NI News from National Instruments Your Global, Customized Source for Company and Product News, Events, and Support Top Stories -------------------------------------------- LabVIEW Toolkit Streamlines Design of ADI Blackfin Systems http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205aT1 Behind the Scenes: Seven Key Industrial I/O Technologies http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205aT2 In This Issue -------------------------------------------- Company and Product News-- 1. New Tutorial: Optimize Your VI Performance 2. John Deere Cuts Costs with NI Sensors Plug&Play 3. New Eight-Port Serial Boards Increase CPU Utilization by 15X 4. NI Introduces New LabVIEW Modular Instruments Course 5. NI Software Speeds Machine Vision with Advanced Algorithms 6. Using LabVIEW and FieldPoint to Test Tube Solar Collectors 7. TestStand and LabVIEW Create Hearing Implant Test System 8. Developing Highly Reliable Test Systems with LabVIEW 9. NI Motion Prototyping Software Instantly Converts to LabVIEW and C Code Events-- 1. Introduction to PC-Based DAQ Featuring USB Devices 2. Send Us Your Abstracts for NIWeek 2005 3. Manage Data with Arendar and NI Software Products 4. Optimizing PSpice Designs with Measurement Data 5. Using LabVIEW for Rapid Control Prototyping and HIL Simulation Support-- 1. Anatomy of a Camera 2. PC-Based Ultrasonic Test System Basics 3. Creating Real-Time Stimulus/Response System for the Blackfin ADSP-BF537 Evaluation Board 4. T-Clock Technology for Timing and Synchronization of Modular Instruments 5. CompactRIO Hands-On Tutorial -- Basics I 6. Using NI-DAQmx with the LabVIEW Simulation Interface Toolkit 7. NI USB AutoLauncher 8. Digital Camera Basics 9. Simultaneous Sampling DAQ Architectures 10. Complete Industrial Digital I/O and Counter/Timer Tutorial Company and Product News -------------------------------------------- 1. New Tutorial: Optimize Your VI Performance Learn how to improve the performance and efficiency of your LabVIEW applications. Find out how LabVIEW manages memory, learn to design better VIs with the state diagram architecture, and get the latest tips and techniques for creating more readable, maintainable code. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a01 2. John Deere Cuts Costs with NI Sensors Plug&Play John Deere standardized on new NI Sensors Plug&Play technology for rigorous testing of its agricultural, commercial, consumer, construction, and forestry equipment to ensure product quality and improve process efficiency. This customer application describes how John Deere uses Virtual TEDS technology to reduce time to measurement and improve measurement accuracy. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a02 3. New Eight-Port Serial Boards Increase CPU Utilization by 15X Two new NI eight-port serial boards achieve high-speed data rates up to 2 Mb/s and incorporate NI-Mite ASIC technology. The NI PCI-8430/8 and PCI-8431/8 improve CPU utilization by 15 times compared to traditional plug-in serial interfaces and offer dramatic improvements in speed, reliability, and performance. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a03 4. NI Introduces New LabVIEW Modular Instruments Course You now can acquire the hardware and software skills to develop scalable, high-performance test and measurement systems with LabVIEW and PXI modular instruments hardware. This hands-on LabVIEW modular instruments course teaches you how to configure modular instrument hardware and shows you programming techniques you can use to integrate timing and synchronization for accurate, high-throughput measurements in automated test applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a09 5. NI Software Speeds Machine Vision with Advanced Algorithms The new NI Vision 7.1 Development Module features hundreds of vision tools that you can use with NI LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, C/C++, or Visual Basic to create powerful vision applications that inspect, align, identify, and measure objects. You can also access new algorithms such as geometric matching. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a05 6. Using LabVIEW and FieldPoint to Test Tube Solar Collectors Using National Instruments hardware and LabVIEW software to create premium-quality equipment for efficient and economical conversion of solar radiation into thermal energy, Thermomax built two fully automated PC-based test systems. This integrated solution reduced development time and costs and time to market for a new range of collector manifolds. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a04 7. TestStand and LabVIEW Create Hearing Implant Test System Using National Instruments TestStand, LabVIEW, and PXI, Cochlear created a suite of automated, mixed-signal test systems that reduced costs and development times for a new generation of hearing implants. The new system using NI TestStand proved invaluable in creating a modular, reusable test framework for their LabVIEW test modules. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a06 8. Developing Highly Reliable Test Systems with LabVIEW Test engineers dread the prospect of their test systems failing during important tests. This technical article outlines how you can use LabVIEW to create high-performance applications that meet strict real-time requirements and guarantee a level of reliability that you cannot achieve with general-purpose operating systems. