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- This is the article about electronic instrumentation platform, PXI. For the comic by Dan Kim, see Paper Eleven.
PXI is one of several electronic instrumentation platforms in current use. These platforms are used as a basis for building electronic test equipment or automation systems, such as might be used in a mobile phone manufacturing test environment. Based on industry-standard computer buses and loaded up with extra features to facilitate electronic test, they permit a great deal of flexibility in building the exact test equipment or automation system required. Often they are fitted with custom software to manage the system.
PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) is a modular instrumentation platform originally introduced in 1997 by National Instruments. PXI is promoted by the 67 member PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA), whose sponsor members are (in alphabetical order) ADLink, ASCOR, Geotest, National Instruments, Pickering Interfaces and Teradyne. Executive Members of the alliance include Acqiris, Aeroflex, Alfautomazione, CHROMA ATE Inc, Elma Electronic, GOEPEL electronic, MAC Panel, PXIT, Racal Instruments, Virginia Panel Corp, and ZTEC. Another 40 associate member organizations that do not have voting rights are supporting PXI and use the PXI logo on their products and marketing material.
PXI is designed for measurement and automation applications that require high-performance and a rugged industrial form-factor. With PXI, you can select the modules from a large number of vendors and easily integrate them into a single PXI system, over 1150 module types available in 2006. A typical 3U PXI module measures approximately 4x6 inches in size, and a typical 8-slot PXI rack is about the size of a small toaster oven.
PXI uses PC-based technology and an industry standard governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA) to ensure standards compliance and system interoperability. There are PXI modules available for almost every conceivable test, measurement, and automation application, from the ubiquitous switching modules and DMMs of Pickering Interfaces, to high performance microwave vector signal generation and analysis capability provided by companies such as Aeroflex and National Instruments. There are also companies specializing in writing software for PXI modules, as well as companies providing PXI hardware-software integration services.
PXI is based on CompactPCI and it offers all of the benefits of the PCI architecture including performance, industry adoption, COTS technology. PXI adds a rugged CompactPCI mechanical form-factor, an industry consortium that defines hardware, electrical, software, power and cooling requirements, leaving nothing to chance. Then PXI adds integrated timing and synchronization that is used to route synchronization clocks, and triggers internally. PXI is a future-proof technology, and is designed to be simply and quickly reprogrammed as test, measurement, and automation requirements change.
Most PXI instrument modules are register-based products, which use software drivers to configure them as useful instruments, taking advantage of the increasing power of computers to improve hardware access and simplify embedded software in the modules. The open architecture allows hardware to be reconfigured to provide new facilities and features that are difficult to emulate in comparable bench instruments. PXI system performance easily exceeds the performance of the older VXI test standard and even outperforms newer standards such as LXI, while offering a lower up front cost.
PXI modules providing the instrument functions are plugged into a PXI chassis which may include its own controller running an industry standard Operating System such as Windows XP, Windows 2000, or even Linux (which is not yet PXISA approved), or a PCI to PXI bridge that provides a high speed link to a desktop PC controller. Likewise, multiple PXI racks can be linked together with PCI bridge cards, to build very large systems such as multiple source microwave signal generator test stands for complex ATE applications.
CompactPCI and PXI products are interchangeable, i.e. they can be used in either CompactPCI or PXI chassis, but installation in the alternate chassis type may limit the functionality of certain bus-specific features. So for example you could mount a CompactPCI Network interface controller in a PXI rack to provide additional network interface functions to a test stand.
The PXI Standard was updated in 2005 with an additional specification termed PXI Express, this is based on the emerging PCI Express technology, initial products are expected during 2006 these are expected to focus initially on modules with very high bandwidth requirements.
References
- http://www.pxisa.org/
- http://www.pxisa.org/overview.htm
- http://www.pxionline.com/
External links
"PXI"