmx -CompactDAQ Chassis -C Series analog input, analog output, and digital I/O modules Training Materials Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center. NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software. Costs in Credits On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 20 Education Services Credits or 6 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 140 Education Services Credits or 40 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Measuring Analog Input Select and connect to the hardware, configure the DAQmx task appropriately, and validate an analog signal. Simulating the Hardware Selecting the Right Hardware Considering Signal Conditioning Connecting the Signal Validating the Measurement Measuring Current Generating Analog Output Select and connect to the hardware, configure the DAQmx task appropriately, and validate an analog signal. Selecting the Hardware Connecting the Signal Validating the Signal Generating Current Generating and Reading Digital Signal Select and connect to hardware, configure the DAQmx task appropriately, and validate a digital signal. Selecting the Hardware Exploring Signal Conditioning Connecting the Signal Validating the Signal Exploring Counter Signals Choosing a Signal to Explore Choose a specific signal and configure the DAQmx task, including any special signal conditioning needs. Measuring Temperature Measuring Sound, Vibration, and Acceleration (IEPE Measurements) Measuring Strain, Force, and Pressure (Bridge-Based Measurements) Measuring Position with Encoders (Counter Input) Measuring Edges, Frequency, Pulse Width, and Duty Cycle Generating a Pulse Train Programming with the NI-DAQmx API Use NI-DAQmx API in LabVIEW to automate data communication between a DAQ device and a computer. DAQmx Code Structure Overview Reading and Writing Finite Amount of Data Communicating Data Continuously Programming Multiple Channels Examine various methods for multi-channel task creation and their applications. Communicating with Multiple Channels Creating Multidevice Tasks Using Multiple Lines of a DAQmx Code in a Single VI Triggering on a Specific Condition Acquire data on a specific condition and explore how to use hardware sources as triggers. Triggering Overview Types of Hardware Triggers Sources of Hardware Triggers Exploring Advanced Timing and Synchronization Methods Use an appropriate method for synchronizing multiple DAQ tasks. Synchronization Overview Synchronizing a Single Device with a Shared Trigger Identifying Limitations of Shared Trigger Synchronization Synchronizing Multiple Device Synchronizing Specific Hardware Series Logging Measurement Data to Disk Log data to a TDMS file to store and analyze post-acquisition. TDMS File Overview Logging Data with the DAQmx API Organizing the TDMS Data Viewing the TDMS Data Exploring System Considerations Explore additional aspects of building a data acquisition system. Exploring System Considerations for Hardware Determining the Accuracy of a System Exploring Bus and Computer Considerations Where to Start the DAQ Application Enroll

The LabVIEW Core 1 Course gives you the chance to explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. LabVIEW Core 1 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview In the LabVIEW Core 1 Course, you will explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. In this course, you will learn how to develop data acquisition, instrument control, data-logging, and measurement analysis applications. At the end of the course, you will be able to create applications using the state machine design pattern to acquire, analyze, process, visualize, and store real-world data. NI Course Objectives Interactively acquire and analyze single-channel and multi-channel data from NI DAQ devices and non-NI instruments Create user interfaces with charts, graphs, and buttons Use programming structures, data types, and the analysis and signal processing algorithms in LabVIEW Debug and troubleshoot applications Log data to file Use best programming practices for code reuse and readability Implement a sequencer using a state machine design pattern NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Three (3) days Instructor-led Virtual: Five (5) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 7.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: New users and users preparing to develop applications using LabVIEW Users and technical managers evaluating LabVIEW in purchasing decisions Users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer certification Prerequisites: Experience with Microsoft Windows Experience writing algorithms in the form of flowcharts or block diagrams NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2021 or later NI-DAQmx 21.0 or later NI-488.2 21.0 or later NI VISA 21.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW 2023 or later NI-DAQmx 23.0 or later NI-488.2 23.0 or later NI VISA 23.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 Training Materials Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center. NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software. Cost in Credits On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 30 Education Services Credits or 9 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 210 Education Services Credits or 60 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Introduction to LabVIEW Explore LabVIEW and the common types of LabVIEW applications. Exploring LabVIEW Environment Common Types of Applications Used with LabVIEW First Measurement (NI DAQ Device) Use NI Data Acquisition (DAQ) devices to acquire data into a LabVIEW application. Overview of Hardware Connecting and Testing Your Hardware Data Validation Exploring an Existing Application Explore an existing LabVIEW project and parts of a VI. Exploring a LabVIEW Project Parts of a VI Understanding Dataflow Finding Examples in LabVIEW Creating Your First Application Build a VI that acquires, analyzes, and visualizes data from NI DAQ device as well as from a non-NI instrument. Creating a New Project and a VI Exploring LabVIEW Data Types Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (NI DAQ) Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (Non-NI Instrument) Exploring LabVIEW Best Practices Use various help and support materials provided by NI, explore resources, tips and tricks for using LabVIEW. Exploring Additional LabVIEW Resources LabVIEW Tips and Tricks Exploring LabVIEW Style Guidelines Debugging and Troubleshooting Explore tools for debugging and troubleshooting a VI. Troubleshooting a Broken VI Debugging Techniques Managing and Displaying Errors Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops Explore components of LabVIEW loop structures, control the timing of a loop, and use loops to take repeated measurements. Exploring While Loops Exploring For Loops Timing a Loop Using Loops with Hardware APIs Data Feedback in Loops Working with Groups of Data in LabVIEW Work with array and waveform data types, single-channel and N-channel acquisition data. Exploring Data Groups in LabVIEW Working with Single-Channel Acquisition Data Working with N-Channel Acquisition Data Using Arrays Writing and Reading Data to File Explore basic concept of file I/O and how to access and modify file resources in LabVIEW. Writing Data to a Text File Writing Multi-Channel Data to a Text File Creating File and Folder Paths Analyzing Text File Data Comparing File Formats Bundling Mixed Data Types Use LabVIEW to bundle data of different data types and pass data throughout your code using clusters. Exploring Clusters and Their Usage Creating and Accessing Clusters Using Clusters to Plot Data Executing Code Based on a Condition Configure Case structure and execute code based on a condition. Conditional Logic Introduction Creating and Configuring Case Structures Using Conditional Logic Reusing Code Explore the benefits of reusing code and create a subVI with a properly configured connector pane, meaningful icon, documentation, and error handling. Exploring Modularity Working with Icons Configuring the Connector Pane Working with SubVIs Controlling Data Type Changes Propagate data type changes using type definitions. Exploring Type Definitions Creating and Applying Type Definitions Implementing a Sequencer Sequence the tasks in your application by using the State Machine design pattern. Exploring Sequential Programming Exploring State Programming Building State Machines Additional Scalable Design Patterns in LabVIEW First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument) Use LabVIEW to connect to non-NI instruments and validate the results. Instrument Control Overview Communicating with Instruments Types of Instrument Drivers Enroll

Project Case Study Test of Armored Off-Road Vehicles Performed Faster Using the NI Platform Mar 27, 2024 565d9a9c-50f4-446d-9122-9a1296e50446 565d9a9c-50f4-446d-9122-9a1296e50446 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Andreas Abel, ITI Edited by Cyth Systems Armored multipurpose vehicle (AMPV) The Challenge Designing a holistic validation strategy for the embedded systems in an armored multipurpose vehicle (AMPV). The Solution Designing a series of tests using real-time testing tools built with NI VeriStand software and TraceTronic ECU-TEST automation software to create a test bench to validate embedded systems more quickly and completely. Developing a Validation Framework for Multipurpose Vehicles To equip defense units as well as police and security forces with new levels of mobile, modular, and protective technologies for their current operations, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and a number of other companies took on the challenge of developing a new generation of AMPVs that have high mobility and provide maximum protection at the same time. They also created a self-supporting safety cell made from armored steel and composite armor that set new benchmarks for these vehicles. The vehicles exceed the current protection standards and achieve significant weight optimizations. Simple vehicle handling and optimized human-machine interfaces (HMIs) inside the vehicle further contribute to the high protection level because the driver and crew can focus on mission-related tasks. The simpler it is to drive the AMPV, the safer it is for vehicle occupants and the equipment. In cooperation with experienced software and hardware manufacturers, we designed a holistic validation strategy for the embedded systems in the vehicle. Left: The Combination Test Bench , Right: A schematic of the system architecture. Developing a Combination Test Bench The project started with implementing a test bench to test both hardware and software. First, we analyzed the customer requirements and the electronic control units (ECUs). The resulting analysis formed the foundation for the technical concept and the test bench specification. Market research on existing simulators quickly revealed that there is not a standard solution that meets the specific project requirements concerning flexibility, degree of integration, and price, so we developed a custom system based on both off-the-shelf and specialized components. We selected NI VeriStand as the real-time platform. This NI solution is based on industry-standard hardware, which helps us implement a high-performance system at a very reasonable cost. Also, we can scale the system’s computational power with growing testing requirements in a flexible and cost-effective manner. To quickly compute real-time models, we selected a standard server with two Intel Xeon processors, both clocked at 2.53 GHz. The two processors have eight total cores. The comparatively low load caused by the current real-time models provides sufficient capacity for future extensions, even without hardware upgrades. The I/O hardware is connected to the PC through a PXI expansion chassis. This occupies just one PCI Express slot, and the PXI chassis offers a sufficient number of free slots for additional I/O boards. The test bench uses NI PXI boards for controller area network (CAN) communication as well as analog and digital I/O. For certain time-critical signals, such as emulating speed sensor signals, we added an NI PXI-R Series field-programmable gate array (FPGA) module. We developed an FPGA program using NI LabVIEW FPGA software. We also chose a signal conditioning unit with integrated fault simulation. This reduces the wiring complexity in the test bench without unnecessary signal quality degradation. To meet the requirements of a vehicle with two onboard voltage levels, we integrated two controllable power supplies into the test bench. A display shows the current load of the processor cores as well as relevant messages of the real-time system and the real-time models. The Hardware Layout of the Test Bench Alongside ECU software, we can use the test bench to test small-batch series modules such as carriers with ECUs. This is possible because we can connect the vehicle wiring harness directly to the test bench. Real-Time Models Requirements The increasing complexity of controller functions also leads to increasing requirements on real-time plant models with respect to their capabilities and the modeled degree of detail. In particular, actuators in modern vehicles are increasingly operated in a controlled way rather than just in an on/off fashion. For this reason, we chose SimulationX from ITI. In this project, we modeled all physical components interacting with vehicle controllers in SimulationX, including the following: Engine Gearbox with torque converter and two-stage shiftable transfer gearbox Driveline with lockable and self-unlocking differentials, four-wheel drive, a steering model for wheel speed variations when cornering that couples to the ABS and steering sensors Brake and ABS systems Tire pressure monitoring and control system Ensuring Real-Time Capability In contrast to preconfigured black-box solutions that are designed for real-time capabilities, physical models that are tailored for a particular task or derived from other real-time models are not generally capable of performing real-time tasks. Instead, their real-time capabilities are ensured by the modeler during model development. The real-time capability of the models is achieved based on two main mechanisms. In one instance, a unique and thorough symbolic preprocessing is used. During code generation, SimulationX automatically preprocesses the physical and mathematical equations of the complete system model. It simplifies the system by resolving and substituting equations, reducing expressions that occur multiple times to one computation, and completely removing the computation of quantities that do not affect the specified interface signals (such as internal result variables). All this takes place without requiring user interaction and, in combination with further code optimization measures, results in very efficient real-time code. On the other hand, a number of analysis methods such as natural frequencies and vibration modes as well as energy distribution and performance analysis, assist the user in the model-performance optimization process and thus contribute to the fulfillment of all computation-time requirements. Test Automation To fully take advantage of the test bench, we needed a flexible test automation environment. Due to the extensive regression tests required for KMW’s in-house development, automated tests are indispensable for quality and cost reasons. For this application, we used the test automation environment from TraceTronic, ECU-TEST. This tool is used to specify, implement, execute, and document the test case results. The reusability of test cases saves valuable time for the user and is achieved by altering signal mappings for different development stages in the respective test environment. Tests are designed graphically without editing any source code manually. Regression tests implemented in ECU-TEST cover the full bandwidth of required validation levels, ranging from low-level tests such as stimulating an ECU input and observing the respective response on the CAN, up to testing heavily interacting and complex functions such as fault management and fault recognition. Benefits Producing state-of-the-art, highly protected, and comparably lightweight multipurpose vehicles with a lot of new functionality was only possible when using complex networked ECUs. The vehicle manufacturer bears the responsibility for the overall system, which consists of the vehicle, ECUs developed in-house, and ECUs obtained from external suppliers. In order to fully master this responsibility, all ECUs must be integrated and tested in combination so that they can be installed to the vehicle correctly the first time. The novel test bench is a unique combination of internationally established standard hardware and software components. As a result, the customer receives an optimally priced, highly scalable validation framework composed of the test bench, tailored real-time models, and a highly automated test environment. This combination helps the manufacturer integrate the different vehicle ECUs in an optimal and cost-efficient way. Thus, the customer can fully exploit the scalability and I/O flexibility advantages. With real-time models, the AMPV’s ECU network can be validated quickly, providing an integrated approach to optimize the whole system. Results Using NI real-time hardware and NI VeriStand software, we performed the model development and test bench integration very efficiently. We used the well-defined interfaces between models, test bench software, and hardware to develop activities in parallel on all three fields. The short learning curve of NI VeriStand helped us get our test system up and running very quickly. The extensible environment provides assurance that we can scale our test system to meet future needs. The native integration of NI VeriStand with real-time and FPGA hardware enabled the test system to meet necessary timing requirements and allows for future test expansion. Original Authors: Andreas Abel, ITI Edited by Cyth Systems

