NI News from National Instruments Your Global, Customized Source for Company and Product News, Events, and Support Top Stories -------------------------------------------- Meet DSP Design Challenges with New NI LabVIEW Module http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505bT1 PCI Express Sees Rapid Virtual Instrumentation Adoption http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505bT2 In This Issue -------------------------------------------- Company and Product News-- 1. NI Releases USB-Enabled Plug-and-Play Switching 2. Add Real-Time Reliability and Control to Your System 3. NI PAC Products Offer Greater Industrial Performance 4. Get Hands-On Experience with New Online Courses 5. Linux and Mac OS X DAQ Driver Software Now Available 6. Four NI Serial Boards Deliver 2,000 V Digital Isolation 7. Make Faster Mixed-Signal Benchtop Measurements 8. Tutorial: Object-Oriented Programming in LabVIEW 9. NI Offers New Tools for Configurable Vision Software 10. Convert to C Code with NI Vision and NI Motion Assistants Events-- 1. Do Not Miss the 11th Annual Worldwide NIWeek Conference 2. Using Hi-Speed USB 2.0 for Instrument Control 3. Use PXI for Machine Monitoring Applications 4. Developing a Custom NI TestStand Operator Interface in LabVIEW 5. Win a DVD Recorder in the LabVIEW Zone Coding Challenge Support-- 1. Get an Overview of the IEEE 1451.4 Standard 2. Using NI-DAQmx and TEDS for Sensor Calibration 3. Tutorial: Using NI-VISA 3.0 to Control Your USB Device 4. What to Ask When Selecting a Sound and Vibration Measurement System 5. Upgrading Your System for Smart TEDS 6. Tutorial: Video Signal Measurement Fundamentals 7. 10 Essential Technologies for High-Performance Motion Control 8. Things to Consider When Choosing Vision Software Company and Product News -------------------------------------------- 1. NI Releases USB-Enabled Plug-and-Play Switching You now can significantly reduce switch-system hardware setup time with the new NI USB Switch Mainframes, which introduce plug-and-play switch control to the SCXI platform. These mainframes and the NI USB-1359 communication adapter and NI-SWITCH Soft Front Panel software form a low-cost, plug-and-play solution for implementing high-channel-count switching systems. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b01 2. Add Real-Time Reliability and Control to Your System Scalability is an important attribute to consider when developing a measurement or control system. It is difficult to predict which additional features and capabilities your future applications may require. Many test system developers think of scalability in terms of hardware, however, scalability also is an important consideration when choosing software development tools. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b02 3. NI PAC Products Offer Greater Industrial Performance The new NI Compact FieldPoint 21xx programmable automation controllers (PACs) increase performance to support more processing-intensive applications, including high-speed control and high-channel-count distributed I/O. The new controllers include a 188 MHz Pentium-class processor, which, combined with new memory, is up to three times faster than its predecessor. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b05 4. Get Hands-On Experience with New Online Courses Shorten your learning curve and save on travel costs with a variety of new NI online instructor-led courses. In the LabVIEW Express Fundamentals Course, learn how to use National Instruments LabVIEW Express VIs to manage real-world data. Attend the LabVIEW Real-Time Application Development Course to learn how to develop reliable and deterministic applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b06 5. Linux and Mac OS X DAQ Driver Software Now Available With the latest version of National Instruments NI-DAQmx Base driver software, Linux and Mac OS X users now can develop applications with 80 NI data acquisition (DAQ) devices, including 26 new NI M Series multifunction DAQ devices. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b03 6. Four NI Serial Boards Deliver 2,000 V Digital Isolation Four new NI serial interfaces for industrial applications offer 2,000 V digital, port-to-port isolation. The new boards – NI PCI-8432 (RS232) two- and four-port versions and NI PCI-8433 (RS485) two- and four-port versions – offer all the benefits of the 843x PCI family of serial interfaces, including superior CPU utilization and high-speed communication. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b04 7. Make Faster Mixed-Signal Benchtop Measurements National Instruments SignalExpress 1.0 introduced an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop environment ideal for applications requiring short time to measurement without programming. Now, NI SignalExpress 1.1 provides increased hardware connectivity with NI and third-party devices and an enhanced Express Workbench measurement environment. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b09 8. Tutorial: Object-Oriented Programming in LabVIEW National Instruments and Endevo developed a methodology for performing graphical object-oriented programming, or GOOP. Using GOOP, you can take advantage of the benefits of object-based design and development. Learn how to build your own components by adding the class and object concepts from other object-oriented languages to National Instruments LabVIEW. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b07 9. NI Offers New Tools for Configurable Vision Software NI announces the NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection 2.6, the latest upgrade to the interactive software for configuring, benchmarking, and deploying complete machine vision applications without programming. Engineers now can significantly extend the capabilities of Vision Builder AI with an ActiveX control as well as tools for integrating NI LabVIEW VIs into inspection scripts and creating customized steps. