Data Acquisition (DAQ)

Signal Classification
Your Signal
Digital Analog

Digital Signals
Your Signal Digital

Two possible levels:

High/On (2 - 5 Volts) Low/Off (0 - 0.8 Volts)

Two types of information:

State Rate

Digital Signal Information

Your Signal Digital

Analog Signals
Your Signal
Analog

Continuous signal
Can be at any value with respect to time

Three types of information:

Level Shape Frequency (Analysis
required)

Analog Signal Information

Your Signal
Analog

Anal ysis Requ ired

Why Use Signal Conditioning?

Noisy, Low-Level Signal

Signal Conditioning takes a signal that is difficult for your DAQ device to measure and makes it easier to measure Signal Conditioning is not always required
Depends on the signal being measured

Filtered, Amplified Signal

Amplification
Used on low-level signals (i.e. thermocouples) Maximizes use of Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) range and increases accuracy Increases Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
Nois
e + Instrumenta tion Amplifier Extern al Amplif ier Lead Wires A D

Low-Level Signal

C DAQ Device

Data Acquisition Hardware

Your Signal
DAQ Device Ca ble Compute r

DAQ Hardware turns your PC into a measurement and automation

Terminal Block

Terminal Block and Cable

50 pin connector

Your Signal

Ca ble Terminal Terminal Block Block and Cable route

your signal to specific pins on your DAQ device Terminal Block and Cable can be a combination of 68 pin or 50 pin

DAQ Device
Most DAQ devices have:
Analog Input Analog Output Digital I/O Counters

DAQ Device

Specialty devices exist for specific applications

High speed digital I/O High speed waveform generation Dynamic Signal Acquisition (vibration, sonar)

Compute r

Connect to the bus of your computer Compatible with a variety of bus protocols
PCI, PXI/CompactPCI, ISA/AT, PCMCIA, USB,

Configuration Considerations
Analog Input
Resolution Range Gain Code Width Mode (Differential, RSE, or NRSE)

Analog Output
Internal vs. External Reference Voltage Bipolar vs. Unipolar

Resolution
Number of bits the ADC uses to represent a signal Resolution determines how many different voltage changes can be measured Example: 12-bit resolution
# of levels = 2resolution = 212 = 4,096 levels

Larger resolution = more precise representation of your signal

 3-bit resolution can represent 8 voltage levels 16-bit resolution can represent 65,536 16-Bit Versus 3-Bit Resolution voltage levels
(5kHz Sine Wave)
10.00 8.75 7.50 6.25 Amplitude 5.00 (volts) 3.75 2.50 1.25 0
|

Resolution Example

111 110 101 100 011 010 001 000

| | | |

16-bit resolution

3-bit resolution

50

100 Time (ms)

150

200 14

Range
Minimum and maximum voltages the ADC can digitize DAQ devices often have different available ranges
0 to +10 volts -10 to +10 volts

Pick a range that your signal fits in Smaller range = more precise representation of your signal
Allows you to use all of your available resolution

Gain
Gain setting amplifies the signal for best fit in ADC range Gain settings are 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 for most devices You dont choose the gain directly
Choose the input limits of your signal in LabVIEW Maximum gain possible is selected Maximum gain possible depends on the limits of your signal and the chosen range of your ADC

Proper gain = more precise

 Input limits of the signal = 0 to 5 Volts Range Setting for the ADC = 0 to 10 Volts Gain Setting applied by Instrumentation for 16-bit Resolution AmplifierDifferent = 2 Gains (5kHz Sine Wave)
10.00 8.75 7.50 6.25 Amplitude 5.00 (volts) 3.75 2.50 1.25 0
| | | | |

Gain Example

Gain = 2

Your Signal Gain = 1

50

100 Time (ms)

150

200

Grounding Issues
To get correct measurements you must properly ground your system How the signal is grounded will affect how we ground the instrumentation amplifier on the DAQ device Steps to proper grounding of your system:
Determine how your signal is grounded
+ Choose a grounding mode for your Measurement Signal Measurement V V System Source System
S

Signal Source Categories

Signal Source
Grounded
+ Vs _

Floating
+ Vs _

Grounded Signal Source

Signal Source
Grounded
+ Vs _

Signal is referenced to a system ground

earth ground building ground

Examples:
Power supplies Signal Generators Anything that plugs into an outlet ground

Floating Signal Source

Signal is NOT referenced to a system ground

Signal Source
Floating
+ Vs _

earth ground building ground

Examples:
Batteries Thermocouples Transformers Isolation Amplifiers

Measurement System
Three modes of grounding for your Measurement System
Differential Referenced SingleEnded (RSE) Non-Referenced Single-Ended (NRSE)
+

Measurement System
-

Mode you choose will depend on how

Differential Mode
Differential Mode
Two channels used for each signal
ACH 0 is paired with ACH 8, ACH 1 is paired with ACH 9, etc.