Project Case Study E-Bike Battery Testing and Validation Using BatteryFlex Jul 29, 2025 8f1578be-a8d3-4d11-a2bf-0a0e68325379 8f1578be-a8d3-4d11-a2bf-0a0e68325379 Home > Case Studies > E-Bike Battery Testing and Validation is performed using the BatteryFlex platform. Battery Testing Project Summary A Southern California E-Bike (Electronic Bike) manufacturer approached us regarding a system to test and validate their E-Bike battery pack assembly. The team felt it was crucially important to do a variety of tests, including deep discharge and repeat full-power charge cycling, at least in the early days of manufacturing. Battery Test Solution & Results Using our BatteryFlex propriety testing software and PXI data acquisition platforms, we custom-designed a fixture meeting our client’s needs and product specifications for improved quality assurance of their E-Bike batteries. This has improved our client’s warranty return rate by 12%. Industry Consumer Electronics, Manufacturing Technology at-a-glance Cyth Systems' BatteryFlex 4-Quadrant SMU (±60V, ±3A, 100fA Meas) 7.5 Digital Multimeter (±3A, 1.8MS/s) Thermocouple or RTD Measurement Custom Serial Communication Battery Testing Project Background The explosion of E-Bikes in the last few years has enabled people to go the extra mile. With assisted pedaling to full assisted riding, e-bikes combine the benefits of being active with a rechargeable battery that maintains integrity over thousands of charges. A Southern California E-Bike manufacturer approached us regarding a system to test and validate their E-Bike batteries. Their undesirable level of battery malfunctions and warranty returns prompted them to seek a solution for the testing of their E-Bike batteries. Left: PXI data acquisition platform. Right: BatteryFlex LabVIEW user interface (UI) showing live test data Upon customizing our BatteryFlex platform to our customer’s needs, we began to run overnight tests of 8+ E-Bike batteries. They are simultaneously loaded into the BatteryFlex fixture and with detailed test reports generated by morning. We performed the following tests for a pass or fail test according to the customer’s specifications: Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) Power Cycle Test Capacity (Static, Script, Pattern/Pulse) DC Internal Resistance (DCIR) AC Internal Resistance (ACIR) A pass validated the battery’s function for integration into the final product whereas a failure prevented a faulty battery from reaching the customer. Using the BatteryFlex platform increased the accuracy of the client’s voltage and current measurement of their outsourced Lithium-Ion batteries. BatteryFlex Features High-Resolution, High-Speed Measurements PXI Platform Playback and Record Load Cell Scenarios Data Logging, Analysis, and Storage Output to any format report or datasheet Thermal Monitoring and Measuring Safety Interlocks and Shutdown Customized Battery Test without the risk Our BatteryFlex platform allows for the accurate test and measurement of our customer’s outsourced E-Bike batteries ensuring a faster speed-of-test and improved quality assurance. Our automated fixture identifies the individual capacity of each battery cell undergoing simultaneous testing to determine if they are a pass or fail according to the customer’s specifications. We have improved our customer’s E-Bike battery warranty return rate in active partnership by 12%. We also provided a proof of concept developed into a complete test fixture deployed at our customer’s headquarters within a 10-week timeline. Datasheet and Battery Flex Overview BatteryFlex System Specifications BatteryFlex BatteryFlex Datasheet for Download Battery Flex - Cyth Systems .pdf Download PDF • 1.49MB Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Shining Technologies Uses NI PXIe-4137 to Test LEDs 5x Faster Aug 15, 2023 2015682a-927f-4d4c-9fef-f05fece7b2c6 2015682a-927f-4d4c-9fef-f05fece7b2c6 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Shun-Chung, Shiao , Shining Technologies Co. Ltd. Edited by Cyth Systems LED Automated Tester by Shining Technologies The Challenge Falling price forces LED manufacturers to look for a higher-yield, lower-cost tester but need to be able to cover the same test plan and to maintain the measurement accuracy. The Solution Use NI PXIe-4137 to test faster with SourceAdapt technology, to measure breakdown voltage and test high power LED with its pulse and 200 V range capability, and to get rid of the use of oscilloscope in thyristor testing with its 1.8 MS/s digitizing feature. Today, LEDs can be seen in all facets of life—they are used in lighting, tablets, mobile phones, and as a light source for vehicles and panels. Quality tests for LEDs are becoming more and more significant and satisfying market demand remains an important issue. Therefore, increasing LED test speeds have become key to enhancing production capacity. Shining Technology Co. Ltd. has been working on the design, construction, and optimization of LED testers for many years, creating LED testers with high precision and speed. The single-site tester previously used for the semiconductor LED wafer, which is small in size and difficult to test, was often the bottleneck for production capacity. In response, Shining Technologies has been dedicated to the research and development of exclusive multi-site optoelectronic test technology, aiming to create an easily maintained multi-site LED tester (Figure 1.) that can improve production capacity and reduce costs. High-speed SMU Reduces Hardware Procurement Costs Thermal resistance is a key aspect in LED tests and is usually examined after an LED is encapsulated to detect problems such as insufficient heat dissipation or overly fast LED luminous decay. When testing an LED’s thermal resistance, a low but constant current is applied and thermal curve graphs prior to and after forward voltage application are created. However, due to the insufficient sampling rate of the previous SMU, an additional oscilloscope was often required when testing which increases the cost of hardware procurement. Now, Shining Technologies uses NI SMU with sampling rate of 1.8 MS/s, the highest in the industry. The SMU is able to simultaneously measure with high precision voltage and current traveling in the same channel. This not only lowers the cost of hardware procurement, but also simplifies the complexity of the test system, eliminating problems such as having to work with the low sample resolution of oscilloscopes. The Trend of Using Multi-site LED Testers for Production Line Tests The electrical properties test of an LED often includes examining I-V curves. Poor I-V characteristics can directly affect the color and brightness of an LED-backlit LCD, resulting in poor display quality. Through I-V curve measurements, we can determine whether overshooting occurs when the LED lights up, ensuring the quality of the LED. Due to the LED’s small size, it is difficult to design tester mechanisms. Moreover, the previously used single-channel LED tester has become insufficient due to increasing market demands and price reductions. Therefore, it is essential to equip production lines with the Multi-site LED Tester. The exclusive multi-site optoelectronic test technology (Figure 2.) provided by Shining Technologies helped overcome many of the mechanical difficulties in a multi-site prober. Using an NI Single-Board RIO as the core controlling system for automated machines and adopting the automated testing PXI platform as its basic architecture, the prober and the tester can be integrated into a single PXI system. Apart from providing an electric current range (pulse) of 10 A and a voltage range of 200 V, NI SMU’s high resolution (100 fA or 100nV) also helps to enhance test precision, allowing it to detect optoelectronic currents between 10 pA and 100 mA. Not only does its voltage range of 200 V support the breakdown voltage measurement, the pulse mode can also avoid damages to a high-power LED caused by continuous heating. Compared to the LED tester constructed using box instruments, the Multi-site LED Tester developed using PXI and NI SMU can greatly increase test speeds without compromising measuring specifications and precision, completing tests for 40 LEDs per second. This is 5 times faster than a traditional LED tester. (Figure 3.) The Advantages Brought About by NI SMU NI SMU’s unique SourceAdapt technology can also assist in LED testing. Due to different LED designs and loads, transient responses in each LED test differ as well. NI SMU offers fast, normal, and slow transient response modes to suit DUTs (device under test) with different loading characteristics. Transient response parameters can also be adjusted through SourceAdapt to fit with the DUT, avoiding inaccurate results due to overshooting or undershooting and achieving a reliable and precise testing method. Integrating its exclusive simultaneous multi-site optoelectronic testing technology with the PXI system and NI SMU, Shining Technologies successfully increased its production capacity by 5 times, and is able to test more than 40 LEDs per second. Shining Technologies also created an easy operating interface for the testing system using the graphical programming language LabVIEW. Compared to traditional box instruments, the PXI platform takes up less space, provides simultaneous multi-site testing, and efficiently reduces the cost of hardware procurement for an LED testing company. Most importantly, the Multi-site LED Tester provides precise measurements of electrical and optical properties, significantly increasing production capacity and shortening time to market to satisfy market demand. Original Authors: Shun-Chung, Shiao , Shining Technologies Co. Ltd. Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

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Project Case Study Hybrid Battery Life Cycle Testing Using CompactRIO Mar 27, 2024 90cdf694-e3d9-409e-8cee-26514f9904c7 90cdf694-e3d9-409e-8cee-26514f9904c7 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Abedalsalam Bani-Ahmed, Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Edited by Cyth Systems Hybrid battery life-cycle testing The Challenge Developing an automation system to evaluate the performance and cycle life of a hybrid lithium-ion/lead-acid battery. The Solution Combining CompactRIO FPGAs and processors to create a rugged, reliable automation system that charges/discharges a lithium-ion/lead-acid hybrid battery to evaluate performance and cycle life. The controller monitors the system's voltages, currents, and temperatures and commands the source, load, and relay to maintain continuous charging/discharging cycles in an unsupervised manner. The controller also runs a protection algorithm and streams data to the HMI client for logging. Introduction A part of the Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Power and Electronics and Electric Drives Lab focuses on electrical energy generation and conversion. We integrate multiple energy conversion and storage devices to design systems that provide the most effective, efficient, and reliable means of providing power to loads. These research projects develop technologies for multiple industries and build a talent pipeline for companies in Southeastern Wisconsin. Battery cycle life testing is time-consuming and the most important procedure in battery qualification test. The battery/system under test is subjected to repeated charge/discharge cycles to determine its cycle life. For our lithium-ion/lead-acid hybrid battery, there are two cycling and capacity check tests. The cycling test includes charging/discharging the combined batteries 1,000 times at a 0.3 C rate. After every 50 cycling tests, we perform a capacity check to measure the capacity of the combined system. The capacity check test includes one cycle of fully charging and discharging the system at 0.1 C. Moving from charging to discharging circuit can take up to one hour and involves disconnecting the source and reconnecting to the load. Additionally, safety hazards arise because we must perform this operation manually and close to the system approximately every three hours. The goal of the tests is to evaluate the performance and cycle life of the combined batteries to find the feasibility of this combined energy storage for use in multiple utility level applications, including energy harvesting, peak shifting, and frequency regulation. We have conducted several lab scale tests and examined different combined configurations to evaluate the charge and discharge characteristics and cycle performance of the combined batteries. Left: Schematic of the combined batteries: 7 Lithium-ion batteries and 2 Lead-acid batteries are connected in parallel. Right: NI CompactRIO hardware. System Overview The combined batteries are seven lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) connected in series and two lead-acid batteries (LABs) connected in series. The seven LIBs are connected in parallel with the two LABs, as Figure 1 shows. Table 1 summarizes the electrical characteristics of each battery cell under test. Figure 2 illustrates the electrical connection of the source and load to the strings along with the voltage, current, and temperature sensors. During the charging cycle, the CompactRIO hardware triggers the relay and the relay energizes the contactor to connect the source to the combined batteries. During the discharging period, CompactRIO discharges the relay, which leads to disconnecting the source from the terminals. Then the digital load is turned on to perform the discharging cycle. Advantages of Using NI Products Without NI products, we would have to perform many time-consuming and hazardous operations manually. For example, disconnecting the source from the circuit and connecting the load, and vice versa. Programming the source and the load, if needed at each cycle, can be time-consuming. Average testing time for one cycle is seven hours. Handling the circuit exchange manually takes about one hour (two hours per cycle). We used CompactRIO hardware for system automation. We programmed the FPGA with the NI 9215, NI 9220, and NI 9480 analog input modules for acquiring three different types of signals (voltages, currents, and temperatures). We used LabVIEW software for programming. An NI real-time target runs the control and automation algorithm and communicates with the source and load over serial communication lines using the NI 9870 modules. Data logging runs on the HMI client and communicates with the controller over TCP/IP. The flexibility to add different modules to CompactRIO, based on the project needs, is what makes it the best candidate at the design stage. LabVIEW block-based programming is easy to learn and does not require extensive programming experience. In addition, we can monitor the whole system remotely, which minimizes the hazard of being around the running system of batteries, which is under intense testing. Because NI products have been used for years in our lab, NI hardware and programming software became viable platforms in many project setups. We can use FPGA for data acquisition and computational purposes to meet the processing requirements. For example, our system requires data logging every one second. At the same time, data acquisition cannot be interrupted, because CompactRIO is busy with the control algorithm that also includes a hard real-time protection mechanism that requires the system to shut down within milliseconds in case of emergency. CompactRIO was a good choice because the real-time controller receives the data from the FPGA target and runs the algorithm separately, and transmits the collected data to the logging VI running on the computer as a network variable. This makes the system distributed over three different processing units without interruption. We programmed our system exclusively with LabVIEW and using the LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA modules. We programmed the FPGA to acquire continuous data acquisition and faster responses for possible battery faults. Also, because the system runs unsupervised, we programmed it to send any emergency reports through our email server directly from CompactRIO. Original Authors: Abedalsalam Bani-Ahmed, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Edited by Cyth Systems

Our team of LabVIEW Consulting Developers is here to provide domain, application, and overall test development to help your team advance on the NI platform. LabVIEW Consulting & Development LabVIEW engineering services for automated test, measurement, and control applications. View services Speak to Engineer LabVIEW Engineering Services View services Hourly LabVIEW Consulting Get up and running with a new application or fix critical bugs  Get in touch  LabVIEW Code Reviews  Our experienced developers help audit your test and automation software for best practices and potential issues, improving quality and maintainability. Schedule a call  Architecture Consulting  Design in best practices for performance, scalability, and maintenance for complex automation applications Case Study  Legacy System Upgrades  Migrate existing code, add support for new hardware, or build in new functionality Case Study  Schedule a free consultation Explore Applications “Working with Cyth is refreshing. Status reports, budget updates, design meetings... they've perfected the way projects should be done.” -R.J., Senior Quality Engineer, Medical Device Manufacturer Why Partner with Cyth? De-risk complex projects Automation architecture expertise Our end-to-end engineering experience helps you avoid costly architecture mistakes and integration challenges so you can deploy solutions faster.  Flexible by Design Scalable development approach  Modular code architecture and adaptable service models allow you to evolve applications throughout development cycles and changing requirements Never Start from Scratch Build on proven foundations Accelerate development with our tested LabVIEW templates and design patterns for common automation tasks. Applications & Expertise Applications & Expertise Research & Development Tools Accelerate innovation with custom R&D software for repeatable measurements and process control Read the case study Test Automation & Measurement Systems Automate tests with precision, speed, and repeatability. Read the case study Production & Reliability Test Ensure product quality through comprehensive test coverage and results tracking. Read the case study Data Analysis & Visualization Transform test and measurement datasets with custom processing, robust UIs, and flexible data storage. Read the case study NI Platform Expertise As an experienced NI Systems Integrator, Cyth can help you overcome challenges and deliver scalable test and automation solutions Why LabVIEW? Let’s start building Success Stories  See Cyth and LabVIEW in action through real-world applications. Automated Battery QA Ensures Medical Device Reliability Robotic Automation Triples Sample Preparation Throughput CompactRIO Enables Automated Circuit Board Testing 1 2 3 4 5 Talk with an Engineer