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a07 9. NI Motion Prototyping Software Instantly Converts to LabVIEW and C Code You now can use NI Motion Assistant 1.2 to interactively prototype motion control applications and convert your projects into ready-to-run code in C or National Instruments LabVIEW. NI Motion Assistant features a graphical, point-and-click interface with 3D-visualization capabilities for creating motion control applications using stepper, servo, and piezo actuators. Use the software’s new smart contouring functionality to improve the performance of profile-cutting machinery for woodworking, metalworking, and foam-cutting applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a08 Events -------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction to PC-Based DAQ Featuring USB Devices Learn how to measure, generate, and analyze analog and digital signals with NI data acquisition hardware and LabVIEW graphical development software. Attend this 45-minute Web event to learn introductory concepts about NI data acquisition products and how to use LabVIEW to create a fully functional measurement application in minutes. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a10 2. Send Us Your Abstracts for NIWeek 2005 Communicate your tips and techniques for developing the latest virtual instrumentation technologies to a large audience of industry professionals at the 11th annual NIWeek conference and exhibition at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, August 16-18. Gain valuable exposure with your most innovative solutions for measurement and automation and reach industry-leading engineers, scientists, and academics from around the world at NIWeek 2005. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a12 3. Manage Data with Arendar and NI Software Products Learn how to manage test data throughout your company in this 45-minute Web event. Explore connectivity between Arendar, a product from a certified National Instruments Alliance Partner, and NI TestStand, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and DIAdem. Discover how the integration of these products reduces costs, improves quality, and decreases time to market. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a11 4. Optimizing PSpice Designs with Measurement Data During this 45-minute Web event, technical experts from EMA Design Automation and National Instruments demonstrate how design engineers can easily measure and transfer physical data to PSpice for improved modeling using NI SignalExpress, a new interactive measurement software. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a13 5. Using LabVIEW for Rapid Control Prototyping and HIL Simulation Find out how you can use NI LabVIEW to streamline your simulation and control design applications. In this 45-minute Web event, learn how to create offline simulations in LabVIEW and implement them in real-time hardware for rapid control prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a14 Support -------------------------------------------- 1. Anatomy of a Camera This document focuses on two types of solid-state cameras available today: CCD and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). A solid-state camera is a camera that focuses incoming light onto a light-sensitive, solid-state (semiconductor) sensor. These sensors are typically made up of a rectangular array (imagers) or a single line (line-scan) of equispaced, discrete light-sensing elements, called photo-sites. Each photo-site acts as an optoelectric converter because it becomes electrically "charged" to a level directly proportional to the amount of light that strikes it during a given time period. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a15 2. PC-Based Ultrasonic Test System Basics Ultrasonics refers to any study or application of sound waves that have higher frequencies than the human audible range. Music and common sounds that we consider pleasant are typically 12 kHz or less. Some humans can hear frequencies up to 20 kHz. Ultrasonic waves consist of frequencies greater than 20 kHz and exist in excess of 10 MHz and are used in many applications including plastic welding, medicine, jewelry cleaning, and nondestructive test. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a16 3. Creating Real-Time Stimulus/Response System for the Blackfin ADSP-BF537 Evaluation Board The Blackfin ADSP-BF537 EZ-KIT Lite evaluation board is equipped with an I/O connector, based on the National Instruments Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) that connects to NI data acquisition hardware or ELVIS workstations. This document explains the I/O signal options for the audio codecs on the Blackfin ADSP-BF537 EZ-KIT Lite evaluation board. Also learn about different methods for creating real-time stimulus/response systems for this board. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a24 4. T-Clock Technology for Timing and Synchronization of Modular Instruments Many test and measurement applications call for the timing and synchronization of multiple instruments because of the limited number of stimulus/response channels on a single instrument and/or the need for mixed-signal stimulus/response channels. Applications ranging from mixed-signal test in the electronic industry to laser spectroscopy in the sciences require timing and synchronization (T&S) for higher count channels and/or the need to correlate digital I/O channels with analog I/O channels. