VXI, SCXI, PXI

DHAIRYA GOEL (61)

UTKARSH SAURABH (20)
NISHANT RATH (11)

VXI
(VME EXTENSIONS FOR INSTRUMENTATION)

ABOUT VXI
VXI- VME eXtensions for Instrumentation
VME- Versa Module Europa bus. It is a computer
bus standard.
IEEE adopted the VXI specification in 1993.
Used for test, measurement, and data acquisition both in
research and automation sectors.
It is being integrated by users into data acquisition boards.
User can control a VXI system by using a remote-general
purpose PC using MXI or GPIB.
One of the most exciting and fast growing platform in
instrumentation systems.

FEATURES
Open, multi-vendor standards maximize flexibility.
Smaller size reduces floor space, increases mobility and gives
close proximity.
Better timing and synchronization improves measurement
capability.
Modular, rugged design improves reliability.
Standardized VXI plug and play software eases system
configuration, programming, and integration.

NEED FOR VXI

Need for reduction in size of rack and stack instruments.

Tighter timing and synchronization between multiple instruments.
Higher transfer rates than 1Mb/sec.
The VXI specification adds standards necessary to combine VME
bus with GPIB to create a new platform.

REAL LIFE VXI

MECHANICAL CONFIGURATION
Consists of a mainframe chassis-it has physical mountings and
backplane plug-ins.
Uses industry standard VME bus as base architecture.
The connecters are connected exactly as defined by the VME
specifications.
The VXI bus specification includes packaging requirements,
electromagnetic compatibility, power distribution, cooling and
airflow for VXI bus mainframes and plug-in modules.

HARDWARE REGISTERS

The upper 16kb of the 64 kb are reserved for VXI bus devices.
Each VXI device has a 8-bit logical address.
A single VXI system can have upto 256 VXI devices.

REGISTER ARCHITECTURE

Register

APPLICATIONS
Measurements modules ( Digitizers, Digital Multimeters (DMM),
Counters, power meters)
Stimulus modules ( Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWG), D/A
converters)
Scalable, high density switches for up to 3000 channels
Data Acquisition (DAQ)
Automated Testing

ADVANTAGES
Compact test solution since all test instruments can be contained
on a card within a multi-slot rack.
VXI is an open standard and allows the use of instruments from a
variety of manufacturers.
High speed operation resulting from the use of a single high speed
rack and backplane.
The ability for accurate timing and synchronization as a result of
the high speed communication possible between instruments and
the triggering facilities available.
Ease of configuration resulting from the plug-and-play software.

SIGNAL CONDITIONING EXTENSION FOR

INSTRUMENTATION (SCXI)

INTRODUCTION SCXI stands for Signal Conditioning eXtension for

Instrumentation.
It is a signal conditioning module used to condition the
physical signals obtained from sensors and
transducers.
Signal conditioning is the general term for the process
of making a signal more useful by improving its
precision, accuracy, or signal to noise ratio.

 To get a general idea about the need and working of

a SCXI module, let us take the example of a
thermocouple (sensor).
In order to get quality temperature readings, we need
to amplify the thermocouple signal. We should also
filter out high frequencies, because while noise is
high-frequency in most environments, temperature
changes almost always happen very slowly.

 SCXI can also handle switching, and has some

multiplexers in the background so that a separate ADC
can capture the conditioned signals.
So, to put these two together, a real-world signal from a
transducer goes into SCXI, which might then send the
conditioned signal into a DAQ board in a PXI system.
SCXI is a signal conditioning and switching platform for
measurement and automation systems. Whether you
need to measure sensors or raw signals, generate
voltages or currents, monitor digital lines, or route
signals with switching, SCXI data acquisition (DAQ)
hardware provides a single, integrated platform for all of
your signal conditioning and switching needs.

SIGNAL CONDITIONING-WORKING OF SCXI

To understand SCXI, one should have an understanding of
the process of signal conditioning.
Signal conditioning is the process of measuring and
manipulating signals to improve accuracy, isolation, filtering,
and so on. Many stand-alone instruments and DAQ devices
have built-in signal conditioning.
Signal conditioning also can be applied externally, by
designing a circuit to condition the signal or by using devices
specifically made for signal conditioning.
Signal conditioning accessories amplify low-level signals and
then isolate and filter them for more accurate measurements.
In addition, some transducers use voltage or current
excitation to generate a voltage output.

