Posted to News on 3rd Jan 2008, 21:10
PXI and LXI switching and instrumentation at MTEC 2008
Pickering Interfaces will be showcasing several new additions to its comprehensive line of PXI and LXI products at the MTEC show in Birmingham, NEC, on 13 and 14 February 2008. Keith Moore, Sales Manager of Pickering Interfaces, comments: "MTEC is ideal for us to demonstrate the breadth and depth of Pickering Interfaces' unique product range. MTEC is a good opportunity to highlight the most complete range of switching cards and focused instrumentation in the industry to an even wider audience in the electronics market. Pickering has the tools necessary, allowing our clients to 'innovate without boundaries.'"
Pickering Interfaces will be featuring, among others, the New Generation PXI Precision Resistor Module Family - which is the first in a new range of precision resistor modules. The 40-260 is a three-channel variable resistor module covering the resistance range of 90 ohm to 8kohm with exceptional resolution and accuracy in the PXI form factor. The 40-260 provides a resistance setting resolution of better than 10mohm over the entire resistance range and an accuracy of better than 0.1 per cent for all resistance settings.
The 40-260's combination of resistance range and fine setting resolution means it offers the equivalent of better than 20 bits of resolution of resistance setting. It uses a patented design that combines fine and coarse control mechanisms with a calibration system to achieve its excellent performance. The requested resistance value is simply provided by the use of resistance calls (in ohms) to the module instead of the alternative approaches that are based on setting patterns of relay settings.
Nick Hickford, UK Sales Manager, explains: "This approach saves users considerable effort in simulating variable resistance devices, as they no longer need to convert requests for resistance values into relay patterns, and the resistance request they send to the module is responded to with an accuracy that is at least an order of magnitude more accurate than that achievable by other approaches used in PXI modules. The specifications of the 40-260 family make them ideal for applications such as simulating RTD's and strain gauges in a test environment."
The excellent accuracy of the 40-260 is easily supported when the deployed in a system. The module includes a calibration port that can be used to calibrate the resistor channels while the unit is connected to the UUT in a test system using an external DMM connected to the calibration port.
Pickering Interfaces has released several new PXI modules in 2007. A new range of RF cards, the 40-870 series, has been released which provides excellent RF performance to 3GHz. The initial range provides high-density SPDT (40-870), four-channel MUX (40-872), eight-channel MUX (40-874) and an expandable 2x2 matrix (40-877).
The BRIC range has been expanded with the introduction of a two-slot BRIC for space-sensitive high-density matrix applications, a solid-state BRIC (40-563) for requirements where speed and long life under hot switching conditions is required, and a 2A BRIC (40-566) for high-current applications. New switching systems have been introduced for fault insertion applications were safety-critical controllers are required to be tested under fault conditions caused by faulty sensors or cable assemblies.
