National Instruments VirtualBench, Getting Started

Page 1: ...utilized and idle equipment along with credit for buybacks and trade ins Custom engineering so your equipment works exactly as you specify Critical and expedited services Leasing Rentals Demos In stoc...

Page 2: ...Getting Started with VirtualBench Getting Started with VirtualBench January 2000 Edition Part Number 321518E 01...

Page 3: ...many 089 741 31 30 Greece 30 1 42 96 427 Hong Kong 2645 3186 India 91805275406 Israel 03 6120092 Italy 02 413091 Japan 03 5472 2970 Korea 02 596 7456 Mexico D F 5 280 7625 Mexico Monterrey 8 357 7695...

Page 4: ...abuse misuse or negligent acts and power failure or surges fire flood accident actions of third parties or other events outside reasonable control Copyright Under the copyright laws this publication m...

Page 5: ...roduction to a key concept This font also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word or value that you must supply monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from...

Page 6: ...ta Acquisition Device 1 3 Chapter 2 VirtualBench Scope Launching VirtualBench Scope 2 1 Front Panel Features 2 1 Acquiring Data 2 4 Chapter 3 VirtualBench DSA Launching VirtualBench DSA 3 1 Front Pane...

Page 7: ...witch 8 1 Front Panel Features 8 1 Making Connections 8 3 Chapter 9 VirtualBench Arb and VirtualBench Waveform Editor Launching VirtualBench Arb 9 1 Waveform Generator Front Panel Features 9 1 Generat...

Page 8: ...Configuration Dialog Box 4 5 Figure 4 4 Timing Configuration Dialog Box 4 6 Figure 5 1 Front Panel of VirtualBench FG 5 1 Figure 5 2 VirtualBench FG Settings Dialog Box 5 3 Figure 6 1 Front Panel of...

Page 9: ...ettings Dialog Box 11 3 Figure 11 3 Encoder Tab of VirtualBench Counter Settings Dialog Box 11 6 Figure 11 4 Time Samples Tab of VirtualBench Counter Settings Dialog Box 11 7 Figure 11 5 Filter Tab of...

Page 10: ...m requirements for VirtualBench explains how to install VirtualBench and tells you what the setup program installs Minimum System Requirements To run VirtualBench you must have the following Microsoft...

Page 11: ...f the VirtualBench Installation CD dialog box does not appear use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Run and type d setup in the input box where d is your CD ROM drive Click OK 4 Click...

Page 12: ...ench Installing on a Network Contact National Instruments for licensing information if you plan to run VirtualBench on a network Connecting Signals to Your Data Acquisition Device Refer to the user ma...

Page 13: ...lloscope front panel features and how to acquire data with the oscilloscope Launching VirtualBench Scope To launch VirtualBench Scope use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs Vir...

Page 14: ...ng Selects AC or DC input coupling V Position Moves the active channel vertically on the graph Timebase Controls the timebase setting Turning the knob clockwise reduces the time period that appears in...

Page 15: ...e no triggering Main Control Bar Buttons Run Acquires data continuously Deselection of this button places the VirtualBench Scope in idle mode Single Instructs VirtualBench Scope to perform a single ac...

Page 16: ...nnel of your device Refer to Chapter 4 Configuring Your System in the IVI Driver Library User Manual for more information about configuring your IVI virtual instrument 2 Configure VirtualBench Scope a...

Page 17: ...your previous VirtualBench Scope session 3 Enable the button for the connected channel in the Channel Selector group Disable all other channels 4 To start click Auto Setup on the main control bar 5 To...

Page 18: ...he VirtualBench dynamic signal analyzer DSA and how to acquire and measure signals Launching VirtualBench DSA To launch VirtualBench DSA use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs...

Page 19: ...unit and markers for a display Main Control Bar Buttons Contains the Run Single and Pause controls Run Acquires data continuously Deselecting this button places VirtualBench DSA in idle mode Single Ac...

Page 20: ...0 or 1 input of your DAQ device Refer to the user manual of your DAQ device for details 2 Configure the DSA a Select Edit Input Settings on the front panel b Select the Input tab from the DSA Settings...

Page 21: ...ings dialog box shown in Figure 3 3 Figure 3 3 Triggering Tab of DSA Input Settings Dialog Box e Set the Trigger Type to none This setting puts the acquisition in free run mode f Click OK g Select Edi...

Page 22: ...lower display on the front panel select Power Spectrum in the Waveform Type pop up menu Choose Log Magnitude in the Scale pop up menu 7 Click the Single button VirtualBench DSA displays a single fram...