 SCXI devices and other devices are designed for the

purpose of signal conditioning . Signal conditioning
accessories can be used in a variety of important
applications.
Common types of signal conditioning are
amplification, isolation, multiplexing, filtering, and
transducer excitation.

AMPLIFICATION Amplification is the most common type of signal conditioning.

Amplifying electrical signals improves accuracy in the resulting
digitized signal and reduces the effects of noise. Signals should
be amplified as close to the signal source as possible.
If you amplify the signal at the DAQ device while digitizing and
measuring the signal, noise might have entered the lead wire,
which decreases SNR. However, if you amplify the signal close
to the signal source with an SCXI module, noise has a less
destructive effect on the signal, and the digitized representation
is a better reflection of the original low-level signal.

ISOLATION Another common signal conditioning application is isolating the

transducer signals from the computer for safety purposes as the
system being monitored may contain high-voltage transients that
could damage the computer without signal conditioning.
An additional reason for isolation is ensuring that the readings
from the plug-in DAQ device are unaffected by differences in
ground potentials or common-mode voltages. When the DAQ
device input and the signal being acquired are each referenced
to ground, problems occur if there is a potential difference in
the two grounds. Isolation prevents that from happening.

MULTIPLEXING A common technique for measuring several signals with a single

measuring device is multiplexing.
Signal conditioning hardware for analog signals often provides
multiplexing for use with slowly changing signals like
temperature.
SCXI modules for analog signals employ multiplexing so that as
many as 3,072 signals can be measured with one DAQ device.
With the AMUX-64T analog multiplexer, you can measure up to
256 signals with a single device. This feature is in addition to
any built-in multiplexing on the DAQ device.

FILTERING The purpose of a filter is to remove unwanted signals from the

signal that you are trying to measure.
If the signals were not removed, they would erroneously appear
as signals within the input bandwidth of the device.
Devices designed specifically for AC-class signal measurement
the NI 455x, NI 445x, and NI 447x dynamic signal acquisition
(DSA) devices, the NI 61xx simultaneous-sampling multifunction
I/O devices, and the SCXI-1141 module have built-in antialiasing
filters.

TRANSDUCER EXCITATION Signal conditioning systems can generate excitation, which some
transducers require for operation.
Strain gauges and RTDs require external voltage and currents,
respectively, to excite their circuitry into measuring physical
phenomena. This type of excitation is similar to a radio that needs
power to receive and decode audio signals. Signal conditioning
modules for these transducers usually provide these signals.
The SCXI-1121 and SCXI-1122 have onboard excitation sources,
configurable as current or voltage that you can use for strain
gauges, thermistors, or RTDs.

 Signal from outside world goes into transducer , then signal is

sent to SCXI, from which it is sent to a PXI DAQ board.
The electrical signals generated by the transducers must be
optimized for the input range of the DAQ board. Signal
conditioning accessories can amplify low-level signals, and
then isolate and filter them for more accurate measurements.
In addition, some transducers require voltage or current
excitation to generate a voltage output.

SCXI SYSTEM COMPONENTS

ARCHITECTURE OF AN SCXI SYSTEM

 The SCXI modules consist of 32 multiplexed input

channels.
Each input channel has its own low pass filter.
The Digital Control Circuitry consists of the Address
Handler and registers that are necessary for
identifying the module, starting calibration
information, setting the gain, and selecting the
appropriate channel.
The Analog Circuitry per channel consists of a low
pass filter and amplifier.
The channels are multiplexed to a single output
buffer.

THE NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SCXI MODULES AND ACCESSORIES

PXI
PXI stands for PCI eXtensions for
Instrumentation

WHAT IS PXI ?
PXI is a rugged PC-based platform for measurement and
automation systems. PXI combines PCI electrical-bus features
with the modular, Eurocard packaging of Compact PCI and then
adds specialized synchronization buses and key software
features. PXI is both a high-performance and low-cost deployment
platform for applications such as manufacturing test, military and
aerospace, machine monitoring, automotive, and industrial test .
Developed in 1997 and launched in 1998, PXI is an open industry
standard governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA), a group of
more than 70 companies chartered to promote the PXI standard, ensure
interoperability, and maintain the PXI specification .

