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PDFDesigned for performance, NI data acquisition devices provide high-performance I/O, industry-leading technologies, and software-driven productivity gains for your application. With patented hardware and software technologies, National Instruments offers a wide-spectrum of PC-based measurement and control solutions that deliver the flexibility and performance that your application demands. For more than 25 years, National Instruments has served as more than just an instrument vendor, but as a trusted advisor to engineers and scientists around the world.
High-Performance I/O
Measurement accuracy is arguably one of the most important considerations in designing any data acquisition application. Yet equally important is the overall performance of the system, including I/O sampling rates, throughput, and latency. For most engineers and scientists, sacrificing accuracy for throughput performance or sampling rate for resolution is not an option. National Instruments wide selection of PC-based data acquisition devices have set the standard for accuracy, performance, and ease-of-use from PCI to PXI and USB to wireless.
"National Instruments is a well-known supplier of data acquisition systems, and…it is important that we work with companies with proven track records that will be around for years to come."
Rick Bradshaw (Halliburton)
High-Accuracy Designs
Many scientists and engineers mistakenly evaluate DAQ device error by just considering the bit resolution of the DAQ device. However, the error dictated by the device resolution, or quantization error, might account for only a very small amount of the total error in your measurement result. Other types of errors, such as temperature drift, offset, gain, and non-linearity can vary drastically by hardware design. Through years of experience, NI has developed several key technologies to minimize these errors and maximize the absolute accuracy of your measurements.
Easy Sensor Connectivity with Integrated Signal Conditioning
Traditionally, measuring sensors required separate front-end signal conditioning systems cabled to a data acquisition system. New technologies and miniaturization have enabled the integration of sensor-specific signal conditioning and analog to digital conversion on the same device. NI DAQ devices with integrated signal conditioning deliver higher-accuracy measurements by eliminating error-prone cabling and connectors and reduce the number of components in a measurement system. NI has also partnered leading sensor vendors to provide easy, tool-free sensor connectivity and automatic sensor configuration with TEDS technology.
Learn more about NI signal conditioning
I/O for Any Sensor, Any Bus
The breadth and depth of National Instruments product offering is not available from any other vendor. NI DAQ devices are offered on a variety of common PC-busses including USB, PCI, PCI Express, PXI, PXI Express, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), and Ethernet, with a wide spectrum of measurement types. NI’s modular form factors provide interchangeability to meet your specific application’s needs and the flexibility for future expansion.
Learn how to choose the right bus for your application
NI Data Acquisition Technologies
Over the past 25 years, National Instruments has continually innovated to provide the industry’s most advanced data acquisition devices and help you to get the most out of standard PC technologies. NI engineers have developed patented hardware and software technologies to create a data acquisition platform that surpasses the performance and productivity of traditional devices.
NI-STC3
The NI-STC3 chip is the core component of NI DAQ devices and was designed by NI engineers to address the needs of the most demanding test, measurement, and control applications. It provides a native PCI Express interface, four counters, and advanced timing and synchronization capabilities.
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NI Signal Streaming
National Instruments patented NI Signal Streaming technology helps you get more performance out of your PC bus. NI Signal Streaming combines three innovative hardware- and software-level design elements to enable sustained high-speed and bidirectional data streams over USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11).
TDMS
National Instruments introduced the Technical Data Management Streaming (TDMS) open file format as a result of the deficiencies of other data storage options. The binary TDMS file format is an easily exchangeable, inherently structured, high-speed-streaming-capable file format that is quickly searchable without the need for complicated and expensive database design, architecture, or maintenance.
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NI-MCAL
Many data acquisition vendors overlook the fact that an ADC is a nonlinear system. Failing to account for this can introduce significant errors in a measurement. NI-MCal is a software-based calibration algorithm that generates a third-order polynomial to correct for the three most common sources of measurement error: offset, gain, and nonlinearity.
NI-PGIA 2
A programmable gain instrumentation amplifier (PGIA) delivers a scaled voltage signal to the ADC using different gain settings to maximize the resolution of the data acquisition device. Most off-the-shelf PGIAs are not optimized for data acquisition applications, because their settling times are too long. NI-PGIA 2 technology improves accuracy and increases performance by minimizing settling time and maintaining the specified resolution even at the maximum sampling rate of the device.
