Lesson 8

Data Acquisition and Waveforms

CHAPTER 1

Transducers, Signals, and Signal Conditioning

Topics
Data Acquisition Overview
Transducers
Signals
Signal Conditioning
www.ni.com

System Overview

Transducer Overview

Topics
What is a Transducer?
Types of Transducers

What is a Transducer?
Physical
Phenomena

Signal

A transducer converts a physical

phenomena into a measurable signal

Signal Overview

Topics
Types of Signals
Information in a Signal
State, Rate, Level,
Shape, and Frequency

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

Analysis
Required

Signal Conditioning Overview

Topics
Purpose of Signal Conditioning
Types of Signal Conditioning

Why Use Signal Conditioning?

Noisy, Low-Level Signal

Filtered, Amplified 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

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)
Noise
Instrumentation
Amplifier

+
_
Low-Level Signal

ADC

Lead Wires
External
Amplifier

DAQ Device

DAQ Hardware Overview

Topics
Types of DAQ Hardware
Components of a DAQ device
Configuration Considerations

Data Acquisition Hardware

Your Signal
DAQ Device
Cable
Terminal Block

DAQ Hardware turns your PC into a

measurement and automation system

Computer

Terminal Block and Cable

50 pin connector
Your Signal

Cable
Terminal Block

Terminal 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)

Connect to the bus of your computer

Compatible with a variety of bus protocols
PCI, PXI/CompactPCI, ISA/AT, PCMCIA, USB, 1394/Firewire

Computer

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

Resolution Example
3-bit resolution can represent 8 voltage levels
16-bit resolution can represent 65,536 voltage levels
16-Bit Versus 3-Bit Resolution
(5kHz Sine Wave)
10.00
8.75

111

7.50

110

6.25

101

Amplitude
5.00
(volts)
3.75

100

2.50

010

1.25

001

16-bit resolution

3-bit resolution

011

000
|

50

100
Time (s)

150

200

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

Range = 0 to +10 volts

(5kHz Sine Wave)

Range

10.00

Proper Range
Using all 8
levels to
represent your
signal

111

8.75
7.50
6.25

110
101

Amplitude
5.00
(volts)
3.75
2.50

3-bit resolution

100
011
010
001

1.25
0|
0

000
|

50

100
Time (s)

150

200

Range = -10 to +10 volts

10.00
7.50
5.00
2.50

Amplitude
0
(volts)
-2.50
-5.00
-7.50
-10.00 |

(5kHz Sine Wave)

Improper Range

111

Only using 4 levels

to represent your
signal

110

3-bit resolution

101
100
011
010
001
000
|

50

100
Time (s)

150

200

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 representation of your

signal
Allows you to use all of your available resolution

Gain Example
Input limits of the signal = 0 to 5 Volts
Range Setting for the ADC = 0 to 10 Volts
Gain Setting applied by Instrumentation Amplifier = 2

Different Gains for 16-bit Resolution

(5kHz Sine Wave)
10.00
8.75

Gain = 2

7.50
6.25

Your Signal

Amplitude
5.00
(volts)
3.75

Gain = 1

2.50
1.25
0

50

100
Time (s)

150

200

Code Width
Code Width is the smallest change in the signal your
system can detect (determined by resolution, range, and
gain)
range
code width =

gain * 2 resolution

Smaller Code Width = more precise representation of your

signal
Example: 12-bit device, range = 0 to 10V, gain = 1
range
gain * 2 resolution
Increase range:
Increase gain:

10
= 2.4 mV
12
1*2
20
1*2

12

10
100 * 2

12

= 4.8 mV
= 24 V

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 System

Signal
Source

VS

VM
-

Measurement
System

Signal Source Categories

Signal Source
Grounded

Floating

Vs
_

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 Source
Signal is NOT
referenced to a system
ground
earth ground
building ground

Examples:

Batteries
Thermocouples
Transformers
Isolation Amplifiers

Floating
+
Vs
_

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

Mode you choose will

depend on how your
signal is grounded

Measurement
System
-

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

+
VS

ACH (n)

_ ACH (n + 8)
AISENSE

+
Instrumentation
Amplifier

AIGND

Measurement System

+
VM
_

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)
ACH (n + 8)

VS

AISENSE
_

+
Instrumentation
Amplifier

AIGND

Measurement System

+
VM
_

NRSE Mode
Non-Referenced Single-Ended (NRSE)