Rejects common-mode voltage and common-mode noise ACH (n) +

VS _ ACH (n + 8) AISEN SE AIGND

+
Instrumentation Amplifier

+
VM _

Measurement System

RSE Mode
Referenced Single-Ended (RSE)
Measurement made with respect to system ground One channel used for each signal Doesnt reject common mode voltage
ACH (n) +

VS

ACH (n + 8)
AISEN SE

+
Instrumentation Amplifier

+
VM _

_ AIGND

Measurement System

 Non-Referenced Single-Ended (NRSE)

Variation on RSE One channel used for each signal Measurement made with respect to AISENSE not system ground AISENSE ACH (n) is floating + Doesnt reject common mode voltage
ACH (n + VS 8)
_ AISEN SE AIGND

NRSE Mode

+
Instrumentation Amplifier

+
VM _

Measurement System

Choosing Your Measurement System Signal

Source
Grounded + V _
s

Floating + V _
s

Measurement System

Measurement System

Differe R ntial S E

NR SE

Differe R ntial S E

NR SE

Options for Grounded Signal Sources

Differenti al BETTER + Rejects Common-Mode Voltage - Cuts Channel Count in Half NOT RECOMMENDED - Voltage difference (Vg) between the two grounds makes a ground loop that could damage the GOOD device + Allows use of entire channel count - Doesnt reject Common-Mode Voltage

RS E

NRS E

Options for Floating Signal Sources BEST

Differenti al + Rejects Common-Mode Voltage - Cuts Channel Count in Half BETTER - Need bias resistors + Allows use of entire channel count + Dont need bias resistors GOOD - Doesnt reject Common-Mode + Allows use of entire channel Voltage count - Need bias resistors - Doesnt reject Common-Mode Voltage

RS E

NRS E

Levels of Software
Us er

DAQ Devic e

 Driver level software

What is NI-DAQ?

DLL that makes direct calls to your DAQ device

Supports the following National Instruments software:

LabVIEW Measurement Studio

Also supports the following 3rd party languages:

Microsoft C/C++ Visual Basic Borland C++ Borland Delphi

What is MAX?
MAX stands for Measurement & Automation Explorer MAX provides access to all your National Instruments DAQ, GPIB, IMAQ, IVI, Motion, VISA, and VXI devices Used for configuring and testing devices Functionality broken into:
Data Neighborhood Devices and Interfaces Scales

Icon on your Deskto p

Data Neighborhood
Provides access to the DAQ Channel Wizard Shows configured Virtual Channels Includes utilities for testing and reconfiguring Virtual Channels

DAQ Channel Wizard

Interface to create Virtual Channels for:
Analog Input Analog Output Digital I/O

Each channel has:

Name and Description Transducer type Range (determines Gain) Mode (Differential, RSE, NRSE) Scaling

Devices and Interfaces Shows currently

installed and detected National Instruments hardware Includes utilities for configuring and testing your DAQ devices
Properties Test Panels

Test Panels
Utility for testing
Analog Input Analog Output Digital I/O Counters

Great tool for troubleshootin g

Scales
Provides access to DAQ Custom Scales Wizard Shows configured scales Includes utility for viewing and reconfiguring your custom scales

DAQ Custom Scales Wizard

Interface to create custom scales that can be used with Virtual Channels Each scale has its own:
Name and Description Choice of Scale Type (Linear, Polynomial, or Table)

Data Acquisition Palette

Analog Output Digital I/O

Analog Input
Calibration and Configuration

Counter
DAQ Channel Name Constant Signal Conditioning

What Type of Device to Use?

DAQ Device Properties?

DAQ devices have four standard elements: Analog input (AI) Analog output (AO) Digital I/O (DIO) Counter/Timers

Low-Cost Multifunction DAQ for USB NI USB-6008

Small and portable 12-bit input resolution, at 10 kS/s Built-in connectors for connectivity 2 analog outputs (range 0 to 5 V) 12 digital I/O lines 8 single ended inputs (4 differential inputs) Input range 1 to 20V The NI USB-6008 and NI is ideal for students. 32 bit counter 5 mA Output current drive

Low-Cost Multifunction DAQ for USB NI USB-6009 14-bit input resolution, at 48 kS/s

NI ELVIS: NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite

A custom-designed benchtop workstation and prototyping board to provide the functionality of a suite of common laboratory instruments provides the functionality of the following Arbitrary Waveform Generator (ARB) Bode Analyzer Digital Bus Reader Digital Bus Writer Digital Multimeter (DMM) Function Generator (FGEN) Impedance Analyzer Oscilloscope (Scope) Two-Wire Current Voltage Analyzer Three-Wire Current Voltag Analyzer Variable Power Supplies

How to Select DAQ Device & Accessories

1) Run the MAX program from the labview software by selecting Tools Measurement
and Automation Explorer.

What is MAX?

How to Select DAQ Device & Accessories

2) Select Devices and Interfaces from the configuration column.

How to Select DAQ Device & Accessories

3) Choose the NI-DAQmx Devices and select the PCI-6024E or other if there.

How to Select DAQ Device & Accessories

4) Using right click on the PCI-6024E and select
property. In the new window, where the RTSI cable tab select None while select CB-68LP or BNC-2120 in the Accessory tab then click OK

How to Select DAQ Device & Accessories

5) Open the Labview program, in the front panel select functions, input then select the DAQ Assistant icon.

How to Select DAQ Device (Input & Output Channels)

6) Select Analog Input so as to input your analog data to the computer and Labview.

How to Select DAQ Device (Input & Output Channels)

7) We have 16 physical input channels from ai0 to ai15, select a channel like ai0.

How to Select DAQ Device (Input & Output Channels)

8) Select your input voltage setup

How to Select DAQ Device (Input & Output Channels)

9) Now make the connections and select test then Run to see the input voltage.

How to Select DAQ Device (Input & Output Channels)

Example