Project Case Study Rapid Prototyping of an Integrated Starter Generator Using cRIO Mar 26, 2024 69c48cdc-2230-4bfd-a8f4-14e0f8eee257 69c48cdc-2230-4bfd-a8f4-14e0f8eee257 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Bipin Adaki, Varroc Engineering Ltd. Edited by Cyth Systems Starter Generator Using cRIO The Challenge We needed to develop a prototyped controller to validate the algorithms with the physical assembly of the integrated starter generator (ISG) while the actual controller was designed and developed. The Solution We used the modular CompactRIO platform, which gave the flexibility of changing the input and output signals, along with LabVIEW and the LabVIEW Model Interface Toolkit to import custom simulation models and tune the algorithms by advanced signal processing. A key segment of Varroc group is the electrical-electronics business. Its key electrical-electronics products include magneto, lighting, starter motors, CDI, handlebar assemblies, RR, and instrument clusters. Varroc group works on the design and development of the integrated starter generator assemblies and its controller. Internal combustion engines rely on the inertia of each cycle (or stroke) for its next stroke. For a typical four-stroke engine, the power for the movement of the piston comes through the power or combustion stroke, which is one of the four strokes of a four-stroke engine. An ISG is a device used to rotate or crank an internal combustion engine to compress the charge for the first combustion. This combustion process then generates enough inertia for the engine to run on its own. After the engine is started, the same ISG works as the generator and supplies power to the vehicle auxiliary and to charge the battery. Although this system can be used in conventional engine-powered vehicles, one of the key contributors to the hybrid’s fuel efficiency is its ability to automatically stop and restart the engine under different operating conditions. A typical hybrid vehicle uses an ISG on the engine crank shaft. The ISG performs functions such as fast, quiet starting, automatic engine stops/starts to conserve fuel. It also recharges the vehicle batteries. Our team is responsible for the testing of ISG assembly. In the past, once the ECU and its low-level driver software were developed, the high-level algorithm needed to be integrated with the ECU. It was only after this integration, that the process of algorithm validation was initiated, leading to a longer time to market. For this project, our strategy was to quickly validate our high-level algorithm on a prototyping platform while the design and development of the actual ECU happened in parallel. Left: The ISG Assembly Connected to the Drive Board Being Controlled by the Prototyped ECU, Right: Integrated Starter Generator Validating the Control Algorithm on a Prototyping Platform Our control algorithms were written in The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB® and Simulink® software. We wanted to accelerate the process of validation of these algorithms by moving forward from software simulations to hardware implementation without waiting on the actual controller development cycle. The challenge was to look for a prototyping platform that was flexible and scalable to allow integration of additional I/Os during the process of validation but at the same time allows us the ease of programming and signal processing to tune our control algorithms. We used the CompactRIO platform to prototype our controller. We used the LabVIEW FPGA Module to write the low-level driver IP without going into HDL programming languages. Our FPGA IP allowed us to generate PWM signals for the inverter or motor drive, acquire speed sensor pulses and calculate RPM, control relays, and so on. Using the LabVIEW Model Interface Toolkit, we were able to compile our control algorithm from The MathWorks, Inc. Simulink® software and seamlessly integrate it into our LabVIEW code and run it deterministically on an ARM Cortex-A9 processor (Xilinx Zynq-7000 SOC) on the CompactRIO running the NI Linux Real-Time OS. This model communicates with the FPGA to generate PWMs according to the set point as well as capture the feedback from the system. The NI-9401 module allowed us to provide high-speed switching signals of 5 kHz to 10 kHz to our power inverter board. We used NI-9403 to capture feedback using a Hall effect sensor for motor position sensing as well as to capture other signals like the wheel speed, ignition, clutch, and so on. We also monitored parameters like the three-phase motor voltages and current and the battery voltage through the NI-9229. With the inherent UI capabilities of LabVIEW, developed the user interface for our project without putting in any additional efforts. The UI allowed us to visualize the signals in real time and proved handy for debugging as well. Digital Signal Processing to Improve Effectiveness of Algorithm The development of such a system that needs to be deployed in a noisy environment requires additional signal-conditioning and signal-processing techniques like adaptive filtering and averaging of samples. With the ready-to-use libraries within LabVIEW along with the signal processing toolkit, we easily designed and tuned our filtering parameters like windowing, averaging, and so on to enhance the quality of the signal before providing it to the control algorithms. Real-Time Parameter Logging A major challenge in control algorithm development is to have the insight of how various parameters in the control algorithm are changing according to the stimulus as well as the real-world conditions. The Technical Data Management Streaming (TDMS) file writing capability in LabVIEW gave us the ease to implement parameter logging. We could derive insights from this data that helped us tune or modify our control algorithms. Results By following this approach of rapid prototyping and using the NI platform, we validated our control algorithms within a time span of four to six months. Using LabVIEW and user-programmable FPGA-based hardware, we quickly prototyped our controller and validated the control algorithm without waiting for the design and development of the actual controller. The ease of use of the NI platform helped us reduce the development and validation time of our control algorithms by 50 percent and gave us insights to modify them. We are looking to build on this approach and continue using our expertise on the CompactRIO platform and LabVIEW for our future projects as well. Original Authors: Bipin Adaki, Varroc Engineering Ltd. Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Measuring Internal Combustion Engine In-Cylinder Pressure with LabVIEW Mar 27, 2024 0abbe8bb-d55d-4cf1-9254-62737705eb4f 0abbe8bb-d55d-4cf1-9254-62737705eb4f Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Author: William Doggett, Creative Technical Solutions Edited by Cyth Systems Combustion engine The Challenge Creating an affordable in-cylinder pressure measurement and analysis system to optimize internal combustion engine design and performance. The Solution Developing the OPTIMIZER, a flexible, low-cost PC-based in-cylinder pressure measurement and analysis system based on a DAQ board controlled by LabVIEW software. Anyone who has worked on the design of an internal combustion (IC) engine will understand the tremendous advantage that an inexpensive, accurate device for measuring and analyzing in-cylinder pressure would offer a designer. Creative Technical Solutions, Inc. has used a NI CompactDAQ hardware (cDAQ) and LabVIEW software to build the OPTIMIZER, a PC-based system for use by engine builders, research laboratories, and small racing shops. Background The performance of an IC engine depends on a number of variables. For a given compression ratio, optimum horsepower and engine torque are generated when: Each cylinder receives the maximum amount of air from the inlet and intake valve assembly The fuel/air ratio is adjusted properly for the operation conditions The fuel and air are well mixed The spark advance is adjusted for incipient knock Because the pressure resulting from the combustion of the fuel/air mixture generates torque and power, the most fundamental parameter to examine during engine development is the magnitude and timing of the in-cylinder pressure during the compression and power strokes. Bench testing of an inlet manifold will document the flow for a given pressure drop under steady-flow conditions. But when installed on an engine, the inlet manifold flow is a non-steady-flow process driven by the piston motion, inlet valve area, valve timing, and overlap and runner geometry. The coupling of these parameters often results in unequal charging of different cylinders in a multicylinder engine. NI cDAQ-9178 The first step in optimizing engine performance is to design the inlet manifold and valve train to deliver maximum and equal masses of air to the cylinders. For a given compression ratio and air inlet temperature, the operator can derive this charging information from the level of the cylinder pressure during the compression stroke prior to ignition. Because combustion of the fuel/air mixture is a complex function of a number of combustion chamber geometric variables, as well as many other variables -- such as local fuel/air mixing, octane number, local equivalence ratio, engine temperature, air temperature and humidity, and spark timing -- adjusting these parameters to obtain optimum performance is a considerable challenge. By observing the measured in-cylinder pressure and the location of the peak pressure with respect to the top-dead-center piston position (TDC), the engine operator can quickly tune the engine for optimum performance. Most conventional engines exhibit optimum performance when the peak pressure occurs 12 to 15 deg after TDC and the combustion event occurs during the nearly constant volume condition near TDC, as indicated by the mass fraction burned. For a given compression ratio and fuel octane number, the spark advance needed for peak performance may lead to overheating of the pistons because of severe spark knock. Thus, during the performance optimization process, the operator needs to monitor the cylinder pressure for spark knock between 10 and 40 deg after TDC. If knock is detected, the spark advance must be reduced to avoid piston damage. System Description We chose LabVIEW for the OPTIMIZER because of its flexibility in integrating data acquisition and analysis functions without the need for additional software. We designed the system to measure and present in-cylinder pressure measurements in a number of graphical formats so the engine operator can assess the effects of design changes and operating conditions on performance as a function of engine operating speed and load. The pressure distributions for each cylinder can be averaged for any desired number of engine cycles and at several engine speeds. The figure on the previous page shows a log-log plot of pressure-volume for 100 cycles. The derived parameters that result from the analysis of the pressure recorded as a function of crank angle are tabulated along with their standard deviations. The operator can record the dynamometer torque on one of the low-speed channels and use it to compare the brake horsepower with the indicated power derived from the pressure data. The differences in these values are a measure of the friction and pumping losses. To develop a low-cost PC-based data acquisition (DAQ) system for in-cylinder pressure measurements, we selected Optrand fiber-optic-based pressure transducers. These relatively low-cost gauges have been used successfully in a number of development and monitoring programs. Single gauges have accumulated more than 800 million cycles to date in engine operation and control applications. In addition to providing a 5 V full scale, the gauges have a sense signal that you can monitor to ensure that the pressure signal is valid. We measured the pressure transducer signals with the National Instruments PCI-MIO-16-E-1 DAQ board, triggered from an optical encoder with 0.36 deg resolution. To ensure that the encoder index pulse is properly aligned with engine TDC, we used a Philtec fiber-optic displacement sensor to accurately determine TDC during motoring tests. This technique eliminates the need to use indexed wheels and markers to estimate TDC. We developed a low-cost PC-based data acquisition and analysis system using a DAQ board and LabVIEW to acquire and analyze in-cylinder pressure for IC engines, for the purpose of optimizing engine performance. We used low-cost fiber-optic-based pressure transducers and a fiber-optic displacement sensor to determine TDC. An optical encoder triggers and clocks the DAQ board. Both gasoline and diesel engine versions of the system are available. Future development plans include upgrading to simultaneous sampling for very high rpm operation and accurate pumping mean effective pressure (MEP) measurements. *As Featured on NI.com Original Author: William Doggett, Creative Technical Solutions Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Lightning Hybrids' New Method to Reduce Fuel Consumption Mar 27, 2024 9fb64c85-990d-41e7-a965-4dc6c3a3f423 9fb64c85-990d-41e7-a965-4dc6c3a3f423 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Adam Hartzell, Lightning Hybrids Edited by Cyth Systems A gasoline van retrofit by Lighting Hybrids to a hybrid hydraulic system a custom controller featuring the NI sbRIO 9075. The Challenge Creating a system to retrofit new and existing fleet vehicles to reduce emissions and fuel usage. The Solution Designing a hydraulic hybrid system that uses NI System on Module (SOM) to hydraulically store otherwise wasted braking energy as hydraulic pressure that can be reused to accelerate the vehicle. The Story Medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles account for 4 percent of the vehicles in use today; however, they consume 40 percent of fuel used in urban environments. Lightning Hybrids has developed a patented hydraulic hybrid system that can be retrofitted to new or existing fleet vehicles, such as shuttle busses and delivery trucks, to decrease fuel consumption by 20 percent and decrease NOx (the key component of smog) by up to 50 percent. Our system provides a new method for fleet operators to reduce fuel costs, brake wear, engine wear, and pollution. The Lightning Hybrids Energy Recovery System (ERS) uses LabVIEW software paired with a SOM for control. The NI platform has been key to the success of Lightning Hybrids from the beginning. We have used several versions of CompactRIO and Single-Board RIO devices to develop the technology both on and off of vehicles. Left: These are the major components of the Lightning Hybrid ERS . Right: The ERS is installed between the frame rails of the vehicle, and the hydraulic accumulators are mounted remotely where space is available on the vehicle. The ERS uses high-pressure hydraulic fluid to store energy that would otherwise be lost as heat during braking. The ERS includes the subsystems outlined below: Hydraulic Pump/Motor—Converts vehicle kinetic energy into hydraulic energy and then back. Power Transfer Module (PTM)—Mechanical interface from the hydraulic motor to the vehicle’s drivetrain, which includes a gear reduction and a clutch pack. Hydraulic Accumulators—These “hydraulic batteries” store energy as high-pressure hydraulic fluid,via nitrogen-filled bladders. o High Pressure—The high-pressure accumulator has a working pressure of up to 6,000 PSI o Low Pressure—The low-pressure accumulator has a working pressure of up to 300 PSI Hydraulic Manifold—Valve body that acts as an interface between the hydraulic motors and hydraulic accumulators. It is populated with multiple electrically actuated hydraulic valves that proportionally control the amount and direction of fluid flow. Controller—Used to control every aspect of the ERS. o Actuate hydraulic and pneumatic valves o Interface to the vehicle via CAN to send and receive messages o Record data for use in a telematics system and communicate the data to servers o Provide an interface through an in-vehicle wireless network to a user interface for debug and development o Monitor system performance and ensure safe operation Left and Center: The V3 ERS controller contains a custom daughterboard and an NI sbRIO-9626. Right: The V2 ERS controller contains a custom daughterboard that sits on top of the NI CompactRIO modules and a NI cRIO-9075. During installation, the ERS is installed under the vehicle and incorporated into the driveline between the transmission and the differential. We developed a modular framework so we can quickly retrofit the ERS to most medium and heavy-duty vehicles with minimal new design work or modification to the vehicle. We mount the PTM/manifold combination between the frame rails and the accumulators are placed remotely where space is available. We used high-pressure hydraulic lines to connect the accumulators to the manifold. A custom wire harness is run into the cab and allows for quick integration with the vehicle’s wire harness. The system is designed for easy installation. We can typically commission a new system onto a vehicle in less than a day, which limits downtime for the fleet. A key component that makes the ERS successful is the high-pressure accumulator. Hydraulic accumulators, typically made from steel, have been around for decades. Traditional accumulators make a poor choice for mobile applications as their high weight impacts the vehicle load capacity and offset much of the economy gains from the hybrid system. Lightning Hybrids uses an accumulator that is composed of an aluminum shell wrapped in carbon fiber and fiberglass. This construction drastically reduces the weight of the accumulator but still allows for high working pressures. Inside the accumulator shell is a nitrogen-filled bladder that functions as a gas spring. As the incompressible hydraulic fluid enters the accumulator, it compresses the nitrogen inside the bladder to store energy. The ERS control application has three modes of operation: Hydraulic Idle—The ERS is idle as there is no command for braking/accelerating or the necessary hydraulic charge is not present. Hydraulic Braking—The driver slows the vehicle. The proper valves are actuated and the ERS applies a torque to the drive shaft to create an acceleration opposite the direction of travel. The work of slowing the vehicle is used to build pressure. The hydraulic motors move fluid from low pressure to high pressure so that it can be used to accelerate the vehicle at a later time. The factory brakes are only needed for emergency stops, traction control, or other non-typical stopping requirements. Hydraulic Accelerating—The driver is accelerating the vehicle. The proper valves are actuated and high-pressure hydraulic fluid rotates the hydraulic motors to accelerate the vehicle. The available hybrid torque is calculated and used to reduce the throttle signal sent to the engine reducing fuel, emissions, and engine wear. Under some conditions, the ERS can provide up to 100 percent of the torque used to accelerate the vehicle with no engine power needed. NI software and hardware have been key for us since early in Lightning Hybrids’ history. After some initial experimentation, we quickly focused our efforts on a CompactRIO solution. Our first NI controller was an 8-slot cRIO-9024. We used it for internal prototype development and deployed it in the field in the first pilot systems. We later transitioned to a 4-slot cRIO-9075 as our second-generation controller. We used the CompactRIO controllers to quickly prototype our system. The CompactRIO is flexible enough for the quick changes needed for a prototype, yet still rugged enough to be placed on a vehicle and survive real-world conditions. *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Adam Hartzell, Lightning Hybrids Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

The NI sbRIO features a real-time processor running the NI Linux Real-Time operating system, ensuring deterministic performance for embedded applications. < Back What is Single-Board RIO (sbRIO)? Previous Next

The LabVIEW Core 3 Course introduces you to structured practices to help you design, implement, document, and test LabVIEW applications.  LabVIEW Core 3 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview The LabVIEW Core 3 Course introduces you to structured practices to help you design, implement, document, and test LabVIEW applications. This course focuses on developing hierarchical applications that are scalable, readable, and maintainable. The processes and techniques covered in this course help you reduce development time and improve your application stability. By incorporating these design practices early in your development, you can avoid unnecessary application redesign, increase VI reuse, and minimize maintenance costs. NI Course Objectives Leverage the LabVIEW Style Guidelines and choose an appropriate software development process to create an application Use LabVIEW Project Libraries and Project Explorer tools to organize your application Use frameworks and message handles to create a multiloop application Create and test a custom UI and ensure usability with sufficient user documentation Leverage modular code and develop test cases to maintain large applications NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Three (3) days Instructor-led Virtual: Four (4) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 6.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: LabVIEW and Developer Suite users who need to increase performance, scalability, or reuse, and to reduce application maintenance costs LabVIEW users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Developer certification LabVIEW users who have taken the LabVIEW Core 1 and Core 2 courses Prerequisites: LabVIEW Core 1 Course and LabVIEW Core 2 Course or equivalent experience NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2022 Q3 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW 2022 Q3 Training Materials: Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software Cost in Credits: On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 30 Education Services Credits or 9 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 210 Education Services Credits or 60 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Exploring LabVIEW Style Guidelines Configure the LabVIEW environment and follow LabVIEW style guidelines to develop an application. Configuring LabVIEW Environment Using LabVIEW Style Guidelines Designing and Developing Software Applications Identify an appropriate software development process for a given project and derive a high-level flowchart that can be used to guide subsequent design and development. Exploring Principles of SMoRES from LabVIEW Perspectives Software Development Process Overview Gathering Project Requirements Task Analysis Organizing LabVIEW Project Create LabVIEW project libraries and explore LabVIEW classes to organize the code. Using Libraries in LabVIEW Project Introduction to LabVIEW Classes Using Project Explorer Tools and Techniques Use Project Explorer tools and techniques to improve the organization of project files and resolve any file conflicts that occur. Using Project Explorer Tools Resolving Project Conflicts Creating Application Architecture Design applications leveraging multi-loop architecture techniques. Generating User Events Exploring LabVIEW Frameworks Exploring Framework Data Types Architecture Testing Selecting Software Framework Leverage frameworks and message handlers to design the LabVIEW application. Queued Message Handler Delacor Queued Message Handler Channeled Message Handler Using Notifiers Exploring Actor Framework Creating User Interface Design and develop a custom user interface that meets LabVIEW style guidelines. Exploring User Interface Style Guidelines Creating User Interface Prototypes Customizing User Interface Extending User Interface Ensuring Usability of User Interface Create sufficient user documentation, as well as initialize and test the user interface to ensure the usability of the application. Customizing Window Appearance Creating User Documentation User Interface Initialization User Interface Testing Designing Modular Applications Use modular code in a large application and explore guidelines for making large applications more maintainable. Designing Modular Code Exploring Coupling and Cohesion Code Module Testing Develop test cases that can identify the largest number of errors in an application. Code Module Testing Integration Testing Enroll