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

VS
_

AISENSE

+
Instrumentation
Amplifier

AIGND

Measurement System

+
VM
_

Choosing Your Measurement System

Signal Source
Grounded

Floating

+
Vs
_

+
Vs
_

Measurement System

Measurement System

Differential

RSE

NRSE

Differential

RSE

NRSE

Options for Grounded Signal Sources

Differential

BETTER
+ Rejects Common-Mode Voltage
- Cuts Channel Count in Half
NOT RECOMMENDED

RSE

NRSE

- Voltage difference (Vg) between the two

grounds makes a ground loop that could
damage the device
GOOD
+ Allows use of entire channel count
- Doesnt reject Common-Mode Voltage

Options for Floating Signal Sources

Differential

RSE

NRSE

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

DAQ Software Overview

Topics
Levels of DAQ Software
NI-DAQ Overview
Measurement & Automation Explorer
(MAX) Overview

Levels of Software
User

DAQ
Device

What is NI-DAQ?
Driver level software
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
Software

Icon on your
Desktop

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

Properties
Basic Resource Test
Base I/O Address
Interrupts (IRQ)
Direct Memory Access
(DMA)

Link to Test Panels

Configuration for:

Device Number
Range and Mode (AI)
Polarity (AO)
Accessories
OPC

Test Panels
Utility for testing

Analog Input
Analog Output
Digital I/O
Counters

Great tool for

troubleshooting

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)

Sampling Considerations
Analog signal is continuous
Sampled signal is series of discrete
samples acquired at a specified
sampling rate
Faster we sample the more our
sampled signal will look like our
actual signal

Actual Signal

If not sampled fast enough a problem

known as aliasing will occur

Sampled Signal

Aliasing

Adequately
Sampled
Signal
Aliased
Signal

Nyquist Theorem
Nyquist Theorem
You must sample at greater than 2 times the
maximum frequency component of your signal to
accurately represent the FREQUENCY of your
signal
NOTE: You must sample between 5 - 10 times greater
than the maximum frequency component of your
signal to accurately represent the SHAPE of your
signal

Nyquist Example
Aliased Signal
100Hz Sine Wave

Sampled at 100Hz
Adequately Sampled
for Frequency Only
(Same # of cycles)

100Hz Sine Wave

100Hz Sine Wave

Sampled at 200Hz

Sampled at 1kHz

Adequately Sampled
for Frequency and
Shape

Data Acquisition Palette

Analog
Output
Digital I/O
Analog Input

Counter

Calibration and
Configuration

DAQ Channel
Name
Constant
Signal
Conditioning

DAQ Channel Name Data Type

Allows you to use numeric channels
(0, 1, etc.) or virtual channels
Automatically detects all currently
configured virtual channels

Control

Terminal

Constant

Analog Input Palette

Utility VIs

Easy VIs

Convenient
groupings of
Intermediate VIs

Built out of
Utility VIs
+ Easy to use
- Less flexible

Advanced VIs
Building blocks
for other levels

Intermediate VIs
Built out of
Advanced VIs
+ Highly
recommended
+ Very flexible

Easy VIs
Intermediate VIs
Advanced VIs
Utility VIs

Single-Point AI VIs
Perform a software-timed, non-buffered acquisition
+ Good for battery testing, control systems
- Not good for rapidly changing signals due to software timing

AI Sample Channel
Acquires one point on one channel

AI Sample Channels
Acquires one point on multiple channels

Multiple-Point (Buffered) AI VIs

Perform a hardware-timed, buffered acquisition
Highly recommended for most applications
Allows triggering, continuous acquisition, different input limits for
different channels, streaming to disk, and error handling
AI Config
Configures your device, channels, buffer

AI Start
Starts your acquisition, configure triggers

AI Read
Returns data from the buffer

AI Clear
Clears resources assigned to the acquisition

AI Config
Interchannel Delay
Determines the time (in seconds)
between samples in a scan

Input Limits
Max and Min values for your signal
Used by NI-DAQ to set gain

Device
Number of the device (from MAX)
you are addressing

Channels
Chooses what channel(s) you are
addressing

Buffer Size
Number of scans the buffer
can hold
A scan acquires one sample
for every channel you specify
1000 scans x 2 channels =
2000 total samples

Task ID
Passes configuration
information to other VIs

Error In/Out
Receives/Passes any errors
from/to other VIs

Different Gains for Different Channels

AI Config allows different gains for different channels
The first element of the input limits array corresponds to the
first element of the channel array

Gain = 2

Gain = 20
Range = 0 to +10V

AI Start
Task ID In/Out
Receives/Passes configuration information to/from other VIs

