USB DAQ Products Offer Many Advantages |
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USB DAQ products offer a number of advantages as compared to PCI and ISA boards USB devices:
- are easier to move from one application to another.
- provide ease-of-use, since you don’t have to open up a computer chassis to install a board.
- have the capacity to enable a user to begin taking measurements very quickly (when they are combined with ready-to-run DAQ software) because of the plug-and-play capability of USB.
USB DAQ products are offered in a number of configurations. These products are available for multifunction I/O, digital I/O, and temperature measurement. The products range from reliable, general purpose modules to robust high-speed, high channel count devices, all at industry-best prices.
USB DAQ products are all shipped with a powerful suite of software that is included in the price of the hardware. This suite includes: TracerDAQ, a strip chart, data logging, and scope application that is ready to run out of the box, InstaCal, the installation, test, and calibration utility that quickly makes a device ready to take measurements.
In addition, the Universal Library offers a complete functional library that saves you time by simplifying the configuration and operation of your data acquisition board and by reducing human errors by eliminating the use of detailed, low-level functions.
USB DAQ hardware and software are combined to create a virtual instrumentation data acquisition system that converts analog signals into a digital output form that can be manipulated with software. Using software in conjunction with a personal computer, analog data can be displayed, logged, charted, graphed, or stored in memory as needed.
Stored data generated from a USB DAQ can later be used and compared with a set
of established limits. Control decisions are made if the stored data is at the
limit, above or below the limit. With repetitive measurements made by a data
acquisition system, continuous monitoring and control can be performed.
Based on matching, meeting or exceeding the set limits, a digital control
signal from a USB DAQ (in the form of single bit output signal) can be used to
turn on or turn off a relay. This in turn can be used to turn on various
control elements like fans, pumps, motors, etc.
Alternatively, based on the difference between an input and an established set
point, a precise analog output signal can be generated. This signal can be used
to provide a complete closed loop control patch, providing continuous control
of a process.