NI InstantDAQ Technology
NI InstantDAQ technology offers a simple approach to taking measurements with your PC. NI DAQ devices with NI InstantDAQ automatically load built-in software for viewing logging data upon connecting the device to your PC. No prior driver installation is necessary.
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TEDS (IEEE 1451.4) - Sensor Plug & Play
Transducer electronic datasheet technology (TEDS) brings plug-and-play capabilities to sensors. TEDS-compatible sensors internally store an electronic datasheet with the sensor’s configuration information. National Instruments TEDS measurement systems can automatically configure these “smart sensors” for measurement, reducing setup time and eliminating transcription errors that commonly occur during sensor configuration.
Improved Productivity through Software
One of the biggest benefits of using a PC-based data acquisition device is that you can use software to customize the functionality and visualization of your measurement system to meet your application needs. When examining the cost of building a data acquisition system, software development often accounts for 25 percent of total system cost. Obtaining easy-to-use driver software with an intuitive application programming interface makes a big impact on completing a project on time and under budget. National Instruments provides a wide array of software tools that make you more productive at accomplishing your measurement or automation tasks.
- NI-DAQmx Driver Software
- NI LabVIEW Graphical Programming
- NI DIAdem Visualization and Reporting Tools
NI-DAQmx Driver Software
NI-DAQmx driver software goes far beyond a basic DAQ driver to deliver increased productivity and performance and is one of the main reasons National Instruments continues to be the leader in virtual instrumentation and PC-based data acquisition.
One Interface, Many Programming Languages
NI-DAQmx provides the same interface for many popular programming languages including NI LabVIEW, Visual Studio .NET languages, C, and C++. The functions and properties, as well as the order of the functions you use, are the same across all languages.
One Interface, Hundreds of Data Acquisition Devices
Whether you are developing with a PCI, PCI Express, PXI, PXI Express, USB, Ethernet, or Wireless data acquisition device, the basic NI-DAQmx code is the same across all devices. With a single programming interface, you can easily upgrade or switch hardware without changing your code.
Easy and Powerful Data Acquisition Software
NI-DAQmx includes intuitive features to make taking measurements easier, as well as powerful features to give you higher performance and more flexibility.
Learn More about the NI-DAQmx Tools and Technologies
NI LabVIEW Graphical Programming
NI LabVIEW is a graphical programming environment that makes it easy to take any measurement from any sensor on any bus. You can automate measurements from several devices, analyze data in parallel with acquisition, and create custom reports all in a matter of minutes with this industry-standard tool. From acquiring one simple measurement to capturing data from a complex 10,000-channel system, LabVIEW can help you acquire, analyze, and log data in less time.
Work Faster with a Graphical Approach
With LabVIEW, you develop data acquisition applications using drag-and-drop graphical icons instead of writing lines of text. You can complete programs that take weeks to write with traditional programming languages in hours using LabVIEW, even if you have no programming experience. An intuitive flowchart representation displays your code in a manner that is easy to develop, maintain, and understand.
Get Started Immediately with Open-and-Run Examples
There is no need to create your entire data acquisition system from scratch. LabVIEW includes several shipping examples for every common measurement task. Hit the ground running with open-and-run programs for virtually any setup, ranging from a simple single-channel measurement to a high-performance multichannel system featuring advanced timing, triggering, and synchronization across multiple devices.
Create a Professional User Interface in Seconds
LabVIEW helps you quickly create a graphical user interface using hundreds of drag-and-drop controls, graphs, and 3D visualization tools. You can customize the position, size, alignment, scale, and color of these built-in controls in a matter of seconds from a right-click menu. LabVIEW also helps you create your own controls or incorporate custom imagery and logos.
NI DIAdem
DIAdem is a single software tool that you can use to quickly locate, load, visualize, analyze, and report measurement data that is collected during data acquisition and/or generated during simulations. DIAdem is designed to help you move beyond Microsoft Excel for data analysis and meet the demands of today’s testing environments that require you to quickly access, process, and report on large volumes of scattered data in multiple custom formats to make informed decisions. DIAdem is a component of the NI Technical Data Management (TDM) solution.
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