PXI Newsletter

Newsletter: Measurement Certification for PXI Instrumentation & Systems			9/9/2009
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From the president of the PXI Systems Alliance, Loofie Gutterman:

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Welcome to the first edition of the PXI Newsletter. Our intent is to educate and inform you the reader about how the PXI standard is being used in modular test systems for a wide variety of industries. PXI adoption is expected to exceed 100,000 deployed PXI systems by the end of this decade (2000 - 2009). This is a major milestone for the open, multivendor PXI standard and represents an estimated 600,000 PXI modular instruments and related devices deployed over this same time period. The open, hardware and software-defined architecture of PXI which is based on high performance PC technology has become a dominant industry standard for automated measurement and automation systems. According to industry analyst Frost and Sullivan, the strong adoption of PXI systems is expected to continue with a projected compounded annual growth rate of 17.6% through 2014. With new PXI products and applications constantly being introduced to the market, we believe this newsletter will be an excellent forum to provide you with updates and information about how PXI is addressing new markets and test challenges. The members of the PXI Systems Alliance look forward to assisting scientists and engineers with using PXI for their measurement and automation needs in 2009 and beyond.

In this issue, we talk about two PXI applications. The first focuses on how to develop an in-system re-certification test strategy for a PXI system. The second article discusses how the speed, size, and low cost of the PXI platform can be used to build a microwave relay tester. We hope you enjoy our newsletter.

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Application Article

Microwave Relay Measurements Made Easy with PXI
The Test problem -- The goal was to double the test capacity of more than 20 test benches which measured the performance of Radiall microwave switches. Each microwave switch required comprehensive testing of contact characteristics, within a test chamber, under different climatic conditions, before delivery to the customer. The upgraded test benches needed to improve their capacity, speed of test and flexibility. The switches needed to be operated in a climatic chamber over an extended period while undergoing thermal cycling. Each test bench needed to be able to manage a variety of different microwave switches during the same test run. Read on to learn how PXI more than met Radiall’s expectations.

Thanks to all our readers.
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Main Article

Measurement Certification for PXI Instrumentation & Systems
The use of PXI modular systems for field and manufacturing test has increased dramatically over the last two decades. The flexibility, configurability and compact footprint associated with the PXI architecture makes it attractive for many applications but also creates new challenges for calibration and re-certification of “traceable” instrumentation. Unlike self-contained “box” instruments, a PXI instrument needs a chassis and support software to operate in order to perform a recertification process. Typically, the process for re-certification of PXI instruments is to remove and return the module(s) to the OEM or a 3rd party test house, resulting in system down time. However, an alternative strategy is to incorporate traceable standards as an integral part of the ATE system. Read more about how an in-system recertification strategy can lower system downtime, reduce on-going support costs, and simplify system maintenance logistics.