June 22, 2009 - Keithley Instruments announced the addition of a Web-browser-based, multi-channel graphing toolkit capability to its Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter family. This new data visualization capability, which is included at no charge in the firmware for all new Series 3700 mainframes, offers users a quick and easy way to observe measurement data vs. time as channel measurements are made with the optional built-in digital multimeter, without the need for programming or any data file manipulation. This "early look" capability makes it easy for users to gauge the progress of long-duration tests quickly, and then to take quick corrective action if measurement results are not as anticipated.
There's no need to write code in Keithley's TSP script language, LabVIEW, or Visual Basic programming environments and then to extract data from an instrument's reading buffer into a third-party analysis package or a spreadsheet package such as Microsoft Excel to create graphs. Series 3700 mainframes support high speed, multi-channel measurements. The addition of the graphing toolkit capability allows users to observe the data acquired either in numerical form or in graphical form on their choice of up to 40 channels simultaneously. The acquired data can be viewed in either real-time mode or in user-defined increments. This simplifies comparing and contrasting readings on a per-channel basis, to allow identifying potential problems quickly.
For example, this capability would be useful in applications such as burn-in testing, which could involve monitoring multiple temperature, voltage, and resistance measurements, then looking for trends in the measurements over the course of the test.Engineers involved in characterizing devices in research and development applications should find this new graphing toolkit capability particularly helpful. It eliminates the time-consuming and often confusing process of pulling data from reading buffers and analyzing it with an external package. In this way, this new capability speeds and simplifies mainframe and test system set-up time, channel, and signal interaction and remote channel monitoring vs. time applications.
This new capability leverages the Series 3700's compatibility with the LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) standard by expanding upon the built-in instrument control Web page included on many LXI instruments. There is no need to install new software on a PC or on the Series 3700 mainframe - the capability is included in the mainframe's firmware and can be accessed via any standard Web browser, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and others. The toolkit builds upon the Web-based instrument controls already included in Series 3700 mainframes for controlling and monitoring the switching cards installed in the mainframe and the optional built-in digital multimeter.
The graphical user interface also provides access to a special version of Keithley's Test Script Builder application for writing test scripts to create unique testing functions. Series 3700 mainframes offer scalable, high-performance switching and multi-channel measurements that are optimized for automated testing of electronic products and components. Price and Availability. This graphing toolkit capability is included free in all new Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter mainframes; owners of existing Series 3700 mainframes can download a free firmware upgrade that includes support for this capability.
