National Instruments CompactDAQ data acquisition system

National Instruments’ ethernet-based CompactDAQ modular data acquisition system combines the ease of use of a data logger with the performance and flexibility of modular instrumentation.

The NI cDAQ-9188 chassis is designed to hold eight I/O modules for measuring up to 256 channels of electrical, physical, mechanical or acoustic signals in a small (25 x 9 x 9 cm), rugged form factor. With more than 50 different I/O modules to choose from, scientists can build remote or distributed, high-speed measurement systems using standard gigabit ethernet infrastructure. In addition, CompactDAQ simplifies initial set-up with zero configuration networking technology and a built-in, web-based configuration and monitoring utility.

CompactDAQ uses Signal Streaming technology to deliver high-bandwidth data over ethernet to a host computer. Signal Streaming provides the ability to maintain bidirectional analog and digital waveforms continuously over a TCP/IP connection. With NI-STC3 timing and synchronisation technology, each chassis also can manage up to seven separate hardware-timed I/O tasks at different sample rates, including analog I/O, digital I/O and counter/timer operations. The chassis operate in a temperature range of -20 to 55°C and can withstand up to 30 g shock and 3 g vibration, making CompactDAQ suitable for demanding test applications on the benchtop, in the field or on the production line.

In addition to the ethernet chassis, the platform includes a four- and an eight-slot USB chassis and C Series I/O modules.

Programming CompactDAQ with LabVIEW delivers the most performance for the least effort. LabVIEW graphical programming makes it possible for scientists to develop sophisticated measurement, test and control systems using intuitive graphical icons and wires that resemble a flowchart. The multiple timing engines featured on CompactDAQ chassis complement the multicore optimisations in LabVIEW to make programming multiple measurement tasks in parallel easy. LabVIEW also offers integration with thousands of other hardware devices and provides hundreds of built-in libraries for advanced analysis and data visualisation.