©
National Instruments Corporation
1-1
NI PCI-7342 Hardware User Manual
1
Introduction
This chapter describes the features and functionality of the National
Instruments PCI-7342 motion controller. It includes a list of items
necessary for getting started with your controller, software choices,
and optional equipment.
About the NI PCI-7342
The NI PCI-7342 motion controller features advanced motion control with
easy-to-use software tools and add-on motion VI libraries for use with
LabVIEW. The PCI-7342 controller provides dedicated motion I/O for
limit and home switches and additional I/O for general-purpose functions.
The following sections describe the features of the PCI-7342.
Hardware
The PCI-7342 controller has high-performance capabilities because of the
advanced dual-processor architecture that uses a Motorola MC68331
real-time 32-bit CPU, combined with an Analog Devices ADSP-2185
digital signal processor (DSP) and custom field programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs). The first-in-first-out (FIFO) bus interface and powerful function
set provide high-speed communications while offloading complex motion
functions from the host PC for optimum command throughput and system
performance.
Each axis has motion I/O for end-of-travel limit and home switch inputs,
breakpoint output, trigger input, and encoder feedback rates up to 20 MHz.
The PCI-7342 controller also has nondedicated user I/O, including 32 bits
of digital I/O and two analog inputs for ±10 V signals, joystick inputs, or
monitoring of analog sensors. Additionally, the analog inputs can provide
feedback for loop closure.
RTSI
The PCI-7342 controller supports the National Instruments Real-Time
System Integration (RTSI) bus. RTSI is a dedicated, high-speed digital bus
that facilitates low-level, high-speed, real-time communication between