Number of Scans to Acquire

Total number of scans acquired before the acquisition completes
Default value (-1) sets # of Scans to Acquire = Buffer Size (AI Config)
A value of 0 acquires continuously

Scan Rate
Chooses the number of scans per second

Error In/Out
Receives/Passes any errors from/to other VIs

AI Read & AI Clear

Number of Scans to Read
Specifies how many scans to retrieve from the buffer
Default value (-1) sets # of Scans to Read = # of Scans to Acquire (AI Start)
If # of Scans to Acquire (AI Start) = 0, default for # of Scans to Read is 100

Scan Backlog
Number of unread scans in the buffer

Waveform Data
Returns t0, dt (inverse of scan rate), and Y array for your data

Clears resources assigned to the device

Error Cluster
Cluster containing:
Boolean - tells if an error occurred
Numeric - tells the error code
String - tells the source of the error

Right-click on edge of cluster and

select Explain Error for dialog box
(see below) with more information
Indicator

Terminal

Buffered Acquisition Flowchart

Configure the
Device

Clear
Resources

Start the
Acquisition

Display
Errors

Return Data
from the Buffer

Buffered Acquisition

AI Start begins the acquisition

Acquisition stops when the buffer is full
AI Read will wait until the buffer is full to return data
If error input is true then Config, Start, and Read pass the error on but
dont execute; Clear passes AND executes

Continuous Acquisition Flowchart

Configure the
Device

Start the
Acquisition
Display
Errors

Return Data
from the Buffer

Done?
YES
Clear
Resources

NO

Continuous Buffered Acquisition

Differences from a buffered acquisition

# of scans to acquire = 0
While loop around AI Read
Number of Scans to read does not = buffer size
Scan backlog tells how well you are keeping up

Analog Output Architecture

Channel 0

DAC

Channel 0
Channel 1

Channel 1

DAC

Most E-Series DAQ devices have a Digital-to-Analog

Converter (DAC) for each analog output channel
DACs are updated at the same time
Similar to Simultaneous Sampling for Analog Input

Analog Output Palette

Utility VIs

Easy VIs

Convenient
groupings of
Intermediate VIs

Built out of
Utility VIs
+ Easy to use
- Less flexible

Advanced VIs
Building blocks
for other levels

Intermediate VIs
Built out of
Advanced VIs
+ Highly
recommended
+ Very flexible

Easy VIs
Intermediate VIs
Advanced VIs
Utility VIs

Single-Point AO VIs
Perform a software-timed, non-buffered generation
+ Good for generating DC voltages, or control systems
- Not good for waveform generation because software timing is slow

AO Update Channel
Generates one point on one channel

AO Update Channels
Generates one point on multiple channels

AO Update Channels
Device
Number of the device (from
MAX) you are addressing
Ignored if using virtual channel

Channels
Chooses what channel(s) you
are addressing
Can either be a number or a
virtual channel name
Uses the DAQ Channel Name
control

Values
1-D array of data
The first element of the
array corresponds to
the first channel in your
channels input

Multiple-Point (Buffered) AO VIs

Perform a hardware-timed, buffered generation
Highly recommended for most applications
Allows continuous generation, triggering, and error handling
AO Config
Configures your device, channels, buffer

AO Write
Writes data to the buffer

AO Start
Starts your generation

AO Wait
Waits until the generation is complete

AO Clear
Clears resources assigned to the
generation

Buffered Generation Flowchart

Configure the
Device

Wait Until
Generation
Completes

Write Data
to the Buffer

Clear
Resources

Start the
Generation

Display
Errors

Buffered Generation
AO Write fills the buffer with waveform data
AO Start begins the generation
Without AO Wait the generation would start (AO Start) and
then end immediately after (AO Clear)
If error input is true then Config, Write, Start, and Wait pass
the error on but dont execute; Clear passes AND executes

AO Write One Update

Your analog output
channel will continue to
output the last value
written to it until either:
The device is reset
(power off, reset VI)
A new value is written

Use AO Write One

Update at the end of
your generation to set
the channel back to 0

Continuous Generation Flowchart

Configure the
Device

Write Data
to the Buffer
Display
Errors

Start the
Generation

Done?
YES
Clear
Resources

NO

Continuous Generation
Differences from a buffered generation
number of buffer iterations = 0
No AO Wait
AO Wait would hang because the generation never completes

While loop with AO Write

The second AO Write is used for error checking ONLY