Temperature Measurements
National Instruments offers a wide variety of temperature measurement solutions ranging from low-cost single-channel USB devices to modular and scalable systems that are ideal for the challenges of large-channel-count sensor measurements. Whether you are measuring temperature in a lab or rugged remote location, NI has the right measurement platform for your application. National Instruments has software options for quickly logging data to disk as well as for full programming environments for complex system architectures. With NI modular hardware and flexible software, you can easily measure temperature as part of a complete measurement system that meets the specific and unique needs of your application.
Choosing a Temperature Sensor and Measurement Device
Temperature is one of the most common types of physical measurements. You can measure temperature in various environments and channel counts. Depending on the desired accuracy, range, and expense, you have several sensor options for measuring temperature. National Instruments offers a wide variety of devices for you to choose from to make temperature measurements.
How To Measure Temperature Tutorials
The how-to guide for most common measurements provides information about making common sensor and signal measurements. Each of the following documents covers the operating principle for the corresponding signal/sensor and offers guidance on how to make that type of measurement. The purpose of these documents is to help you understand what you need to know to quickly make your desired measurement.
Low-Cost Single-Channel Temperature Measurements
The NI USB-TC01 is a low-cost, portable solution for measuring temperature from a single thermocouple. Built-in NI InstantDAQ software for viewing and logging data is automatically loaded once you connect the device, so setup time is minimal.
- Compatibility with J, K, R, S, T, N, E, and B thermocouples
- Standard miniplug for easy thermocouple connection
- NI InstantDAQ technology for instant measurements with your PC, no driver installation required
Modular and Portable Temperature Measurements
NI CompactDAQ is a portable, rugged data acquisition platform that integrates connectivity and signal conditioning into modular I/O for directly interfacing to any sensor or signal. Use NI CompactDAQ with NI LabVIEW software to customize how you acquire, analyze, present, and manage your measurement data. National Instruments provides programmable software, high-accuracy measurements, and local technical support to ensure you meet your exact measurement application requirements from research to development to validation.
- I/O modules to allow for accuracy up to 0.45 °C for thermocouples and 0.15 °C for resistance temperature detectors (RTDs)
- Channel counts of up to 16 temperature channels per module and 128 channels per chassis
- Compatibility with J, K, R, S, T, N, E, and B thermocouples and PT100, PT1000 RTDs
Embedded Temperature Measurements
NI CompactRIO combines an open embedded architecture with small size, extreme ruggedness, and hot-swappable industrial I/O modules, and is powered by the LabVIEW reconfigurable I/O architecture. Each system contains an FPGA for custom timing, triggering, and processing with a wide array of available modular I/O to meet any embedded application requirement.
- I/O modules to allow for accuracy up to 0.45 °C for thermocouples and 0.15 °C for RTDs
- Channel counts of up to 16 temperature channels per module and 128 channels per chassis
- Compatibility with J, K, R, S, T, N, E, and B thermocouples and PT100, PT1000 RTDs
Modular and High-Accuracy Temperature Measurements
The NI PXI platform provides a variety of chassis, controller, and module options that give you the power to create a measurement system that meets your application’s specific needs. The platform is recommended for highly accurate temperature measurements. The NI PXIe-4353 has 0.3 °C accuracy for thermocouples and the NI PXIe-4357 has an accuracy of 0.09 °C for RTDs. These solutions can scale to thousands of temperature measurement channels for large applications.
- I/O modules with 24-bit resolution
- Channel counts of up to 32 temperature channels per module and 544 channels per chassis
- Configurable desktop, rack-mount, and distributed multichassis solutions
Benefits of Using NI for Temperature Measurements
- Integrated signal conditioning and connectivity for thermocouples, RTDs, and thermistors to maximize your measurement accuracy and performance
- Broad offering of measurement platforms that let you measure temperature from one to thousands of channels
- Flexible virtual instrumentation gives you the ability to customize NI measurement hardware to meet the unique requirements of your application