NI’s five USB devices offers portable data acquisition

Austin, TX—National Instruments (NI) has launched five new USB DAQ products, which reportedly deliver easy connectivity, portability, and decreased system setup time.

By Control Engineering Staff August 10, 2004

Austin, TX— National Instruments (NI) says users now can access the high-quality measurement capabilities of its data acquisition (DAQ) hardware as easily as plugging a USB cable into a computer. NI has launched five new USB DAQ products, which deliver easy connectivity, portability and decreased system setup time. The first in a series of devices scheduled for release in 2004, the five USB devices are:

DAQPad-6016, a 16-channel, 16-bit AI module with 200 kS/s max, two AO, 32 DIO, and two CTR/timers;

DAQPad-6015, a 16-channel, 16-bit AI module with 200 kS/s max, two AO, eight DIO, and two CTR/timers;

USB-9215, a four-channel, 16-bit simultaneous sampling AI module at

USB-9211, a four-channel, 24-bit thermocouple input at

SCXI-1600, a 16-bit AI module with 200 kS/s max and up to 352 channels.

“National Instruments continues to lead the data acquisition market by addressing industry needs, including the call for highly accurate and portable data acquisition devices built on the USB platform,” said Pete Zogas, NI’s senior sales and marketing VP. “This new family of USB devices combines a quick and easy plug-and-play setup with the high-quality capabilities and features of NI DAQ products. By using NI USB devices, engineers not only can save time and resources in system setup, but they can meet the overall accuracy and reliability of their measurement systems as well.”

DAQPad-6015 and DAQPad-6016 add 16-bit accuracy to the NI USB multifunction DAQ product line, and increase the maximum sampling rate of the product line to 200 kS/s for a single channel. Both devices offer built-in screw terminal connectivity, eliminating the need to purchase a cable and terminal block. USB-9211 and 9215 deliver integrated signal conditioning, and are the first in a series of single-function USB DAQ devices.

USB-9211 is a four-channel, 24-bit, highly accurate thermocouple measurement device that includes built-in screw terminal connectivity. USB-9215 is a four-channel, 16-bit, simultaneous sampling analog input device that accurately measures multiple signals with minimal phase delay. Both devices ship with free ready-to-run data-logging software so engineers can begin gathering data immediately.

SCXI-1600 DAQ module delivers plug-and-play USB connectivity to 40 measurement modules in NI’s SCXI signal conditioning platform. Engineers now can create high-channel-count sensor measurement systems without the extra cost and setup time of connecting a DAQ device and cable to the SCXI signal conditioning hardware. Because the DAQ device is integrated into the SCXI-1600 module, the user needs only to connect to a computer with a single cable.

NI adds that the small size and easy connectivity of all if its USB DAQ devices make them ideal for operations, such as in-vehicle data logging and environmental monitoring. They also are useful in academic settings, where students and researchers must share hardware and labs.

In addition, by combining SCXI-1600 and SCXI’s Sensors Plug&Play hardware, engineers can build a complete plug-and-play measurement system, saving valuable time and resources previously spent installing hardware and manually entering configuration information from data sheets. A recent NI survey of data acquisition customers and prospects found that system setup can comprise 18% of overall measurement costs.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedsbusiness.com