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a17 5. CompactRIO Hands-On Tutorial -- Basics I This hands-on session is designed as an introduction to CompactRIO fundamentals. Concepts include setting up and configuring hardware, developing an FPGA VI for reading and writing I/O modules, and passing data to a real-time host processor. This session is an opportunity to work with the hardware and become familiar with how to successfully start developing CompactRIO applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a23 6. Using NI-DAQmx with the LabVIEW Simulation Interface Toolkit The the LabVIEW Simulation Interface Toolkit provides a link between The MathWorks, Inc. Simulink® and NI LabVIEW. With this toolkit, control design engineers can run Simulink models while taking advantage of the power of a LabVIEW user interface to display results and modify parameters as the model runs. Using the Simulation Interface Toolkit, you can import a Simulink model into LabVIEW, where you can integrate the model with a variety of I/O devices. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a18 7. NI USB AutoLauncher The NI USB AutoLauncher is an example application designed to demonstrate the exciting new NI USB hardware products. The application has a utility interface you can use to associate a VI or an executable with a particular hardware model. Following this, the application listens for you to plug new USB devices into the computer. Once a recognized device is plugged in, the associated VI or executable is automatically launched. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a19 8. Digital Camera Basics Digital cameras have become increasingly popular for use in machine vision systems thanks to their accuracy, high frame rates, large image sizes, and the ability to change camera attributes programmatically. This document describes basic digital camera concepts and how they interact with image acquisition hardware and NI-IMAQ software. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a20 9. Simultaneous Sampling DAQ Architectures There are three primary selection criteria for simultaneous sampling data acquisition devices: speed, resolution, and number of channels. This holds true for a broad variety of devices, from an oscilloscope to a temperature logger. However, there are many architectures within data acquisition devices that can affect how you should interpret these specifications with respect to your application. This document covers these considerations. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a21 10. Complete Industrial Digital I/O and Counter/Timer Tutorial This comprehensive tutorial on industrial digital I/O and counter/timer hardware covers NI product offerings for digital and timing I/O; the industrial feature set including watchdog timers and isolation; complementary devices such as such as relays, solenoids, and encoders; and concepts such as sinking and sourcing. See how you can use these devices in your industrial application. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0205a22 NI News is customized to your product, industry, and content subscription preferences. To update these preferences or to add news, events, or support content to your newsletter, visit http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nnupdate Your current product preferences: Academic, Arbs/Functional Generators, BioBench, C++, CAN, CWorks/VB, Compact FieldPoint, Customer Education, DAQ, DASYLab, DIAdem, DMM, DSA, Data Loggers, Developers Suite, Developers Suite/Test Edition, DeviceNet, Distributed I/O, Fieldbus, Fieldpoint, GPIB, High-Speed Digital I/O, Industrial Communications, Instrument Drivers/IVI, Instruments, LV, LVDSC, LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation, LabVIEW FPGA, LabVIEW PDA, LabWindows/CVI, Lookout, MATRIXx, Measure, Measurement Studio, Motion, NI ELVIS, PXI/CompactPCI, Profibus, RF, Real Time, Scopes/Digitizers, Serial, Service/Support, Signal Conditioning, SignalExpress, Switch Executive, Switching, TestStand, VI Logger, VXI/VME, Vbench, Vision HW/SW, Visual Studio .NET Your current industry preferences: ATE/Instrumentation, Aerospace/Avionics, Automotive, Basic Materials - Steel/Lumber/Construction, Biotechnology/Biomedical/Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, Electromechanics/Electrotechnics, Electronics, Energy/Power, Food/Beverage, Government/Defense, Imaging Equipment, Industrial Controls/Devices/Systems, Machines/Mechanics, Medical/Medical Instrumentation, Oil and Gas/Refining/Chemicals, Pulp/Paper, Research, Semiconductor, Telecommunications, Textiles/Fibers/Plastics, Transportation, University/Education, Water/Wastewater Send your feedback to NI News at nnfeedback@ni.com For questions about the technical support content, visit http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nnask To activate a new e-mail subscription, visit http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nnnewsub To unsubscribe, go to http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nnunsub © 2005 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.