Page 23: ...ualBench Logger This chapter explains the VirtualBench Logger front panel features and how to acquire data with the logger Launching VirtualBench Logger To launch VirtualBench Logger use the Start but...

Page 24: ...d data Y Axis Select Controls Selects which channel s Y scale to display on either the left or right Y axis of the strip chart display Status Display Shows the current time start time and stop time of...

Page 25: ...and data logging when enabled using the current logger configuration Stop Stops the acquisition of data and data logging when enabled Pause Temporarily stops the flow of data to the strip chart and lo...

Page 26: ...ted signals to in Step 1 d Set the channel attributes for each channel from the start channel to the end channel Select 0 Md1 Ch0 in the textbox Select the Transducer The six transducer measurement ty...

Page 27: ...reviously specified a log file VirtualBench Logger automatically displays a Save as dialog box Figure 4 3 File Configuration Dialog Box f Click the Timing Config button In the Timing Configuration dia...

Page 28: ...s you want to display on the strip chart using the channel select control 4 Click the right or left Y axis controls to select which channel s Y scale you want to display on the strip chart 5 Click Sta...

Page 29: ...unching VirtualBench FG To launch VirtualBench FG use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench FG Front Panel Features This section explains the features of...

Page 30: ...waveform On Starts or stops waveform generation Play List Outputs waveforms as specified in the frequency list The Play List button appears only with 54xx devices Step Steps through the frequency lis...

Page 31: ...device or scope to the output of the analog output device that you specified in Step 1 Refer to your DAQ device user manual or instrument manual for details 3 Click On VirtualBench FG continuously ge...

Page 32: ...unch VirtualBench DMM use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench DMM Front Panel Features This section explains the features of the VirtualBench DMM front...

Page 33: ...number of digits of resolution Range Selector Determines the measurement range This range is different for each measurement mode AutoRange mode selects the best range to fit the input signal Main Con...

Page 34: ...DMM hides the SCXI Module list when no SCXI modules are configured for the selected device The Instrument list displays only devices you have configured successfully in the Measurement Automation Expl...

Page 35: ...nt If you are using an NI 4060 PCI PXI based multimeter or an IVI instrument skip to Step 3g If you are using any other device VirtualBench DMM requires a precision external shunt resistor to measure...

Page 36: ...an IVI device skip to Step 4g If you are using any other device you must use a precision external current source to measure resistance Complete these steps to configure your current source a Connect...

Page 37: ...you specified in Step 1 Refer to the user manual of your DAQ device for details b Select Edit Settings on the front panel c Select the Temperature tab shown in Figure 6 4 Figure 6 4 Temperature Tab o...

Page 38: ...measurement 6 Measure a diode If you are using a DAQMeter DAQCard 4050 or an NI 4060 PCI PXI based multimeter you can measure the voltage drop across a diode up to 2 V If you are using an IVI instrume...

Page 39: ...ly and how to turn on VirtualBench Power Supply Launching VirtualBench Power Supply To launch VirtualBench Power Supply use the Start button in the Windows task bar to select Programs VirtualBench Vir...

Page 40: ...icates the over current protection circuitry has tripped Volts DC Allows you to set the power supply to a specified DC voltage Volts AC Allows you to set the power supply to a specified AC voltage wit...

Page 41: ...nels of your power supply 2 Configure VirtualBench Power Supply a Select Edit Settings on the front panel b Select the IVI instrument logical name you want to use If you have not already configured a...

Page 42: ...to select DC volts mode as shown in Figure 7 3 Figure 7 3 Front Panel with Volts DC Button Selected 2 Enter a voltage in the Voltage control 3 Click Apply to commit to the change If a red error butto...

Page 43: ...7 4 Front Panel with Volts AC Button Selected 2 Enter the appropriate settings for your AC signal 3 Click Apply to commit to the change If a red error button appears in the display window click the b...

Page 44: ...ow to make signal connections Launching VirtualBench Switch To launch VirtualBench Switch use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench Switch Note VirtualBe...

Page 45: ...ant to use Channel Selection Group Allows you to choose two channels to connect Connection List Allows you to view details and disconnect any existing connection Status Display Displays the connection...

Page 46: ...tual instrument installed in your system Refer to Chapter 4 Configuring Your System of the IVI Driver Library User Manual for more information about changing items to which another item refers 2 Selec...