PXI ARCHITECTURE

PXI ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION

1) LOCAL BUS
The PXI local bus is a daisy-chained bus that connects each
peripheral slot with its adjacent peripheral slots to the left and
right. Thus, the right local bus of a given peripheral slot
connects to the left local bus of the adjacent slot, and so on.
Each local bus is 13 lines wide and can be used to pass analog
signals between modules or to provide a high-speed sideband
digital communication path that does not affect the PXI
bandwidth.

PXI ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION (CONTD.)

2) SYSTEM REFRENCE CLOCK
The PXI 10MHz system clock (PXI CLK10) is distributed to all
peripheral modules in a system. This common reference clock
can be used for synchronization of multiple modules in a
measurement or control system
3) TRIGGER BUS
The PXI bused trigger lines are eight in number and are highly
flexible that can be used in a variety of ways . For example,
triggers can be used to synchronize the operation of several
different PXI peripheral modules.

PXI ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION (CONTD.)

4) Star trigger

The PXI star trigger bus offers ultra-high performance

synchronization features to users of PXI systems. The star
trigger bus implements a dedicated trigger line between the
first peripheral slot (adjacent to the system slot) and the
other peripheral slots.
The star trigger can be used to communicate information
back to the star trigger controller, as in the case of reporting
a slots status, as well as responding to information
provided by the star trigger controller.

PXI ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION (CONTD.)

5) System Expansion with PCIPCI Bridge Technology
A PXI system can be built with more than one bus segment by
using standard PCIPCI bridge technology. The bridge device
takes up one PCI load on each of the bus segments that it links
together.
Thus, a 33MHz system with two bus segments offers 13
expansion slots for PXI peripheral modules where two bus
segments +8 slots per segment +1 system controller slot +2
slots for PCI-PCI Bridge = 13 available expansion slots

DIFFERENT OVERVIEW OF PXI ARCHITECTURE

There are various overviews for the architecture: Hardware Architecture
Mechanical Architecture
Electrical Architecture
Software Architecture

1) HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE
The PXISA hardware specification stipulates all feature
requirements pertaining to the mechanical, electrical, and
software architectures. The PXI Express specification is an
implementation of the CompactPCI and CompactPCI Express
specifications.

2) MECHANICAL ARCHITECTURE
High-performance connectors
Environmental testing
Electromagnetic testing

3) ELECTRICAL ARCHITECTURE

Industry-standard PC buses
System reference clocks
Star trigger buses
PXI trigger bus

4) SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE
Microsoft Windows software frameworks
Software components that define HW configuration and
capabilities
Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) implementation.

PXI SYSTEM OVERVIEW

TYPES OF PXI CONTROLLERS

1) Embedded PXI System Controllers

2) Remote PXI System Controllers

EMBEDDED PXI SYSTEM CONTROLLERS

1) Windows-Based Embedded Controllers

High-performance

Integrated peripherals

Entire system in one chassis

2) Real-Time Embedded Controllers

reliability with LabVIEW Real-Time
Select high-performance or low-cost/low-power

REMOTE PXI SYSTEM CONTROLLERS

1) PC Control of PXI

Use latest high-performance PCs

High-speed, software transparent links
Up to 110 MB/s sustained throughput
Build multi-chassis PXI systems
Copper and fiber-optic cabling options

REMOTE PXI SYSTEM CONTROLLERS (CONTD.)

2) Laptop Control of PXI
Use latest high-performance laptop computers
High-speed, software transparent links
Up to 110 MB/s sustained throughput
PXI controllers for portable applications
Use with DC-powered chassis for mobile systems

PXI CHASSIS

It offers 4, 6, 8, 14, and 18-slot

Portable, benchtop, and rack-mount.
AC and DC options
PXI/SCXI combination chassis with integrated signal
conditioning.

PCI EXPRESS CARDS

NI PCIe-GPIB
Instrument Control
(x1)

NI PCIe-1429
Image Acquisition
(x4)

PCI Express Graphics Card

(x16)

Examples of Different PCI Express Link Widths: x1, x4, and x16

PXI SLOTS

Figure: The specifications define the connector that is used for the
communication to the PXI chassis.

APPLICATIONS OF PXI

Semiconductor test
Military Electronics test
Audio and Video test
Consumer electronic test
Hardware in loop test

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PXI AND SCXI

The major difference between PXI and SCXI is that
SCXI simply manipulates and conditions the signals
whereas PXI sends this signal to the computer
software for processing.

THANKS