Project Case Study Flare Measurement System – with LabVIEW Mar 27, 2024 7181b3c9-8e91-4d96-bdd5-8427bcc5dd7e 7181b3c9-8e91-4d96-bdd5-8427bcc5dd7e Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Marcin Polaszyk, TBG-SOLUTIONS Edited by Cyth Systems Automating Steel Inspection The Challenge We aimed to create an accurate and expandable inspection system for a steel production line. The system needed to provide more efficiency and higher inspection outputs than the current method of human inspection. The Solution We used LabVIEW software and a third-party laser scanner, a linear actuator, and a wheel encoder to create an inspection system capable of continuous 3D surface mapping for accurate inspection of flare defects. The system could also store raw and flare data for future purposes. Introduction Inspecting steel for flaring is an important stage of the steel production cycle. The inability to inspect for flaring increases the probability of the final product failing quality control, which results in the waste of used steel. In the current system, an employee visually inspects a continuous stream of steel strips to identify flares and estimate their dimensions. The employee adjusts a cutting blade to remove the defect. This method can be time-consuming, and prone to human error. The customer required a software and hardware solution to automate the inspection stage and improve this process. System Overview Our system consists of a laser scanner above the production line, which acquires surface measurements of the steel strip passing beneath it. It is situated on a linear actuator so the system can adjust laser positioning and maintain identical measurement dimensions independent of the steel strip width. This makes for a more flexible system. A wheel encoder directly in contact with the production line roller triggers the acquisition, giving measurements at a configured rate and independent of conveyor speed. Left: System on the Production Line , Right: System Overview We used LabVIEW to develop the software running on the operator PC. The software uses various tools, which we explain later in this case study. It receives surface measurements from the laser scanner, buffers them, and performs analysis to determine further operation of the station. All components communicate with the PC through Ethernet. Alternative Solutions Prior to selecting LabVIEW as our software, we considered developing the solution in C as our third-party hardware could support both platforms. TBG Solutions has developed systems in both languages in the past, and we felt LabVIEW offered more benefits. We believed we could develop a better system in a shorter period of time, without sacrificing anything in return. Implementation We designed the software to execute in a set sequence: Data acquisition Analysis Additional parallel processes that act upon the results from the analysis stage Linear actuator control, data display, and data logging Main User Interface The start point of the looped execution sequence is at data acquisition. We implemented the laser using LabVIEW’s built-in tool for third-party DLLs, which streamlined the driver development. The acquisition consisted of 640 points per measurement, giving a 150 mm wide surface map. Next, we buffered the measurements in the analysis stage, where we executed a series of algorithms to examine the measured surface. These involved identifying flares, identifying new steel strips and their deviation in width, and calculating the correct laser position to ensure uniform measurements. The results of these algorithms determined further operation of the parallel processes. We implemented our design using the LabVIEW object-oriented programming (OOP) functionality, which was an ideal tool due to its ability to dynamically dispatch various instances of the same VIs and encapsulate data for each area of the execution sequence. Adding this to the other benefits, the graphical aspect of LabVIEW (Figure 5) delivered the perfect platform for swift and understandable development of a hardware abstraction layer (HAL). This benefitted the development process in two major ways: 1) It accommodated a hardware-free development process as we could easily implement simulation classes, which prevented the development from being on hold when hardware was unavailable. 2) The modular nature of the implementation made the system more expandable as it accommodated for the event of exchanging hardware, analysis, or file types. Another key LabVIEW feature that we used extensively during the development process was custom probing. We could view data in various formats, directly as the programming executed, which aided the development process as it made debugging significantly more straightforward. Operator PC Interface The 3D surface map is the core focus of the interface. The operator can use it to inspect the acquired data under any desired angle with accurate length and height measurements. We implemented the graph using the built-in 3D mesh function in LabVIEW. We found it easy to use, so we could quickly and simply implement the design. Conclusion Using LabVIEW, we produced a professional application that met our objectives. The intuitive front panel components drove a complex UI's quick and easy development that accommodated our underlying functional needs. Furthermore, the built-in tools and communication protocols sped up the process of developing the software infrastructure. This allowed us to focus on more complex system areas, making the whole development more time and cost-efficient. In addition, the previously explained benefits of OOP helped us adapt the solution for future opportunities that could involve the automation of the cutting-off defects. The solution will benefit our client in more than one way as the vast amount of data acquisition will produce quality information available for review. The customer can improve the quality of their steel and become increasingly more competitive in the British steel industry. Overall, LabVIEW has again proven to be a great platform for developing a scalable and flexible solution. TBG Solutions will most certainly continue to use LabVIEW. Original Authors: Marcin Polaszyk, TBG-SOLUTIONS Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Creating an Airport Runway Foreign Object Debris Detection System Based on Millimeter-Wave Radar Mar 26, 2024 72e146b6-2d01-4bf0-82cf-76abb9afcbdf 72e146b6-2d01-4bf0-82cf-76abb9afcbdf Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Shunichi Futatsumori, Surveillance and Communications Department, Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI) Edited by Cyth Systems Airport Runway Debris Detection The Challenge Analyzing and displaying the GB/s class radar data from high-resolution 96 GHz millimeter-wave radar front ends to detect small debris on airport runways. The Solution Using the NI PXI platform to achieve real-time radar signal processing based on the FPGA hardware clock with a high-data throughput rate and using LabVIEW code for the radar signal processing to reduce the development time by 90 percent that of the conventional programming method. Foreign Object Debris Detection on Airport Runways Demand to automatically detect foreign object debris (FOD) on the airport surface has rapidly increased in recent years. Even if such FODs are small in volume and size, these objects can damage aircraft. After the Concorde accident in 2000 at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, which was caused by a small metallic plate on the runway, the detection of FODs is an important issue for airport administration. Runway downtime due to safety checks is not negligible for the efficient operation of the runway time slot. Electric Navigation Research Institute (ENRI) is the national research agency that aims to develop civil technologies for aviation surveillance and communication, air traffic safety, and efficient operation of air traffic routes. Among the various research topics for civil aviation safety technology, we are developing a millimeter-wave radar system to detect small FODs on airport runways. The millimeter-wave radar system enables high-detection performance, high-range resolution, and weather robustness compared with camera systems. However, the system also comes with many challenges, such as the development of a millimeter-wave circuit and signal processing circuit to realize the high-performance FOD detection system for the airport runway. Left: Overview of the optically connected, distributed-type 96 GHz millimeter-wave radar system with two antenna units , Right: Example of the combined radar scope obtained in the Sendai Airport field experiments Millimeter-Wave System Overview The millimeter-wave radar system consists of a beam-scanning antenna, millimeter-wave transmitting and receiving circuits, signal generation, processing circuits, and synchronize and control circuits. The R&D topics of the FOD detection system are mainly for the 96 GHz millimeter-wave front-end circuits. In addition, the receiving signal processing circuits and synchronization circuits are essential parts of the high-performance radar system. On starting the research of millimeter-wave radar signal processing and synchronization with a new technology, we faced three challenges: To confirm the progress of the research and to carry out the airport field experiments, the radar prototype system is constructed every year during the four-year R&D period. Because of this, we must construct the receiving signal processing circuits and synchronization circuits in a limited time. Our available time for development was limited to less than one month to accommodate the development schedule for the millimeter-wave circuit construction and the inspection to obtain the experimental radio license. The millimeter-wave radar system enables sub-centimeter range resolution using wide-band frequency resources. However, to realize the high resolutions in the large detection area of the airport runway, the radar system must process the huge data in a short time. For example, assuming a 5 cm range resolution, 200 m diameter coverage, and 360 degrees azimuth beam scanning in 0.036 degrees angle resolution, the amount of data is at least 1.2 GB/s (16-bit amplitude resolution) for each radar front end. We cannot analyze this amount of radar data without a hardware logic circuit, such as the FPGA or ASIC circuit. The radar signal processing circuit requires complex signal processing such as fast Fourier transform (FFT) and coherent signal integrations with trigger synchronization. Outsourcing this complicated system leads to high costs and a long development period. In addition, to implement the novel algorithm obtained by the research project, the analyzing programs must modify and add the functions by the researchers. If we use multiple programming languages such as VHDL for the FPGA circuit and C for the host computer, we are concerned about the cost to acquire the programming skills. Left: Optically-connected, distributed-type 96 GHz millimeter-wave radar systems for airport surface foreign object debris detection, Right: Runway radar system positioning. To overcome these problems, we used the NI PXI platform, the FlexRIO system, and a digitizer adapter module to develop the receiving signal processing circuits and the synchronization and control circuits. Figure 1 shows the proposed radar system is a distributed-type optically connected millimeter-wave radar system based on the radio-over-fiber (RoF) technology. The “distributed-type” means the radar system consists of a central unit inside a facility building and some antenna units near the runways. Each antenna unit covers each detection area in the runway. The transmitting frequency is between 92 GHz and 100 GHz. The radar signal transmitting source is located in the central unit. The electrical millimeter-wave transmitting signal is directly converted to the optical signal. This enables the low-loss transmission of millimeter-wave radar modulated signal by more than 10 km. In addition, the receiving signal obtained at the antenna unit also transmits to the central unit through the optical fibers. This radar architecture achieves the low-cost construction of the large-scale millimeter-wave radar system, based on the central signal generation and processing and very simple antenna units. The central signal processing is a key feature to achieving the distributed-type radar system; however, this requires a high-data throughput rate and flexible construction as described in the previous section. To solve the problem, we chose the central system construction with LabVIEW software, the NI PXI platform, and FlexRIO hardware. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the overview of the optically-connected distributed-type 96 GHz millimeter-wave radar system and the block diagram of the radar signal processing circuit, respectively. The NI PXIe-7975R FlexRIO FPGA module has enough flip flop slices and memory resources for the FFT analysis, signal integration, and signal synchronization. In addition, the PXI Express bus can transfer the analyzed radar receiving data to the host program with up to an 8 GB/s throughput rate using the DMA FIFO. For the NI PXIe-7975R, we used the NI 5762 16-bit, 250 MS/s digitizer module. The NI 5762 has 12-channel digital I/O, which can control the beam-scanning antenna and obtain the information of antenna direction. Since this digital I/O also directly connects to the FPGA circuit, we can achieve the precise signal synchronization based on the hardware clock. Furthermore, we can also achieve the signal synchronizations between the transmitting signal source and the AD converter based on the FPGA clock with low-time jitter. Original Authors: Shunichi Futatsumori, Surveillance and Communications Department, Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI) Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

The LabVIEW Core 1 Course gives you the chance to explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. LabVIEW Core 1 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview In the LabVIEW Core 1 Course, you will explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. In this course, you will learn how to develop data acquisition, instrument control, data-logging, and measurement analysis applications. At the end of the course, you will be able to create applications using the state machine design pattern to acquire, analyze, process, visualize, and store real-world data. NI Course Objectives Interactively acquire and analyze single-channel and multi-channel data from NI DAQ devices and non-NI instruments Create user interfaces with charts, graphs, and buttons Use programming structures, data types, and the analysis and signal processing algorithms in LabVIEW Debug and troubleshoot applications Log data to file Use best programming practices for code reuse and readability Implement a sequencer using a state machine design pattern NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Three (3) days Instructor-led Virtual: Five (5) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 7.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: New users and users preparing to develop applications using LabVIEW Users and technical managers evaluating LabVIEW in purchasing decisions Users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer certification Prerequisites: Experience with Microsoft Windows Experience writing algorithms in the form of flowcharts or block diagrams NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2021 or later NI-DAQmx 21.0 or later NI-488.2 21.0 or later NI VISA 21.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW 2023 or later NI-DAQmx 23.0 or later NI-488.2 23.0 or later NI VISA 23.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 Training Materials Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center. NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software. Cost in Credits On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 30 Education Services Credits or 9 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 210 Education Services Credits or 60 Training Credits NI Course Outline Lesson Overview Topics Introduction to LabVIEW Explore LabVIEW and the common types of LabVIEW applications. Exploring LabVIEW Environment Common Types of Applications Used with LabVIEW First Measurement (NI DAQ Device) Use NI Data Acquisition (DAQ) devices to acquire data into a LabVIEW application. Overview of Hardware Connecting and Testing Your Hardware Data Validation Exploring an Existing Application Explore an existing LabVIEW project and parts of a VI. Exploring a LabVIEW Project Parts of a VI Understanding Dataflow Finding Examples in LabVIEW Creating Your First Application Build a VI that acquires, analyzes, and visualizes data from NI DAQ device as well as from a non-NI instrument. Creating a New Project and a VI Exploring LabVIEW Data Types Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (NI DAQ) Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (Non-NI Instrument) Exploring LabVIEW Best Practices Use various help and support materials provided by NI, explore resources, tips and tricks for using LabVIEW. Exploring Additional LabVIEW Resources LabVIEW Tips and Tricks Exploring LabVIEW Style Guidelines Debugging and Troubleshooting Explore tools for debugging and troubleshooting a VI. Troubleshooting a Broken VI Debugging Techniques Managing and Displaying Errors Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops Explore components of LabVIEW loop structures, control the timing of a loop, and use loops to take repeated measurements. Exploring While Loops Exploring For Loops Timing a Loop Using Loops with Hardware APIs Data Feedback in Loops Working with Groups of Data in LabVIEW Work with array and waveform data types, single-channel and N-channel acquisition data. Exploring Data Groups in LabVIEW Working with Single-Channel Acquisition Data Working with N-Channel Acquisition Data Using Arrays Writing and Reading Data to File Explore basic concept of file I/O and how to access and modify file resources in LabVIEW. Writing Data to a Text File Writing Multi-Channel Data to a Text File Creating File and Folder Paths Analyzing Text File Data Comparing File Formats Bundling Mixed Data Types Use LabVIEW to bundle data of different data types and pass data throughout your code using clusters. Exploring Clusters and Their Usage Creating and Accessing Clusters Using Clusters to Plot Data Executing Code Based on a Condition Configure Case structure and execute code based on a condition. Conditional Logic Introduction Creating and Configuring Case Structures Using Conditional Logic Reusing Code Explore the benefits of reusing code and create a subVI with a properly configured connector pane, meaningful icon, documentation, and error handling. Exploring Modularity Working with Icons Configuring the Connector Pane Working with SubVIs Controlling Data Type Changes Propagate data type changes using type definitions. Exploring Type Definitions Creating and Applying Type Definitions Implementing a Sequencer Sequence the tasks in your application by using the State Machine design pattern. Exploring Sequential Programming Exploring State Programming Building State Machines Additional Scalable Design Patterns in LabVIEW First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument) Use LabVIEW to connect to non-NI instruments and validate the results. Instrument Control Overview Communicating with Instruments Types of Instrument Drivers Enroll