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b08 10. Convert to C Code with NI Vision and NI Motion Assistants With the recent release of NI Vision Assistant and NI Motion Assistant, engineers can more easily program machine vision, scientific imaging, or machine control applications in National Instruments LabWindows/CVI or C/C++. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b10 Events -------------------------------------------- 1. Do Not Miss the 11th Annual Worldwide NIWeek Conference NIWeek, the world’s leading virtual instrumentation conference and exhibition, opens August 16 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, for three full days of interactive technical sessions, summits, exhibitions, and hands-on workshops featuring the latest technologies for test, control and design applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b11 2. Using Hi-Speed USB 2.0 for Instrument Control Attend this Web event to learn how to take advantage of the higher bandwidth of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 for instrument control. Learn the basics of instrument control buses, such as GPIB and Ethernet, and get an introduction to instrument control software, such as NI LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b12 3. Use PXI for Machine Monitoring Applications Discover how you can use National Instruments LabVIEW Real-Time and the industry-standard PXI architecture to create machine monitoring application solutions. Learn how to implement the same cutting-edge technology that turbine manufacturers, the power generation industry, and manufacturing plants use to increase the reliability of their rotating machinery while eliminating unnecessary maintenance. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b13 4. Developing a Custom NI TestStand Operator Interface in LabVIEW During this Web event, learn how to design and develop a custom NI TestStand operator interface in the National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development environment and become familiar with the necessary components and structure to build an operator interface, as well as the principles you should use when designing one. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b14 5. Win a DVD Recorder in the LabVIEW Zone Coding Challenge The newest LabVIEW Zone Coding Challenge is bigger and better than ever. Choose from one of five unique challenges and compete against thousands of other users in the LabVIEW community. The winner in each category receives a Pioneer DVD Recorder Player DVR-233S. To enter the challenge, visit LabVIEW Zone today! http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b15 Support -------------------------------------------- 1. Get an Overview of the IEEE 1451.4 Standard If you have ever thought that using a sensor should be as easy and trouble-free as plugging a mouse into your computer, then the IEEE Standard 1451.4-2004 may be your answer for plug-and-play sensors. The IEEE 1451.4 standard defines the mechanism for adding self-describing behavior to transducers with an analog signal interface. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b16 2. Using NI-DAQmx and TEDS for Sensor Calibration National Instruments leverages all the TEDS technology features with NI-DAQmx driver software. Learn the features and benefits of custom sensor calibration using TEDS and NI-DAQmx in the National Instruments LabVIEW development environment. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b17 3. Tutorial: Using NI-VISA 3.0 to Control Your USB Device Review the basics of using NI-VISA to communicate with a USB device, including USB device installation. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b18 4. What to Ask When Selecting a Sound and Vibration Measurement System To measure sound and vibration, you must configure a system extending from sensors to final measurement results. Such systems vary in size and requirements, which means you need a variety of different components. The following is a list of questions you should ask to select the best NI hardware and software for your system. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b19 5. Upgrading Your System for Smart TEDS Historically, to set up and configure a measurement system, you had to manually enter important sensor parameters so the software could properly convert and interpret the data. Now, a system outfitted with smart TEDS sensors can automate this configuration step while increasing the general integrity and reliability of the system. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b20 6. Tutorial: Video Signal Measurement Fundamentals High-speed digitizers can sample video signals, and NI 5122/5124 digitizers offer the useful ability to trigger off of these signals. Learn video signal fundamentals to take full advantage of this capability. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b22 7. 10 Essential Technologies for High-Performance Motion Control Motion controllers have incorporated key technologies over the years to meet the increasing demands of high-performance applications, such as profile cutting and wafer inspection. Learn the top 10 key technologies that impact your high-performance motion control applications. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b23 8. Things to Consider When Choosing Vision Software NI vision software is available in two packages -- the NI Vision Development Module and NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection. Both software packages work with all NI vision frame grabbers and the NI Compact Vision System. Review the important points to consider when choosing vision software. http://digital.ni.com/express.nsf/bycode/nn0505b24 NI News is customized to your product, industry, and content subscription preferences. 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