NI, the provider of platform-based systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, announced today the NI PXIe-8880 controller, which is based on the Intel® Xeon® processor, and the NI PXIe-1085 chassis, which is the industry’s first chassis that uses PCI Express Gen 3 technology. The combination of the eight-core, server-class Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2618L v3 and full system bandwidth of 24 GB/s delivers breakthrough performance for computationally intensive and highly parallel applications such as wireless test, semiconductor test and 5G prototyping. Customers can take advantage of the flexibility of the PXI platform to replace previous generation controllers with the NI PXIe-8880 and see up to double the performance in their test and measurement applications.

“Over the past two decades, we have witnessed a gradual shift from traditional instrumentation in favor of the PXI platform for automated test,” said Jessy Cavazos, industry manager for measurement and instrumentation at Frost & Sullivan. “With the addition of Intel® Xeon® processor technology, we expect the adoption of PXI to only increase for high-performance applications.”

NI collaborated with Intel to deliver the server-class power of Intel® Xeon® processors to the test and measurement market. The embedded controller features eight cores, up to 24 GB of DDR4 memory and 24 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3 connectivity to the backplane. This provides engineers and scientists with up to twice the processing power and bandwidth compared to previous generation controllers. In addition, the new 18-slot chassis incorporates PCI Express Gen 3 technology with eight lanes per slot for a matched total system bandwidth of 24 GB/s, so any test and measurement system can scale well into the future.

“The use of the latest Intel® Xeon® processors is a new milestone for our collaboration with NI,” said Shahram Mehraban, director of market development for Industrial IoT at Intel. “The Internet of Things requires the highest possible processing power to reduce time to market and lower the cost of test, and NI’s approach with PXI is critical toward that goal.”

More and more applications in the industrial and hazardous area building automation sector require high performance and easy to use control systems. The local control of variable air volume (VAV) and constant air volume (CAV) systems as well as pressure, temperature and humidity eliminates the need for connection to remote controllers.

Air volume control is the key to delivering cost effective and environmentally friendly ventilation in modern buildings and industrial facilities. By locally controlling the movement of air dampers, the flow of air in to a room can be optimally controlled for the times when the room is occupied or not in use.

Rotork Schischek provides the solution with the introduction of ExReg-V (hazardous area) and InReg-V (safe area) control units, designed to ensure smooth operation when controlling HVAC systems by minimising the number of separate components required. A variant of the ExReg-V controller, the ExCos-V sensor, allows for the measurement and monitoring of air flow (volume) or speed (velocity) in industrial and safety critical ventilation systems.

In a related scenario, the local control and actuation of 2 and 3-way water mixing and diverting valves allows for the regulation of temperature and humidity in buildings and environments where the maintenance of strict limits is a prerequisite. Examples of such applications include the manufacture and storage of temperature and humidity sensitive materials which, if exposed to levels outside those specified, could cause a threat to life, health and assets. Here, the ExReg-D or InReg-D controllers used with the ExPro-CT and ExPro-CF sensor range provides the solution.

Developed from the successful ExCos and ExBin sensor series used extensively in hazardous area locations including ATEX zones 1,2,21 & 22, the new ExReg control units feature a compact design which incorporates an internal proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control structure. The parameterisation process is easy to use and automatically achieved for standard applications. The system provides support, especially during the start-up process, with many predefined settings and damper characteristics.

Features retained from the ExCos and ExBin series include the elimination of intrinsically safe wiring, digital adjustment, actual value indication and LED status display. Designed for electrical and mechanical compatibility with market standards, the ExReg is suitable for 24Vac or dc supplies and environmentally protected to IP66.

The new High Sensitivity Wahl Heat Spy 150 Series Thermal Imaging Cameras are now available. The 150 Series Heat Spy models have a 160 x 120 detector for 19,200 individually calibrated pixels with a thermal sensitivity of ≤ 0.05°C to highlight even minimal temperature differences. The "z" model features a 60Hz frame rate, while the "a" model is 9Hz for export with no license required.

150 Series Heat Spy Imagers have a 25° x 19° Field of View with a 3.2 Megapixel CMOS image sensor for visible light images. One additional 0.5x wide angle lens and one x2 telephoto lens are available separately to enhance the functionality of your camera for your specific application. The large, 3.6 inch, 640 x 480 LCD Touch Screen display is clear and easy to see, providing comfortable access to menu functions. Housing design is ergonomic and comfortable in your hand.

Dual LED bulbs integrated above the lens act as headlights for clear, crisp visible light images even in low light conditions. Laser aiming allows the user to pinpoint hotspots with precision. Use the New SpyLite™ option to emphasize only the temperatures of interest in the scene. Set your temperature and view only the temperatures above or below that point, thermally over the visible image. Use the Picture-in-Picture setting to show all temperatures in the scene displayed thermally over the visible image. Save images to the included 8GB Micro SD card in any of the four included viewing modes - visible, thermal, Picture-in-Picture, and SpyLite™, or use the included Bluetooth connectivity to transfer files to your PC, or connect a headset for recording and playing back verbal image annotations.

Record your thermal surveys or inspections in any of the four viewing modes using the thermal and visible video recording feature to document your findings. Connect the 150 series imager to your Windows PC to manage settings and files, or view live video output. The 150 Series Thermal Imager is designed to withstand a two meter drop for dependability with daily use in rugged environments. For extra protection, the 150 Series includes Spy-Care, our No-Fault warranty. Wahl will repair or replace your camera for two years for any reason, even if the damage is your fault.

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You never have to worry again about losing critical temperature measurements because of a sensor failure thanks to the new THZ3 and TDZ3 Smart HART® Dual Input Temperature Transmitters from Moore Industries. With two inputs, users can select one as a backup in case there is a failure with the primary sensor. If there is a problem with the main sensor, the transmitter automatically switches to the backup sensor.

Failure protection is just one key feature of the new dual input THZ3 and TDZ3. Other features include:

• Average and differential measurement: Average the readings from two sensors in tanks where stratification can occur. Use the differential measurement capability to monitor the temperature delta across a heat exchanger for efficiency or BTU calculations.
• High-Select and Low-Select: Use two sensors and select the higher or lower one as a basis for control. High-Select and Low-Select enables you to reduce the chance of an over-temperature or under-temperature situation.

The THZ3 and TDZ3 also come with Device Intelligence, a series of features for smarter control and monitoring including:

• Sensor drift and corrosion detection that checks and alerts users when the sensor is drifting out of a preset range or when the resistance due to corrosion exceeds set parameters.
• Smart range alarms with four HART alarms – set to any input or calculated input – that detect when the variable is within or outside of user preset limits.
• A High Availability option that enables the selection of how the AO behaves when there is an input failure or out-of-range value detected by the transmitter. By utilizing the input simulation feature, users can manually input a digital input signal that allows the testing of the AO and any HART or diagnostic alarm.

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