Project Case Study A Mobile Platform for Road Inspections Using LabVIEW Apr 1, 2024 a838e7cc-b54a-471e-a20a-ed02c4996461 a838e7cc-b54a-471e-a20a-ed02c4996461 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Willians R. Mertz Villa, HOB Consultores SA. Edited by Cyth Systems Road Inspections supported using LabVIEW software and PXI hardware. The Challenge Improving the process of surveying information to assess the degree of deterioration of the road infrastructure—which is currently performed manually and disrupts traffic during the day, has a high risk of accidents, and yields little (10 km per work crew per day)—and recording the information in formats that are not subject to manipulation and can be verified with consistent results. The Solution Developing a mobile platform with a continuously geo-referenced, real-time video system specifically designed to collect virtual images of the condition of deterioration and maintenance of the pavement and engineering structures (up to 80 km/h) efficiently and securely. Surveying Road Conditions Using the ROAS Equipment Road infrastructure helps local markets develop and provides integration with spatial economic centers to generate positive effects that influence businesses’ and households' production and consumption decisions. The lack of a route affects the standard of living and the productivity of the people in the area. Additionally, road deterioration increases operating costs, travel time, and investment. User satisfaction is reflected in the quality of the pavement. We must know when to intervene and how to measure deterioration, a process subject to methodologies of surveying information that are now performed manually, which makes results inconsistent. Application Description The road analyzer and survey (ROAS) vehicle mobile platform is oriented to technological innovation for the management and maintenance of roads. The ROAS performs automatic measurements of geo-referenced data and provides service survey information to assess service levels and surface conditions of the road using national and international standards such as ASTM Standard D6433-11 from the Roads and Parking Lots Pavement Condition Index Surveys (Figure 1). We developed a data acquisition and pre-processing system, and two software modules to generate specialized reports. Left: Road Inspection Platform Graphical User Interface, Right: Software Module for Inspection and Reporting With Images of the Pavement (MESP) The Data Acquisition and Pre-Processing System This module is composed of data acquisition hardware using the NI PXI Platform and the control module, which we developed using NI LabVIEW software and the NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module (Figure 2). The hardware synchronizes and acquires digital image data of the road and pavement, GPS, turning, and other devices. We synchronized this data with a distance measuring instrument (DMI) through a sensor encoder connected to the vehicle axis wheels. Figure 3 shows the parts of the DAQ system mounted on the mobile platform. Software Modules to Generate Specialized Reports We generate reports based on the type of information collected by the ROAS system. We could perform many inspections and operations with the route images acquired through the route surface evaluation module (MESR), which we developed using LabVIEW (Figure 4), including: Road safety Asset inventory (traffic signs, traffic lights) Current road conditions with simulations of tours through the track at different speeds Measurements of the images, such as lane width and projection GPS We can perform in-cabinet visual inspections of the condition of the paved roads, get a maintenance history, identify the type of failures and determine severity (crocodile cracking or longitudinal and transverse cracks), and perform reporting. We can do all of this through the pavement surface evaluation module (MESP), which we developed using LabVIEW (Figure 5). General Properties of the System The system includes: Data acquisition rates of up to 80 km/h Panoramic digital images of up to 120° of route Digital images of all the pavement in a lane (up to 4 m wide) Virtual measurements on images Virtual tours of tracks at different speeds and geo-positioning Large storage capacity for internal and external information Report generation and data exporting to different file formats such as Excel, Word, KML, (Google Earth, JPG, and AVI Artificial lighting using xenon strobe lights to capture images of the pavement Geo-referenced data (GPS or DGPS) DMI with an error rate less than 0.1 percent Conclusion We developed the appropriate methodology for surveying. Our system provides reliable information and consistent results with a high production rate (200 km/day) and is safe. It works on unpaved, paved, and urban roads during the day or at night. Users can adjust report generation to their own requirements. Data is verifiable, reproducible, and exportable to other platforms. The system has GPS or DGPS information and can import images from Google Maps. It also has improved information quality to input into the pavement management system, provides better and timelier intervention decisions for the road, and can integrate other sensors and/or measurement equipment into the platform. Original Authors: Willians R. Mertz Villa, HOB Consultants SA. Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Automated Test of RF Tire Sensors using NI USRP Software Defined Radio Mar 30, 2025 cdbb4aaa-c3ce-4872-afc2-5875a64181aa cdbb4aaa-c3ce-4872-afc2-5875a64181aa Home > Case Studies > Validation of Continental Automotive tire sensors. Project Summary Continental Automotive required the upgraded validation of a tire sensor with wireless communication capabilities at a lower cost compared to existing test systems. Solution Developing a configurable RF communication test solution using an NI RF generator and receiver card for the ISM band (315 MHz/915 MHz). This was achieved using an NI USRP-2900 card to send and receive RF signals and LabVIEW software to create a configurable and software-defined test approach. Industry Automotive Technology at-a-glance NI USRP 2900 Read More... NI LabVIEW Testing RF Communication to Tire Sensors Continental Automotive, a premium supplier of automotive solutions, manufactures various connected sensors, keys, and other equipment that operates according to different RF protocols. Amongst these communication-capable sensors are some dedicated to monitoring continuous tire pressure so that it is always possible to know what the tire pressure is and receive an alert in the event of abnormal pressure loss. As such, the Continental tire pressure monitoring system prevents frequent cause of accidents and ensures optimal safety for the driver. It also helps to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption (a tire that is under-inflated by 0.3 bar leads to an over-consumption of 1.5% on average). Left: NI USRP‑2900 is a tunable RF transceiver with full-duplex operation used to test the tire sensor's RF capabilities, Right: Cross-sectional diagram of tire sensor position and functionality. The company’s quality requirements call for products to undergo many tests, which are now carried out with dedicated cards using hardware and software designed specifically for this purpose. As a result, in the event that there are changes in customer requirements or the technologies used, it is sometimes necessary to update the dedicated card’s software or begin a new hardware design. Among the most common developments are the size of the frame, the type of modulation, the throughput, data coding, or the frequency used. Such an approach is costly in terms of resources for development as well as maintenance and prohibits a standardized approach. The company, therefore, needs to find a more practical and less expensive alternative. The Advantages of Software Defined Radio In a context where hundreds of thousands of products are produced every day and where the tolerated error rate is extremely low, an application that tests equipment such as tire pressure sensors or car keys must be hardy, reliable, and fast. It is therefore necessary to develop a hardy and flexible solution that ultimately has the same reliability as the solution currently being used. This solution needs to be easy to use while remaining complete so as to be able to adapt to future changes in technologies and protocols. The advantage of SDR technology is that it usually requires only two components: A card for transmitting/receiving signal. A computer with software that can process this signal. Combining USRP-2900 and LabVIEW Equipment We have therefore used USRP-2900 from NI. It is an RF transceiver that covers the range from 70 MHz to 6 GHz with a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 20 MHz with characteristics that are relatively well suited to our application’s requirements. With this USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral) device, we can not only capture RF product messages under test but also transmit them through two channels, Tx/Rx and Rx. The USRP is driven by LabVIEW software on which the main operations for processing the signal for demodulating and decoding the frames coming from the sensors are carried out. We can also use LabVIEW to create an intuitive graphical user interface. Top: LabVIEW Programming for Receiving Signal, Bottom: LabVIEW Block Diagram of Transmitted Signal Sending and Receiving RF Data Frames LabVIEW UI of RF Vector Signal LabVIEW UI of RF Vector Signal Generation and Receiver Transmission during live test of the wireless tire sensor. With the LabVIEW program, frames contained in the ISM frequency band can be sent and received. We can set the frequency, the baud rate, the modulation (ASK or FSK), and the number of bytes to be received as well as code/decode Manchester code. The content of the frames to be sent is customizable. We can send a sequence containing a wake-up frame followed by a defined number of frames containing useful information. (Figure 5) Most of the variables are configurable, which requires a configuration and initialization step when first used. After completion, the program works automatically and doesn’t require any further changes. In the event of changes in the transmission and receiving protocol, we simply have to restart the software and amend the parameters during the configuration and initialization step. Then we can use the new protocol. Conclusion The use of the USRP-2900 card and LabVIEW software was a great validation of the SDR approach for transmitting and receiving RF frames for vehicle access or tire pressure monitoring systems. Original Authors: Joram Fillol-Carlini, Continental Automotive France, Wireless Tests Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Inspecting Dinner Plates Using LabVIEW & Vision Integration Mar 27, 2024 aded4342-7472-43d7-82e3-d6831094cd91 aded4342-7472-43d7-82e3-d6831094cd91 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Paul L. Falkenstein, Certified LabVIEW Developer, Sciotex Edited by Cyth Systems The Challenge Providing a conveyor-based automated inspection system for visual assessment of dinnerware (plates and bowls). The Solution Using LabVIEW image acquisition and processing software to develop a system capable of visually inspecting the top and bottom finishes of more than 50 types of dinnerware plates and bowls . The Story//Process After manufacture, dinnerware including plates and bowls must be inspected for defects. There are several of these defects that must be measured during visual inspection to determine if the subject item is deemed a pass or a reject according to the manufacturer’s quality standards. Warp is defined as the variability of the plate height around its circumference. Trim defects include both "trim gouge,” where there is an indentation at one or more angular positions, and “trim bulge,” where the circumference bows out from a perfect circle. The other defect, glass adhesion, occurs when small molten glass balls adhere to the top or bottom surfaces in the region adjacent to the plate rim. The system requirements called for detecting each of the four defect types when the defect size is >250 microns (0.01 in.) for dinnerware up to 12 inches in diameter. Figure 1 shows a highly magnified view of a plate with both trim bulge and glass adhesion defects that were detected and highlighted by PQIS. The system throughput is up to 60 plates per minute and inspection should run 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with minimal downtime. Left: Conveyor-based automated vision inspection system. Right: 3D laser line scanning to produce a 3D rendering of the subject item for inspection. The plates and dinnerware are visually inspected simultaneously from the top and bottom using 3D line scanners. These laser line scanners produce a 3D rendering of the subject item for inspection which then simplifies identifying possible defects. The automated conveyor moves the plates towards the laser line scanners and assists the dinnerware as it passes fully through the laser’s viewing window. Detecting different types of defects requires different forms of visual inspection. Another form of this is transmitting light through the translucent plates which highlights defects in the glass. Illumination for imaging on the conveyors is provided by focused LED line lights angled off-axis from the cameras. Using off-axis lighting results in a dark image background outside of the plates allowing for high-edge contrasts. Adhered glass scatters the transmitted light and appears as a change in light intensity. Advanced processing of the light intensities yields a defect detection of greater than 95 percent with no human intervention. The plate warp is measured at another station on one of the conveyors. A set of red laser lines is used to create a laser line incident on the bottom surface of the inverted plate or bowl. Vertical displacements of this line are viewed in respect to a reference reading and are measured using an area scan camera. Triangulation is used to generate a point cloud model of the sample as it passes under the camera. The software corrects for lens perspective and laser alignment to produce models with 100 µm height tolerances and cross-section resolution of less than 150 µm. The two lasers can generate more than 250,000 points per second. Point clouds are analyzed to determine sample warp. Figure 3 shows a typical warp model generated by PQIS (Plate Quality Inspection System). Left: Vision inspection circling identified defect areas, Center: Real-Time 3D Model Generated for Warp Analysis . Right: Real-Time 3D Model Generated for Warp Analysis Conclusion The first generation PQIS has been operating for more than a year and the manufacturer has already seen a return on their investment because we eliminated the need to manually inspect each plate and improved product quality and yields. We recently installed the second-generation PQIS and validated its ability to detect defects with accuracy that is orders of magnitude superior to manual inspection. Developing the advanced image analysis routines employed in these systems would likely have been prohibitively expensive if we attempted to develop the software with any tools besides LabVIEW and the Vision Development Module. Original Authors: Paul L. Falkenstein, Certified LabVIEW Developer, Sciotex Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

This course teaches you how to use common design patterns to successfully implement and distribute LabVIEW applications for research, engineering, and testing environments. LabVIEW Core 2 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview The LabVIEW Core 2 Course is an extension of the LabVIEW Core 1 Course. This course teaches you how to use common design patterns to successfully implement and distribute LabVIEW applications for research, engineering, and testing environments. Topics covered include programmatically respond to user interface events, implementing parallel loops, manage configuration settings in configuration files, develop an error handling strategy for your application, and tools to create executables and installers. The LabVIEW Core 2 Course directly links LabVIEW functionality to your application needs and provides a jump-start for application development. NI Course Objectives Implement multiple parallel loops and transfer data between the loops Create an application that responds to user interface events Manage configuration settings for your application Develop an error handling strategy for your application Package and distribute LV code for reuse Identify Best Programming Practices for use in LabVIEW NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Two (2) days Instructor-led Virtual: Three (3) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 4 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: New users and users preparing to develop applications using LabVIEW LabVIEW Core 1 Course attendees Users and technical managers evaluating LabVIEW in purchasing decisions Users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer certification Prerequisites: LabVIEW Core 1 Course or equivalent experience NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2021 NI-DAQmx 21.0 NI PCI-6221 or NI USB-6212, BNC-2120 Simulated NI-PCI-6221 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW Professional Development System 2023 or later NI-DAQmx 23.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 Training Materials: Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software Cost in Credits: On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 20 Education Services Credits or 6 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 140 Education Services Credits or 40 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Transferring Data Use channel wires to communicate between parallel sections of code without forcing an execution order. Communicating between Parallel Loops Exploring Channel Wires Using Channel Templates Exploring Channel Wire Interactions Transferring Data Using Queues Creating an Event-Driven User Interface Create an application that responds to user interface events by using a variety of event-driven design patterns. Event-Driven Programming User Interface Event Handler Design Pattern Event-Driven State Machine Design Pattern Producer/Consumer (Events) Design Pattern Channeled Message Handler (CMH) Design Pattern Controlling Front Panel Objects Explore methods to programmatically control the front panel. VI Server Architecture Property Nodes and Control References Invoke Nodes Managing Configuration Settings Using Configuration Files Manage configuration settings with the help of a configuration file. Configuration Settings Overview Managing Configuration Settings Using a Delimited File Managing Configuration Settings Using an Initialization (INI) File Developing an Error Handling Strategy Learn how to develop an error handling strategy for your application. Error Handling Overview Exploring Error Response Exploring Event Logging Injecting Errors for Testing Packaging and Distributing LabVIEW Code Learn how to package and distribute LabVIEW code for use by other developers and end-users. Preparing Code for Distribution Build Specifications Creating and Debugging an Application (EXE) Creating a Package for Distribution Programming Practices in LabVIEW Explore recommended practices for programming to develop readable, maintainable, extensible, scalable and performant code. Recommended Coding Practices Writing Performant Code in LabVIEW Software Engineering Best Practices Identify some key principles of software engineering best practices and the benefits of implementing them when working in LabVIEW. Project Management Requirements Gathering Source Code Control Code Review and Testing Continuous Integration Enroll