Page 47: ...enerate a waveform Launching VirtualBench Arb To launch VirtualBench Arb use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench Arb Waveform Generator Front Panel Fea...

Page 48: ...nd wav files the update rate determines the play speed by controlling the number of samples of the waveform VirtualBench Arb plays per second Step Steps through the stages in a waveform sequence Virtu...

Page 49: ...ry User Manual for more information about configuring your IVI virtual instrument d Select the corresponding DAQ device channels to map to the VirtualBench Arb alphabetical channel names e Click OK 2...

Page 50: ...the first to produce the final segment Change the Function selector to perform subtraction multiplication division or frequency modulation d Click on New Segment to add additional waveform segments to...

Page 51: ...displays only the current component e Click and drag over the graph using the mouse to create a waveform Click the Mode button to change the mode to line This mode allows you to draw straight lines f...

Page 52: ...Selects the waveform view to display on the graph Waveform displays the entire waveform Segment displays the selected segment Component displays the selected component X Axis Control Selects the X ax...

Page 53: ...ponent New Segment Button Inserts a new waveform segment immediately after the current selection New Component Button Inserts a new component immediately after the current selection Component Type Con...

Page 54: ...DAQ device Launching VirtualBench Device Calibrator To launch the VirtualBench Device Calibrator use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench Cal Front Pan...

Page 55: ...not necessary VirtualBench Device Calibrator automatically accesses the calibration features of these devices Calibrating a DAQ Device Complete these steps to calibrate your device with VirtualBench D...

Page 56: ...taskbar to select Programs VirtualBench VirtualBench Counter Front Panel Features This section explains the features of the VirtualBench Counter front panel as shown in Figure 11 1 Figure 11 1 Front...

Page 57: ...e of time that an unknown signal is high versus its period Time Between 2 Edges Measures the amount of time between a rising edge on one input and a rising edge on another input Phase Angle Measures t...

Page 58: ...omplete these steps to start measuring signals with VirtualBench Counter 1 Configure VirtualBench Counter a Select Edit Settings on the front panel b Select the General tab as shown in Figure 11 2 Fig...

Page 59: ...ximum value 2number of bits d Click Run to stop the measurement 3 Measure time between two edges This feature works only with devices that have NI TIO based counters a Connect the starting signal to t...

Page 60: ...measurement 5 Measure frequency ratio This feature works with devices with either DAQ STC or NI TIO based counters a Connect the first signal A to the SOURCE input of the counter that you specified i...

Page 61: ...Figure 11 3 Figure 11 3 Encoder Tab of VirtualBench Counter Settings Dialog Box d Select the Encoder Type e If using a rotary encoder select the Rotary Encoder Type and the number of Pulses per Revol...

Page 62: ...he slower internal timebase instead of the maximum Note Checking this box causes less accurate readings However it allows for longer time measurements and period measurements of lower frequencies This...

Page 63: ...st choose a counter to generate the filter clock Also you must specify the size pulses to allow to pass e With the built in or custom filters pulses greater than or equal to the specified value are gu...

Page 64: ...ont panel features and how to use it to acquire data Launching VirtualBench Logic Analyzer To launch VirtualBench Logic Analyzer use the Start button in the Windows taskbar to select Programs VirtualB...

Page 65: ...mebase Control Selects the interval of time the system acquires Trigger Control Selects the type of triggering the system uses Data Pattern and Mask controls When you use pattern triggering these cont...

Page 66: ...t button Restores the display to show the entire buffer of data Graphics Display Displays waveforms When triggering you can move a trigger cursor on the display to select the trigger position In addit...

Page 67: ...our DAQ device for details 2 Configure VirtualBench Logic Analyzer a Select Edit Acquisition Settings on the front panel Figure 12 2 Settings of VirtualBench Logic Analyzer b Select the National Instr...

Page 68: ...ure 12 3 Figure 12 3 Bus Settings of VirtualBench Logic Analyzer e Enter the bus names and bits you want to select for each bus f Click OK to use the settings g On the front panel of the VirtualBench...

Page 69: ...stions FAQs and their corresponding answers or solutions including special sections devoted to our newest products The database is updated daily in response to new customer experiences and feedback Tr...

Page 70: ...e information on local services You can access these Web sites from www ni com worldwide If you have trouble connecting to our Web site please contact your local National Instruments office or the sou...

Page 71: ...uipment Have surplus equipment taking up shelf space We ll give it a new home Learn more Visit us at artisantg com for more info on price quotes drivers technical specifications manuals and documentat...