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Project Case Study Aviation FPGA Component Incorporated in a Physical Verification Test Bench Aug 15, 2023 837a8808-dc8b-4c80-990f-ec1afcddb6e9 837a8808-dc8b-4c80-990f-ec1afcddb6e9 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Francis RAGUIN, Barco Silex Edited by Cyth Systems PXI used for FPGA component incorporation in a physical verification test bench. The Challenge Performing the physical verification of an FPGA device by reusing its virtual simulation environment, following a DO 254 Level A methodology flow (Guidance document for the development of hardware components for airborne equipment). The Solution Designing a test system using an NI PXIe-1073 chassis with two NI PXIe-7962R FlexRIO boards coupled with two NI 6581 modules and programming the FPGA chips of the FlexRIO boards using the LabVIEW FPGA Module to integrate the constitutive elements of the virtual test bench. Subsidiary of Barco Group, Barco Silex is an electronics design company that specializes in hardware developments (ASIC, FPGA, and embedded boards) and offers a wide range of IP core products for video and security applications. We have expertise and over 10 years of experience in ASIC and FPGA development under DO-254 guidance for prestigious clients such as Airbus, Safran, and Thales. The NI test set consists of an NI PXIe-1073 chassis with two NI PXIe-7962R modules combined with two NI 6581 adapters. With an acquisition frequency up to 100 MHz, they allow monitoring of various FPGA input and output signals. NI PXIe-7962R modules The usual approach to verify electronic components and ensure proper functional behavior is to use simulation tools. This type of verification allows testing an FPGA from its register-transfer level (RTL) (architecture description) representation as well as at the logic-gate level by incorporating the timing and gate delay notions. The verification is then based on timing models of the constitutive elements of an FPGA (logic gates, phase-locked loops, memories, and so on). However, the device behavior must also be silicon-proven to meet the DO-254 Level A expectations. Therefore, we developed a test bench based on NI equipment and a custom-printed circuit board to replicate the virtual verification environment at the physical level, while taking advantage of existing simulations. A Unique Test Procedure Using Perl-based software, the virtual test bench decodes the test procedures described by means of instructions to control both a test engine and the interfaces of the component to verify. LabVIEW can call this Perl program and allows the use of the same test vectors as those used on the virtual test bench. Therefore, the procedures set made and validated for FPGA simulations can be used directly on the physical test bench. A Shared Architecture The test engine architecture we developed and validated, as well as the interfaces of the component under verification, are written in VHDL language and can be interpreted by the simulator. The specification and design of this test environment are constrained by the portability between the simulator and the NI framework. The FlexRIO boards can therefore use this VHDL code to produce a physical test environment identical to the virtual one. Thanks to LabVIEW FPGA, we were able to integrate this code without any change while adding the necessary interfaces to handle the data exchange between the PXI bus and test PC. The execution of all the FPGA verification procedures: 64.5 hours via logic-gate level simulations versus two hours via physical tests. The time saved is around a factor of 30. The virtual test bench and the physical test bench both allow the same inputs and generate the same type of output data. The test procedures can hence be written for both. Flexible Tools In this way, we could combine three kinds of hardware description of the FlexRIO boards: (1) the use of IP integrated inside LabVIEW FPGA, (2) the VHDL code generation from the GUI of LabVIEW FPGA, and (3) the integration of the VHDL code complying with our quality standards. It allows the user to make the best out of each of these three solutions and integrate all of them into the same environment. Original Authors: Francis RAGUIN, Barco Silex Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Automating the Test of High-Current Circuit Breakers Using NI CompactRIO Mar 27, 2024 a068a8d7-489e-4d63-8d49-2fd1c51ab513 a068a8d7-489e-4d63-8d49-2fd1c51ab513 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Xavi Salada, Techna International Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Circuit breakers The Challenge Increasing the ease of mechanical and electrical testing of circuit breakers. The Solution Automating the safety test processes of testing circuit breakers by using pneumatics to test their mechanical operation and using high-accuracy sensor inputs/outputs to read the voltage status of the device’s electrical circuit. Introduction Circuit breakers are an essential safety feature of every building—key to preventing fires and protecting people and their belongings. Such devices must pass a number of safety tests before distribution. Electrical tests ensure the proper functionality of the device and mechanical tests guarantee the mechanisms can operate repeatedly for a long period of time. Completing these tasks manually is labor intensive and time consuming as tests are run in large quantities and can last for hours. We needed an automated test machine to make it safer to test new products in the development stage and practical to test a large a quantity of devices during production. With this automatic system, an operator can control the test machine through a computer program instead of being in direct contact with the devices. Left: Frame of automated circuit breaker testing system with DUT (Devices Under Test) Right: NI cRIO-9063 & cRIO 9038 Controller Chassis Application Overview The test machine consists of two sections. The first section includes a pair of pneumatic pistons used to power cycle each unit under test (UUT) a number of times specified by the operator, as well as sensors to determine current levels and pin position. The second section has the UUT connected in parallel to a relay that acts as a bypass in case the device trips. A voltage sensor determines whether the UUT is still engaged or malfunctioning because of fatigue. LEDs indicate the test pass status for each power cycle. We repeat this schema using a programmable power supply to increase the number of devices that we can simultaneously test. Running the test with the circuit breakers arranged in series runs the risk that some of the devices may trip due to heat generated by the amount of current passing through them. In this case the system needs to recover and activate the specific relay to bypass the tripped device so the test can continue. To do that, the program continuously scans all voltage sensors placed after each device to determine which UUT has tripped. When the program identifies the tripped UUT, it stops the power supply, activates the appropriate relay, and switches an LED to display this to an operator. The system then resets the power supply and the test continues. On the front panel, the operator can view the status of each UUT, the current used, and the remaining time for the test. Control of the system, including the pistons, relays, LEDs, and binary sensors, requires a large number of digital inputs provided by the NI 9375 and USB-6509. We use the USB-6509 with MOSFETs for voltage regulation and the NI 9375 to serve as a 24 V source, which keeps our system design simple because we do not need extra circuitry. We connected a current clamp to the NI 9205 analogue input module using its 16 differential inputs for measuring the current levels passing through the UUTs. Original Authors: Xavi Salada, Techna International Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Automated Test System uses PXI to Validate Irrigation Control Panels Mar 27, 2024 f9d5d436-3df7-46dd-bbc4-79c5b354d7b3 f9d5d436-3df7-46dd-bbc4-79c5b354d7b3 Home > Case Studies > i Left. Irrigation control panel test enclosure. Right. Two DUTs are being loaded into the test enclosure. The Challenge A designer and manufacturer of irrigation systems approached us with the need for a system to test and validate the control panel and outdoor sensor of their residential sprinklers. The Solution Using hardware and software to create a full turnkey solution for automated testing, we were able to help improve the client’s quality control process and the efficiency of their final product testing. Figure 2. Left. Outdoor precipitation sensor. Right. Indoor control panel. The Story//The Cyth Process A global provider of irrigation products approached us with the need for a system to perform validation testing of their residential sprinkler system control panel and outdoor sensor. Their product was a two-part system that worked in tandem to automate the control of one’s sprinkler system. The outdoor sensor was designed to measure rainfall and temperate and relay this information to an indoor control panel. The indoor control panel then decided from the transmitted information and the scheduled presets the customer chose whether to irrigate one’s landscape. The two communicated using radio frequencies (RF) which increased the product’s ease of use, as the outdoor sensor was mounted on one’s roof and communicated wirelessly with the control panel located in the interior of one’s home. The product testing of the outdoor sensor and indoor control panel required testing the functionality of the two-part system. Our engineering team recognized this required testing the control panel’s physical buttons, the device’s interior software, the segmented LCD screen, and the RF signal transmitter (outdoor sensor) and RF signal receiver (indoor control panel). Figure 3. The NI PXI chassis and I/O cards contained in the test enclosure. Our engineering team began by building a test fixture centered around a PXI hardware chassis, several I/O cards, and NI TestStand software that controlled and monitored all aspects of the device testing. The wide range of the PXI designated card slots provided the ability to acquire the wide range of high-speed I/O required. NI TestStand provided our team with the ability to program and automate the procedural sequence of the fixture’s testing. Control Panel Feature Test Method Button Membrane Switches NI PXI 4110, Mechanical Plungers Device Power Consumption NI PXI – 6514, Industrial Digital I/O Card with DBL Voltage Cable Segmented LCD Screen Camera with Ethernet Comm RF Signal Analyzer NI PXI 5661, VSA – Vector Signal Analyzer (inbound signal) using Digital Signal Attenuator RF Signal Generator NI PXI 5661, VSG – Vector Signal Generator Test Fixture Procedure Indoor Control Panel The automated test enclosure is opened by the operator. Two units are slotted into the provided nests. The operator wires the units to the fixture, and the enclosure's cover is closed. The system automatically powers up the units, measures current, and validates RF data from the RF signal analyzer. The system then presses the button membranes 1 – 4 of the control panel and uses a camera to inspect the relayed output of each button on the LCD screen. All the test data is read by TestStand and the PXI hardware and stored to the PC's memory. The operator opens the enclosure cover, removes the tested units, and repeats. Outdoor Sensor The automated enclosure is opened by the operator. Two units are slotted into the provided nests. The operator wires the units to the fixture, and the enclosure cover is closed. The system automatically powers up the units, measures current, and validates RF data from the RF signal generator. The system downloads firmware to the outdoor rainfall sensor and validates the temperature data to the measured value. All the test data is read by TestStand and the PXI hardware and stored to the PC's memory. The operator opens the enclosure cover, removes the tested units, and repeats. Figure 4. Two irrigation control panel DUTs are electronically wired and awaiting test. Delivering the Outcome Overall, our engineering team was able to deliver a full turnkey solution for the automated testing of our client’s sprinkler system. Both the outdoor sensor and indoor control panel were tested using the same automated test fixture. This was achieved through our engineering team integrating NI TestStand software, NI PXI hardware, and an industrial PC control system to be able to execute defined testing sequences and monitor the responses in real-time. The flexible I/O modules enabled us to control several different devices from mechanical plungers to an ethernet camera to test the various features of the sprinkler system (buttons, software, a segmented LCD screen, and the RF signal analyzer). We were able to provide the client with a system that accelerated their quality control process through the in-depth testing of 300+ units a day. The operational bulletproofing of the test fixture has ensured the product validation and optimal function of our client’s sprinkler system in preparation for their use across homes nationwide. 40+ irrigation control panels awaiting validation testing. Technical Specifications 1 x Optical Sensor – Photodetector 1 x Cable USB - Serial TTL Converter 1 x Ethernet Camera Plungers 1 x Airflow Control Valve w/ Exhaust Muffler 1 x Solenoid Control Valve 1 x Compact Extruded Aluminum Air Cylinder 1 x Magnetically Actuated Switch Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Targeted Drug Delivery Using Ultrasound Beam Focusing & LabVIEW Mar 26, 2024 70ed3475-534a-4867-8a6a-93ebdb192144 70ed3475-534a-4867-8a6a-93ebdb192144 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Dave Lines, Diagnostic Sonar Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Drug delivery system. The Challenge Driving and optimizing a bespoke multielement ultrasound phased array with continuous wave signals for therapeutic applications such as targeted drug delivery (TDD). The Solution Using the NI PXI platform to build a modular, ultrasonic beam-focusing system to deliver continuous wave (CW) pulse-width modulated signals to a custom multichannel transmitter. The resulting system provided individual ultrasound array element control, tightly focusing and steering the ultrasound beam for optimization by advanced phase aberration correction. The Team The Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT), University of Dundee, is an interdisciplinary institute for future medical technologies that brings engineers, physicists, and life scientists together with clinicians and health service providers. Among its many research themes, medical ultrasound technology is important for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Diagnostic Sonar Ltd. (DSL), founded in 1975, developed the first real-time medical ultrasound scanner manufactured in the UK. Over the following four decades, the company expanded into other areas, including non-destructive testing (NDT), magnetic resonance imaging test samples (phantom) for verifying medical scanners and, more recently, ultrasound array controllers based on NI PXI hardware. Left: Using PXI for U ltrasound Array Driving System, Right: 3D Representation of Normalized Ultrasonic Crossbeam Pattern at Array’s Focal Distance Ultrasonic Targeted Drug Delivery Unlike conventional drug administration, where medicines are absorbed across entire biological membranes, targeted drug delivery (TDD) seeks to increase the concentration of the medication in specific areas for prolonged and highly localized drug interactions with diseased tissue. This targeted approach to drug administration offers many advantages, including reduced side effects, decreased fluctuation in circulating drug levels, and a more predictable, uniform effect of the drug at the treatment site. In TDD, ultrasound-induced temperature increases and cavitation can either increase the permeability of biological membranes or trigger the drug carriers, such as liposomes, which are sensitive to elevated temperature and pressure, to release the drug only in the tissue volume targeted by the focused ultrasound. Therefore, focusing ultrasonic energy into small, well-defined volumes is crucial to targeted drug delivery, where high focusing gain and low side-lobe response are required. Technicians can electronically focus and steer an ultrasound beam within a patient’s body by applying appropriate phase and amplitude control over the excitation signal to each individual transmitter array element. In practice, defocusing is unavoidable, caused by either residual aberration from the device itself or signal distortion as the ultrasonic signals propagate through a patient. The ability to correct phase aberration is thus a necessity in the ultrasound driving system. Many multichannel ultrasound array-driving systems have been designed for either medical imaging or NDT, where repeated pulses with high voltage but short pulse length are generated. Conversely, therapeutic ultrasound applications require driving signals in CW or long burst modes, with higher power and longer sonication periods. Traditionally, driving such multielement array transducers in a laboratory environment has required a huge range of discrete function generators, physical output switches, and power amplifiers, which can be expensive and cumbersome. To accelerate our important ultrasonic TDD research, which represents the future of medication delivery, we required a flexible, cost-effective and portable experimental multichannel driving system. System Description For this project, DSL designed and built the FI Toolbox, the system that drives ultrasonic arrays. It is based on a 32-channel transmitting card (DSL32T); a 32-channel receiving card (DSL32R); and a single 32-channel NI 5752 digitizer, interfacing with two PXI-mounted FlexRIO PXIe-7966 field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices, controlled with LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA from a host computer. The system generates 70% pulse-width modulated square (PWM) waves to deliver signals to each channel. With three-level wave shaping, the square waves can be used to define an approximate sine wave, which significantly reduces the third harmonic content in the signal, resulting in more accurate ultrasound beam shaping. Many of the technologies in our TDD system were originally devised for NDT applications, where ultrasonic signals are used to verify material or component properties without causing damage. However, to ensure that our system met the strict TDD requirements for CW operation, it was modified with an active cooling system. The phase of the signals used to drive the ultrasonic elements is controlled and adjusted in 11.25 o increments for each channel, over the range of 0 o ≤ θ < 360 o. In its CW configuration, the DSL transmitter can offer a maximum ±30 V input signal to 32 channels without exceeding the power dissipation of the various components. Phase Aberration Correction Experiment IMSaT at the School of Medicine, University of Dundee, under a programme managed by the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, built a bespoke ultrasound array, working at approximately 1 MHz. The array has a faceted spherical shape inspired by a geodesic dome and consists of 24 triangular piezoelectric-polymer composite plates that are further diced into 96 elements. For the present work, the array elements were grouped in sets of three into 32 channels in a 2D segmented annular configuration, to match the FI Toolbox instrumentation channel count. Using a hydrophone-based correction mechanism, the phase delay to each channel was modified to overcome the residual aberration caused by minor geometric positioning errors, thereby creating a clear, tight focus for the ultrasonic beams, shown in Figure 4. By correcting for phase aberration, we managed to boost peak voltage at the focal point by 4X. The Future of Our Research The current DSL FI Toolbox system configuration is suitable for mid-power therapeutic applications, where overall power is limited by the maximum heat dissipation of the transmission board. By stacking multiple transmitters in parallel, we can multiply power delivered to the array accordingly. In our future plans, adding two more DSL32T and NI 7966 FlexRIO devices to the system will allow us to drive all 96 elements of the array individually, significantly boosting output power levels. This means the same technology can be used to research focused ultrasound surgery, where highly focused ultrasonic energy can treat diseased tissue with thermal ablation or mechanical cavitation. One of the major benefits of the NI software-defined approach to instrumentation is that repurposing laboratory equipment for future experiments is simple and cost-effective. Original Authors: Dave Lines, Diagnostic Sonar Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Project Case Study Fast and Precise Laser Engraving with CompactRIO Mar 27, 2024 f42611fa-081e-472d-a134-75a2feb9e0a4 f42611fa-081e-472d-a134-75a2feb9e0a4 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Christopher Farmer, Wired-in Software Pty Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Laser Etching using an NI CompactRIO controller. The Challenge Develop a reliable, embedded, high-speed laser engraving control and positioning subsystem within eight weeks. The Solution Develop, integrate, and test the application using CompactRIO hardware and the LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA modules to control the output signals with transition times between 100 ns and 10 us. Background Manufacturing processes include critical components to be tightly synchronized within the 100 ns to 10 us range. In the case of laser engravers, timing, and positioning is controlled within the manufacturing system and is a critical part of the process. The customer in question has had a previous solution based on custom hardware; however, this has become outdated and can no longer be serviced and maintained. Being a crucial part of their system failure will lead to great risk to production. Solution Process We designed and developed the high-speed laser engraver control subsystem based on CompactRIO technology. It produces patterns of analogue and digital output signals, all within tight transition times (of 100 ns and 10 us). We rapidly developed this reliable and expandable solution in eight weeks. Because we used the CompactRIO platform, the solution was purely a software development effort—no custom hardware was required. This resulted in a much faster solution than if a custom electronic solution had been developed. Application Overview This embedded system application consists of a single controller running in a headless configuration. We designed it to run 24/7 without any user interaction. The PROFINET slave receives commands from a PROFINET master. The controller transmits its status back to the master and returns a fault if the received parameters are invalid, or if an issue is present (such as input is missing or nonresponsive). On receiving a trigger signal (via a digital input), the encoder counter (via digital inputs) is reset. A sequence of control events is derived from the PROFINET parameters. It is used to position both the motor (via an analog output) and enable the laser (via a digital output) at specific encoder counts and must carry out each change within less than 0.1 ms. The sequence is restarted upon every trigger received. Left: Remote Panel Access to RT_Main.vi, Right: Trace from a Tektronix Oscilloscope Software Design The software involves both the LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA modules, which ensure deterministic code for this application with strict timing requirements. The control algorithm, written with LabVIEW FPGA, runs on the FPGA inside the CompactRIO system. The FPGA code has a state machine architecture within a Single Cycle Timed Loop. The control system has two modes of operation: auto and manual. During auto mode, the FPGA controls the motor position and laser signals based on the combination of encoder counts, trigger signal, and PROFINET parameters. The PROFINET parameters sent by the master can be changed dynamically, which the FPGA code can read at the start of each trigger. In manual mode, the received PROFINET parameters can change only the position of the motor. The real-time code is used for setting up the simulation and provides remote panel access for diagnostic purposes only. The real-time panel can be easily viewed through a web browser. CompactRIO During Development Simulation During development (with the system offline and disconnected from the PROFINET master, encoder, and trigger), the PROFINET parameters were simulated in the real-time front panel. This allowed us to test the conversion of 128-byte numeric arrays into meaningful parameters. The FPGA code has some simulation functions that can be turned on/off from the real-time panel. With the existing I/O available, we connected wires in a loopback type configuration (that is, wire some digital outputs straight back into digital inputs for the encoder and trigger signals). Then, within the FPGA software, we can generate encoder and trigger pulses to stimulate the system inputs. We developed an independent LabVIEW application to take readings from a Tektronix 1 GS/s oscilloscope to verify the system operation (that is, check the timing of the trigger, encoder, motion, and laser). Using the Tektronix device drivers downloadable from ni.com, it was simple to assemble an application for test data acquisition that didn’t disrupt the core application development. We saved the files in TDM Streaming file format, allowing for post-analysis in another independent LabVIEW application. Hardware We based the system on cRIO-9035 to meet the following requirements: 6 C Series slots (PROFINET slave requires an empty slot beside it Ample FPGA resources High-speed timing requirements—need to act within 0.1 ms or less Configurable I/O simplifies hardware design Modules Description CompactRIO-9035 CompactRIO Controller and Chassis CompactRIO PROFINET Slave Module Receives commands from the PROFINET master NI-9401 DIO Reads the encoder pulses NI-9263 AO Controls the motor NI-9423 DI Receives the trigger signal NI-9474 DO Enables the laser Benefits The LabVIEW graphical dataflow programming environment makes the development process easier and faster. With the add-on toolkits and modules, such as LabVIEW FPGA and LabVIEW Real-Time, we can use LabVIEW for domain-specific industrial applications. The client’s system to be replaced was a custom-designed embedded PC-based solution that is no longer supported. After an extensive search, CompactRIO was the only off-the-shelf solution that did not require custom hardware to meet the system requirements. LabVIEW FPGA is easy to develop, and abundant resources are available to fast-track development (such as the CompactRIO Developer’s Guide, and online real-time and FPGA training for valid subscriptions), and thus enabling us to meet the timeline. Conclusion By adopting an NI software and hardware solution, we designed and built a high-speed control subsystem using LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA within a tight timeline. The PROFINET controller gave us a sophisticated interface to the factory’s distributed control system. The spare I/O was leveraged to be used as simulation outputs. The FPGA code’s deterministic nature ensures that every encoder pulse change was captured. CompactRIO is a reliable and robust solution for the application, which is required to run continuously for extended periods of time. Original Authors: Christopher Farmer, Wired-in Software Pty Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems Talk to an Expert Cyth Engineer to learn more

Digital I/O products acquire and generate digital signals. Characterize circuits, toggle control lines, and more. Customize your solution with NI today. NI Digital I/O Hardware Products NI Authorized Distributor and System Integration Partner Home > Products > Digital I/O Digital I/O Digital I/O products can acquire and generate digital signals and patterns at multiple logic levels. You can characterize circuits, toggle control lines, and meet many other digital application needs. PLATFORM MODULES Platform modules integrate with modular hardware platforms that allow you to combine different types of modules in a custom system that leverages shared platform features. NI offers three hardware platforms—CompactDAQ , CompactRIO , and PXI —though all platforms may not be represented in this category. C Series Digital Module Provides digital input and output capabilities for CompactDAQ or CompactRIO systems. Feature Highlights: Platform: CompactDAQ, CompactRIO C Series Relay Output Module Provides output signals from electromechanical and solid state/FET relays for CompactDAQ or CompactRIO systems. Feature Highlights: Platform: CompactDAQ, CompactRIO PXI Digital I/O Module Provides digital input and output capabilities for PXI systems. Feature Highlights: Platform: PXI Bus: PXI, PXI Express PXI Digital Reconfigurable I/O Module Configures digital lines as inputs, outputs, counters/timers, or custom communication protocols using FPGA-based logic for PXI systems. Feature Highlights: Platform: PXI Bus: PXI, PXI Express STAND-ALONE OR COMPUTER-BASED DEVICES Stand-alone or computer-based devices either integrate with standard desktop and laptop computers or allow you to use them without the need for other modular hardware. Digital I/O Device Provides digital input and output capabilities for computer-based systems. Feature Highlights: Bus: PCI, PCI Express, USB Digital Reconfigurable I/O Device Configures digital lines as inputs, outputs, counters/timers, or custom communication protocols using FPGA-based logic. Feature Highlights: Bus: PCI, PCI Express I²C/SPI Interface Device Connects to and communicates with devices using I²C, SMBus, and SPI protocols. Feature Highlights: Bus: USB

The LabVIEW Core 1 Course gives you the chance to explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. LabVIEW Core 1 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview In the LabVIEW Core 1 Course, you will explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. In this course, you will learn how to develop data acquisition, instrument control, data-logging, and measurement analysis applications. At the end of the course, you will be able to create applications using the state machine design pattern to acquire, analyze, process, visualize, and store real-world data. NI Course Objectives Interactively acquire and analyze single-channel and multi-channel data from NI DAQ devices and non-NI instruments Create user interfaces with charts, graphs, and buttons Use programming structures, data types, and the analysis and signal processing algorithms in LabVIEW Debug and troubleshoot applications Log data to file Use best programming practices for code reuse and readability Implement a sequencer using a state machine design pattern NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Three (3) days Instructor-led Virtual: Five (5) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 7.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: New users and users preparing to develop applications using LabVIEW Users and technical managers evaluating LabVIEW in purchasing decisions Users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer certification Prerequisites: Experience with Microsoft Windows Experience writing algorithms in the form of flowcharts or block diagrams NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2021 or later NI-DAQmx 21.0 or later NI-488.2 21.0 or later NI VISA 21.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW 2023 or later NI-DAQmx 23.0 or later NI-488.2 23.0 or later NI VISA 23.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 Training Materials Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center. NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software. Cost in Credits On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 30 Education Services Credits or 9 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 210 Education Services Credits or 60 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Introduction to LabVIEW Explore LabVIEW and the common types of LabVIEW applications. Exploring LabVIEW Environment Common Types of Applications Used with LabVIEW First Measurement (NI DAQ Device) Use NI Data Acquisition (DAQ) devices to acquire data into a LabVIEW application. Overview of Hardware Connecting and Testing Your Hardware Data Validation Exploring an Existing Application Explore an existing LabVIEW project and parts of a VI. Exploring a LabVIEW Project Parts of a VI Understanding Dataflow Finding Examples in LabVIEW Creating Your First Application Build a VI that acquires, analyzes, and visualizes data from NI DAQ device as well as from a non-NI instrument. Creating a New Project and a VI Exploring LabVIEW Data Types Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (NI DAQ) Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (Non-NI Instrument) Exploring LabVIEW Best Practices Use various help and support materials provided by NI, explore resources, tips and tricks for using LabVIEW. Exploring Additional LabVIEW Resources LabVIEW Tips and Tricks Exploring LabVIEW Style Guidelines Debugging and Troubleshooting Explore tools for debugging and troubleshooting a VI. Troubleshooting a Broken VI Debugging Techniques Managing and Displaying Errors Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops Explore components of LabVIEW loop structures, control the timing of a loop, and use loops to take repeated measurements. Exploring While Loops Exploring For Loops Timing a Loop Using Loops with Hardware APIs Data Feedback in Loops Working with Groups of Data in LabVIEW Work with array and waveform data types, single-channel and N-channel acquisition data. Exploring Data Groups in LabVIEW Working with Single-Channel Acquisition Data Working with N-Channel Acquisition Data Using Arrays Writing and Reading Data to File Explore basic concept of file I/O and how to access and modify file resources in LabVIEW. Writing Data to a Text File Writing Multi-Channel Data to a Text File Creating File and Folder Paths Analyzing Text File Data Comparing File Formats Bundling Mixed Data Types Use LabVIEW to bundle data of different data types and pass data throughout your code using clusters. Exploring Clusters and Their Usage Creating and Accessing Clusters Using Clusters to Plot Data Executing Code Based on a Condition Configure Case structure and execute code based on a condition. Conditional Logic Introduction Creating and Configuring Case Structures Using Conditional Logic Reusing Code Explore the benefits of reusing code and create a subVI with a properly configured connector pane, meaningful icon, documentation, and error handling. Exploring Modularity Working with Icons Configuring the Connector Pane Working with SubVIs Controlling Data Type Changes Propagate data type changes using type definitions. Exploring Type Definitions Creating and Applying Type Definitions Implementing a Sequencer Sequence the tasks in your application by using the State Machine design pattern. Exploring Sequential Programming Exploring State Programming Building State Machines Additional Scalable Design Patterns in LabVIEW First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument) Use LabVIEW to connect to non-NI instruments and validate the results. Instrument Control Overview Communicating with Instruments Types of Instrument Drivers Enroll

The LabVIEW Core 1 Course gives you the chance to explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. LabVIEW Core 1 Training Course Start Date | End Date Duration ENROLL < Back NI Course Overview In the LabVIEW Core 1 Course, you will explore the LabVIEW environment and interactive analysis, dataflow programming, and common development techniques in a hands-on format. In this course, you will learn how to develop data acquisition, instrument control, data-logging, and measurement analysis applications. At the end of the course, you will be able to create applications using the state machine design pattern to acquire, analyze, process, visualize, and store real-world data. NI Course Objectives Interactively acquire and analyze single-channel and multi-channel data from NI DAQ devices and non-NI instruments Create user interfaces with charts, graphs, and buttons Use programming structures, data types, and the analysis and signal processing algorithms in LabVIEW Debug and troubleshoot applications Log data to file Use best programming practices for code reuse and readability Implement a sequencer using a state machine design pattern NI Course Details Duration: Instructor-led Classroom: Three (3) days Instructor-led Virtual: Five (5) days, five-and-a-half-hour sessions On-Demand: 7.5 hours (exercises as a supplement) Audience: New users and users preparing to develop applications using LabVIEW Users and technical managers evaluating LabVIEW in purchasing decisions Users pursuing the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer certification Prerequisites: Experience with Microsoft Windows Experience writing algorithms in the form of flowcharts or block diagrams NI Products Used: If you take the course On-Demand: LabVIEW 2021 or later NI-DAQmx 21.0 or later NI-488.2 21.0 or later NI VISA 21.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 If you take the course in an instructor-led format: LabVIEW 2023 or later NI-DAQmx 23.0 or later NI-488.2 23.0 or later NI VISA 23.0 or later USB-6212 BNC-2120 Training Materials Virtual instructor-led training includes digital course material that is delivered through the NI Learning Center. NI virtual instructor-led training is delivered through Zoom, and Amazon AppStream/LogMein access is provided to participants to perform the exercises on virtual machines equipped with the latest software. Cost in Credits On-Demand: Included with software subscription and enterprise agreements, or 5 Education Services Credits, or 2 Training Credits Public virtual or classroom course: 30 Education Services Credits or 9 Training Credits Private virtual or classroom: 210 Education Services Credits or 60 Training Credits NI Course Outline LESSON OVERVIEW TOPICS Introduction to LabVIEW Explore LabVIEW and the common types of LabVIEW applications. Exploring LabVIEW Environment Common Types of Applications Used with LabVIEW First Measurement (NI DAQ Device) Use NI Data Acquisition (DAQ) devices to acquire data into a LabVIEW application. Overview of Hardware Connecting and Testing Your Hardware Data Validation Exploring an Existing Application Explore an existing LabVIEW project and parts of a VI. Exploring a LabVIEW Project Parts of a VI Understanding Dataflow Finding Examples in LabVIEW Creating Your First Application Build a VI that acquires, analyzes, and visualizes data from NI DAQ device as well as from a non-NI instrument. Creating a New Project and a VI Exploring LabVIEW Data Types Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (NI DAQ) Building an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI (Non-NI Instrument) Exploring LabVIEW Best Practices Use various help and support materials provided by NI, explore resources, tips and tricks for using LabVIEW. Exploring Additional LabVIEW Resources LabVIEW Tips and Tricks Exploring LabVIEW Style Guidelines Debugging and Troubleshooting Explore tools for debugging and troubleshooting a VI. Troubleshooting a Broken VI Debugging Techniques Managing and Displaying Errors Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops Explore components of LabVIEW loop structures, control the timing of a loop, and use loops to take repeated measurements. Exploring While Loops Exploring For Loops Timing a Loop Using Loops with Hardware APIs Data Feedback in Loops Working with Groups of Data in LabVIEW Work with array and waveform data types, single-channel and N-channel acquisition data. Exploring Data Groups in LabVIEW Working with Single-Channel Acquisition Data Working with N-Channel Acquisition Data Using Arrays Writing and Reading Data to File Explore basic concept of file I/O and how to access and modify file resources in LabVIEW. Writing Data to a Text File Writing Multi-Channel Data to a Text File Creating File and Folder Paths Analyzing Text File Data Comparing File Formats Bundling Mixed Data Types Use LabVIEW to bundle data of different data types and pass data throughout your code using clusters. Exploring Clusters and Their Usage Creating and Accessing Clusters Using Clusters to Plot Data Executing Code Based on a Condition Configure Case structure and execute code based on a condition. Conditional Logic Introduction Creating and Configuring Case Structures Using Conditional Logic Reusing Code Explore the benefits of reusing code and create a subVI with a properly configured connector pane, meaningful icon, documentation, and error handling. Exploring Modularity Working with Icons Configuring the Connector Pane Working with SubVIs Controlling Data Type Changes Propagate data type changes using type definitions. Exploring Type Definitions Creating and Applying Type Definitions Implementing a Sequencer Sequence the tasks in your application by using the State Machine design pattern. Exploring Sequential Programming Exploring State Programming Building State Machines Additional Scalable Design Patterns in LabVIEW First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument) Use LabVIEW to connect to non-NI instruments and validate the results. Instrument Control Overview Communicating with Instruments Types of Instrument Drivers Enroll

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Project Case Study Circaflex & NI Single-Board RIO Power Syringe Lubrication Inspection Demo Mar 30, 2025 a4665763-e344-4fc2-9ab8-42a7dff6a034 a4665763-e344-4fc2-9ab8-42a7dff6a034 Home > Case Studies > Circaflex and NI Single-Board RIO control the syringe lubrication inspection demonstration. The Challenge A pharmaceutical test and validation company approached us, requiring a tradeshow demonstration capable of showcasing their test and measurement process for the inspection of silicon lubricant utilized in self-administering syringes. The Syringe Lubrication Inspection Solution We paired the NI Single-Board 9651 (sbRIO) SOM with our Circaflex embedded control board to showcase the control and monitoring of a machine vision solution that captures images of Syringe Lubrication Inspection for improved and measured quality assurance. The Story EpiPens are devices used to administer medication to an individual experiencing a severe allergic reaction, also known as anaphylaxis. Blocking the body’s response to an allergen, the importance of the EpiPen administering itself correctly in critical situations could not be higher. The product’s success depends on its ability to administer a predetermined drug dosage every time. Our clients ensure that this occurs through the test and measurement of the silicon lubrication located in the interior of the self-administering syringes. Their system captures images (using cameras) of syringes individually used for inspection and analysis to meet strict FDA medical standards and detect defective syringes along their line. They asked us to create a fully capable demonstration system that they could use to showcase their processes. Cyth's Circaflex embedded control board is used to control inputs and outputs (pulse and steps) of the demonstration's LabVIEW motor control architectures. The Process An operator places a syringe in the rotating holder, located in the system housing. The system's gripper holds the syringe in a vertical position while the first stepper motor rotates the syringe at a predefined rate. A custom LED array casts and reflects light from the syringe towards a camera. The light reflected off the syringe is then gathered by our camera to recreate a two-dimensional image of the lubrication located in the syringe’s interior. A programmable logic controller (PLC) strobes the lighting in tandem with the camera’s capture sequence. Use of Circaflex and the sbRIO’s deterministic nature enabled the synchronization of the camera and lighting together for a predefined exposure time ensuring consistent lighting and improved camera imaging consistency. Using software to stitch together a high-definition image, we can accurately quantify the coating of the syringe’s interior lubricant. All of this is controlled and synchronized using the NI sbRIO 9651 SOM and the Cyth Circaflex platform. The LabVIEW motor control architectures measuring inputs and outputs (pulse and steps) are controlled by the pairing of the NI Single-Board 9651(sbRIO) SOM with our Circaflex embedded control board for high-speed data acquisition and measurement. The system's enclosure houses the stepper motors, camera, and hardware required to image the syringe. Delivering the Outcome Throughout the project Power Syringe Lubrication Inspection, our sales and engineering teams collaborated closely with the client to ensure their timeline and project requirements. We were able to provide the client with a high-quality inspection system with additional tradeshow demonstration features that fulfilled their needs and met their budgetary requirements. This included the system’s ability to scan and render a 2D image of a syringe’s interior lubricant for comparison and analysis and to give this data readout live using their test and measurement software. Our improved system and high-quality inspection processes now ensures the ability of our customer to showcase their improved silicon lubricant inspection technology. Technical Specifications 2 x Applied Motion NEMA 17 Integrated Drive + Motor with Encoder 1 x Applied Motion NEMA 23 Integrated Drive + Motor with Encoder 1 x 20 - Megapixel CMOS Global Shutter Camera 1 x Telecentric, HP Illuminator (beam diameter 60 mm), White 1 x RC Series LED Strobe Controller 1 x NI sbRIO-9651 SOM (System on Module) 1 x Circaflex 315

The NI software portfolio is built to improve engineering productivity and help you tackle your greatest engineering challenges. Home > Products > Strain, Pressure and Force NI Software Portfolio The NI software portfolio is built to improve engineering productivity and help you tackle your greatest engineering challenges. PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENTS LabVIEW A programming environment for creating test and measurement applications with an intuitive graphical programming language, extensive libraries of IP, the ability to connect to any hardware, and a large developer community. LabWindows™/CVI An ANSI C software development environment with a comprehensive set of programming tools for creating test and measurement applications. Measurement Studio A collection of .NET APIs, tools, and Microsoft Visual Studio extension for creating test and measurement applications with C# and Visual Basic. Multi-IDE Bundle A bundle that includes LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and Measurement Studio for programming in a variety of languages. G Web Development Software A software development environment that helps you create web-based user interfaces for test and measurement applications without the need for web development skills. Test Workflow Test Workflow includes LabVIEW and other NI software that help test professionals accomplish anything from their day-to-day work to overcoming their most challenging obstacles. Learn more Application Software Application software helps engineers solve challenging problems by focusing on their specific needs with point-and-click simplicity—no programming required. Featured Application Software Test Operations and Product Analytics Software NI is committed to helping manufacturers elevate product performance and operational efficiency. Through advanced analytics and deep domain expertise, NI reveals actionable insights from the ocean of data collected across the product life cycle. Software Bundles These recommended collections include selected software and add-ons that support a test engineer’s day-to-day. Software Add-Ons Software add-ons include modules, toolkits, applications, and more developed by NI and partners that extend your capabilities with industry-specific libraries or specialized deployment technologies. LabVIEW FPGA Module Enables development of FPGA VIs on a host computer, compilation, and implementation of the code on NI reconfigurable I/O (RIO) hardware. LabVIEW Real-Time Module Enables creation and debugging of reliable, deterministic applications that run on stand-alone embedded hardware targets. Vision Development Module Provides hundreds of functions for developing and deploying machine vision applications. Xlsx Toolkit Provides advanced capabilities when creating and editing Microsoft Excel files in LabVIEW.

Project Case Study Using NI CompactDAQ to Crash Test Safety Helmets Mar 27, 2024 7f949f73-b40e-4d60-b38b-16c9a8db6693 7f949f73-b40e-4d60-b38b-16c9a8db6693 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Jim Barnes, Snell Memorial Foundation, Inc. Edited by Cyth Systems Impact test application The Challenge Designing a portable impact test application for the certification of safety helmets. The Solution Using NI CompactDAQ to develop a high accuracy measurement system for the certification testing of sports/racing helmets. For the past 50 years, the Snell Memorial Foundation has been a leader in helmet safety in the United States and around the world. Founded in 1957 to honor the memory of race car driver Pete Snell, who died in what should have been a survivable slow rollover crash in 1956, we are dedicated to the research, education, testing, and development of helmet safety standards. Pete’s helmet, state of the art in 1956, was not much more than a pressboard baseball cap. There are strict certification tests that helmets, ranging from motorcross to Nascar must pass in order to be certified. Once in the certification program, the helmets are subjected to ongoing random sample tests (RSTs). The manufacturers do not know when or where we buy their helmets. By setting tough standards, tough certification testing, and follow-up RSTs, we keep only the safest equipment in our certification program. Left: Graph of force data from helmet impact during drop testing. Right: NI cDAQ-9178 for impact test data-acquisition. CompactDAQ is used to control the height from which the helmet under test is dropped, as well as acquiring data related to what a person's head would be subjected to upon impact. We strive to set the toughest helmet safety standards in the world, and we are in the unique position of not only writing safety standards but also enforcing them. We do this through exhaustive, independent testing. The most critical test we perform is the helmet impact test in which we mount a helmet onto a headform equipped with an accelerometer. The helmet is elevated and then dropped onto one of several steel anvils designed to simulate various surfaces. There are roughly 36 impacts performed in a certification test series. If at any time during testing the helmet experiences more than 300 peak Gs (290 Gs in certification testing), the helmet fails the test. We use the digital I/O capabilities of NI CompactDAQ to raise the elevator to a height that provides the proper impact energy and also to initiate the drop sequence. As the helmet is falling, a sensor passes through a velocity gate, and we use the counter/timer function to measure the helmet velocity just prior to impact. This triggers the data acquisition system, which measures the acceleration that the head feels during impact. Snell Memorial Foundation is a nonprofit organization, and cost-effectiveness is a primary concern for our work. A system upgrade such as the one we required is a major budget consideration, and for this reason we were very deliberate in our search for a new hardware package. Original Authors: Jim Barnes, Snell Memorial Foundation, Inc. Edited by Cyth Systems

Project Case Study Developing a SONAR System Using PXI and LabVIEW Mar 27, 2024 f5f43da5-02b4-481a-8343-00a6eaf99425 f5f43da5-02b4-481a-8343-00a6eaf99425 Home > Case Studies > *As Featured on NI.com Original Authors: Arun Joy, Captronic Systems Pvt Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems SONAR System Using PXI and LabVIEW The Challenge Developing a real-time monitoring system to accurately detect and analyze the vibrations and movements an object undergoes using a noncontact inspection technique. The Solution Using NI PXI Express hardware and the NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module to create a SONAR data acquisition and processing system that sends ultrasonic pulses and analyzes the echo from the object to capture the minute variations in the distance to the object caused by vibratory movement. In the system we created for this application, the critical component is accurately detecting the minute vibratory movements (on the order of a few millimeters) in real time for objects where in-contact measurement methods, such as using a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), is not possible. SONAR describes the technique of sending ultrasonic pulses and listening to their echoes from an object. By analyzing the echoes, we can obtain details such as distance to the object, size, shape, and structure. We chose a SONAR system for this application because it delivers more accurate results than other methods such as LVDT, and it provides a noncontact inspection method useful for inspecting objects on which we cannot mount sensors. In this application, ultrasonic transducers repeatedly pulse at a pulse repetition frequency of 40 Hz to 100 Hz. The system captures corresponding echoes and precisely measures the time taken to receive each echo for an accurate distance calculation. Any vibration or movement introduces a variation in the time intervals. For our solution, we needed to: Develop a high-speed data acquisition system to simultaneously acquire ultrasonic frequency signals from four ultrasonic transducers (multiple transducers are mounted at different angles to the object of inspection) Create a high-speed bus to handle the large amount of data acquired at high sampling rates (on the order of MS/s per channel) Design a real-time processing unit to implement the algorithm for precise time and distance measurement Synchronize the pulsing of all transducers Ensure precise synchronization to detect each pulse or echo SONAR System System Architecture System Overview The system is made of an ultrasonic transducer, a pulse receiver, a digital output module, a digitizer, a real-time controller, and application software. The ultrasonic transducer is pulsed, sending out an ultrasonic wave. The subsequent echoes generate a voltage in the transducer, which is sent back to the pulser-receiver. The pulser-receiver provides the high-voltage pulses necessary to excite the transducer. It receives the echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer and amplifies it before feeding it to the digitizer. The digital output module provides digital output signals to synchronize the pulser-receiver instrument, and the digitizer converts the waveform sent from the pulse-receiver from voltage to bits using an analog-to-digital converter. The real-time controller controls the acquisition and processing and sends the data to the monitoring station (user interface) for display. The application software processes analyzes, and presents the data from the digitizer according to the user-defined parameters. We completely developed the application software in LabVIEW. It has two parts: the GUI running on the monitoring station PC (host PC) and the processing unit running on the NI PXIe-8133 real-time controller. A LabVIEW TCIP/IP protocol facilitates communication between the real-time controller and the host PC (user interface). The user can configure and control the system using the software GUI. The NI PXIe-1071 chassis contains the real-time controller, digitizers, and digital output module. The real-time controller controls all module operations. The digital output module provides digital outputs for the synchronized pulsing of pulser-receivers. The ultrasonic echo signals amplified by pulser-receivers are acquired using NI high-speed digitizers. The acquired signal undergoes signal processing, such as averaging and filtering, to remove any waveform degradation. Left: Ultrasonic Pulse and Echo , Right: Acquisition and Processing—Result Display The algorithm for measuring the time of flight (time taken to receive the echo) of the ultrasonic signal is implemented using the LabVIEW Real-Time Module and the LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit. The processing unit in the real-time controller executes this algorithm deterministically, to detect the vibration with high accuracy. The application also provides a data-logging feature for future data analysis. The results as well as acquired data are transmitted to the host PC in real time for monitoring. The system measures the time and distance for each pulse. The monitoring is simultaneously carried out for signals from four ultrasonic transducers located at different angles to the object under inspection. It can even precisely measure the minute vibratory movement of the object this way. Application Software The system has an easy-to-use GUI for the host PC, developed in LabVIEW. Users can configure the system per their requirements and give commands to control the acquisition. It also provides a feature to record the acquired data and results to analyze later. With a configuration utility, users can enter the signal parameters and digitizer settings to configure the acquisition. The acquisition and processing panel contains the controls to start and stop acquisition, and to record data and results. The graphical display indicators make monitoring and analysis easy with the help of LabVIEW analysis tools. The display and analysis options include A-Scan and B-Scan display of digitizer data and the frequency and time domain analysis of results. Advantages of the SONAR System The SONAR system we created provides a noncontact method to monitor the object characteristics. There are no limitations on the surface, object shape, or environment where the object is kept. The system gives far more accurate results than other methods, such as LVDT, even for vibration with a maximum 1 mm peak-to-peak amplitude. By simultaneously acquiring data from multiple transducers, the system can capture movements in more than one axis. The system also has a feature to record data and results for future analysis. We used NI hardware and software to develop a precise monitoring system to monitor the vibratory movements of objects in real time. NI products such as the LabVIEW development environment and real-time PXI hardware made it easy and efficient. With the real-time PXI controller and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, our system can simultaneously acquire and process from all channels with a high degree of determinism. The NI PXIe-1071 chassis gave us sufficient bandwidth to handle the large amount of data acquired by the digitizers, and the digitizer’s NI-TClk feature gave us precise synchronization. The built-in advanced signal processing tools in LabVIEW offer an efficient way to implement the algorithm for measurement and calculations. We used the built-in communication protocols, such as LabVIEW TCP/IP, for data transfer between the real-time target and the host PC. Efficient file options, such as technical data management solution data storage, helped us manage our large amount of data, and the LabVIEW platform made development easy, fast, and effective with a powerful GUI. Original Authors: Arun Joy, Captronic Systems Pvt Ltd Edited by Cyth Systems

Project Case Study Probing of Large-Array, Fine-Pitch Microbumps for 3D ICs Mar 30, 2025 9116e845-9240-4e49-ac21-8343bdb01764 9116e845-9240-4e49-ac21-8343bdb01764 Home > Case Studies > Fully Automatic Test System to Evaluate Microbump Probing The Challenge Performing die tests prior to stacking 3D ICs to achieve sufficient compound stack yield by probing the interconnect micro bumps for pre-bond test access. The Solution Building a unique fully automatic system to characterize prototype probe cards for large-array, fine-pitch microbumps for 3D ICs on our advanced test wafers using NI PXI instruments and the Semiconductor Test System (STS). 3D-Stacked ICs to Conquer the World The research on 3D stacked IC (3D-SIC) technology has advanced to the point that virtually all semiconductor companies have now released or announced 3D-SIC products, or are developing such products in stealth mode. In 3D-SIC packages, multiple chip dies are stacked vertically, which results in a dense integration, possibly involving heterogeneous technologies, in an ultra-small footprint with considerable benefits for performance, power, and cost. One challenge in stacking ICs is to retain a high compound yield and not include faulty dies. This requires testing the dies before stacking them, for example, through the interconnect microbumps. But engineers have long considered it impossible to probe these microbumps because the arrays are too large (≥1,000) and the pitches too small (≤40 µm). We developed a solution: a fully automated system to characterize prototype probe cards for large-array, fine-pitch microbumps on advanced test wafers using the Semiconductor Test System (STS) from NI. State-of-the-art microbumps have the following specifications (see Figure 2): Landing bump: Cu, diameter 25 µm Top bump: Cu/Ni/Sn, diameter 15 µm Imec is the world-leading R&D center for nano-electronics and digital technology, headquartered near Leuven, Belgium, and with 3,500 researchers. We use state-of-the-art infrastructure, including our 200 mm and 300 mm wafer fabs, to perform research for a multitude of industries, including eight of the top 10 semiconductor companies. Our research program on 3D system integration is an imec Industrial Affiliation Program in which our own staff work alongside engineers from our industrial partners, key suppliers, and leading academic partners toward radical innovation and pre-competitive development. State-of-the-Art Microbumps, Cu/Ni/Sn Imec has contributed to the field of 3D-SICs for over a decade through research into: Through-silicon vias (TSVs) that allow making electrical connections to a silicon substrate’s back side Dense microbump interconnects between stacked dies Wafer thinning, bonding and debonding Various (die-to-die, die-to-wafer, and wafer-to-wafer) stacking approaches We have also studied architecture, design, manufacturing, test, reliability, and thermal aspects of 3D-SICs through simulations and actual measurements on numerous test chips. Challenges in Probing 3D-SIC Microbumps Due to its many high-precision steps, semiconductor manufacturing is prone to defects. Therefore, every IC needs to undergo electrical tests to weed out defective parts and guarantee product quality. This is also true for 3D-SICs, which typically contain complex die designs in advanced technology nodes, and therefore need to be tested through today’s most advanced test and design-for-test approaches. In addition, a number of test challenges are unique to the 3D-SIC stacking process itself. One of these is testing dies prior to stacking, which is essential to obtain acceptable compound stack yields and not lose good dies in a stack with one faulty die. The non-bottom dies of the stacks have their functional access exclusively through large arrays of fine-pitch microbumps, which are too dense for conventional probe technology. A common approach to obtain pre-bond test access is to equip these dies with dedicated pre-bond probe pads [1][2][3]. Unfortunately, this approach comes with drawbacks such as an increased silicon area and test application time, and a reduced interconnect performance. To avoid the many drawbacks associated with dedicated pre-bond probe pads, imec and key partners set out to enable probing directly on the microbumps, a task previously thought impossible. State-of-the-art microbumps have the following specifications (see Figure 2): Landing bump: Cu, diameter 25 µm Top bump: Cu/Ni/Sn, diameter 15 µm Demonstrating Feasibility of Microbump Probing With the Help of NI To address these challenges, we teamed up with leading probe card supplier Cascade Microtech (Oregon, USA), who provided us with prototypes of their advanced Pyramid® Rocking Beam Interposer (RBI) probe cards (see Figure 4a). These probe cards contain an IC-design-specific probe core which includes a thin film with MEMS-type probe tips (see Figure 4b). Cascade’s high-density probe cores support >1,200 core I/Os, which is sufficient for WIO1. The RBI probe tips require less than 1 gf/tip to make proper electrical contact. The heel of the tip makes physical contact to the wafer (see Figure 4c), such that the probe mark is typically only 6 µm × 1 µm (see Figure 7). To prove the feasibility of microbump probing with these probe cards, we built a unique full-automatic test system (see Figure 5) consisting of (1) a dual CM300 probe station from Cascade Microtech (Germany), (2) a hard-docking STS test head with PXI test instruments from NI, (3) a test head manipulator from Reid-Ashman (Utah, USA), and (4) test program and data analysis software based on LabVIEW and developed at imec. The NI STS test head is a T2 model that contains two PXI racks with test instruments. Rack 1 holds instruments for parametric and functional tests. Rack 2 is dedicated to microbump probing. It contains a PXI-4072 digital multimeter (DMM) connected to an ultra-wide switch matrix (SMX1–9) consisting of nine concatenated PXIe-2535 modules of 136 output columns each. This allows us to connect each of the four channels of the DMM under software control to any of the 9×136=1,224 SMX output columns. Figure 6 shows that the system supports two-point and four-point (Kelvin) resistance measurements between any pair of probe tips (for daisy chains) as well as between a single probe tip and all other probe tips ganged (for characterization of that single probe tip when all probe tips are shorted through the probed wafer). Results and Conclusion On 300 mm test wafers (which we designed and manufactured in-house and contain microbumps with various metallurgies, pitches, diameters, and sizes), we successfully demonstrated the following: All WIO1 probe tips do land on the corresponding microbumps (see Figure 7). The actual contact resistance between probe tip and microbump is Rc ~ 0.1 Ohm. However, the resistance of the trace through the thin film membrane on the probe core is often included in the measurement: Rc ~ 5 Ohm (see Figure 8). Probe marks on Cu are small, while probe marks on Sn are larger, but can be removed through reflow. We demonstrated experimentally that there were no stacking interconnect yield differences between all four cases of bottom/top microbumps probed/not-probed [5]. Through cost modeling, we demonstrated that, for single-site testing, the Pyramid® Probe cards, although expensive, financially outperform pre-bond testing through dedicated probe pads [5]. Original Authors: Ferenc Fodor, IMEC Edited by Cyth Systems

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