Connect Sensors to Computer via USB Data Acquisition System
Directly two Connects to Thermocouple, RTD, Thermistor, Strain Gage,
Load Cell, Voltage, Current, Resistance and Accelerometer Inputs
Analog and Digital Input and Outputs
USB 2.0 High Speed Data Acquisition Hardware for 32bit or 64bit Windows ≥ Xp Sp3, Vista, 7 or 8
Reduce Noise by Placing Boxes Near Sensors and up to 100 meters From Noisy Computer
Free instruNet World Software
Expandable to over 256 Channels
Digitize Any Combination of Channels at 166,000 Samples Per Second Aggregate
Each Channel has Independently Programmable Analog Filters, Integration Time,
Voltage Range, and Sample Rate; Programmable Digital Filters on All Channels (LP, HP, BP, BS)
i4xx Series Data Acquisition Cards
#iNet-410
Communications card connects an iNET-400 card cage to a Windows computer via an instruNET iNET-240 USB controller
#iNet-420
Provides 20 single-ended (SE)/10 differential (DI) voltage input channels and 4 universal digital I/O
#iNet-423
Provides 6 differential (DI) voltage input channels; each of which has its own amplifier and low pass filter
#iNet-430
Provides 16/8 DI/SE voltage input channels with a 16-bit A/D converter, 4 voltage outputs, and 4 digital I/O
#iNet-460
Provides 12 universal digital I/O (20 mA sink, -10 to 30 V)
and 16 digital I/O (200 mA sink, -10 to 30 V)
Connect Directly To Sensors
Thermocouple
Strain Gage
Thermistor
Thermistor
Volts
Current
Resistance
Load Cell
The table below shows which sensors directly connect to each hardware product.
The numbers in the table refer to number of channels. The following sensors require
an external shunt resistor:
RTD, thermistor, resistance measurement, current measurement, ¼
bridge strain gage, and ½ bridge strain gage. Thermocouple
sensors require an i510 Wiring Box attached to the i4xx card. In order to do
voltage measurement, one needs at least one i430 A/D card. One only needs one
i43x a/d card per card cage.
Model
Voltage
Current
Resist- ance
Therm- istor
RTD
Thermo- couple
Load Cell
Acceler- ometer
Strain Gage
i420
20/10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
i423
6di
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
i430
16/8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Analog and Digital I/O Cards
instruNet i4xx cards are installed by the end user into an instruNet card cage
that is 4, 8, 12 or 16 slots wide. Each card is 13 x 2.5 x 13 cm in size.
Below is a list of available cards.
Voltage Input
Voltage Outputs
Digital I/O
Model
# of Chan
Range
Low Pass (KHz)
# of Chan
Range
# of Chan
mA Sink
i420
20se/10di
±10V..±20mV
4
20
i423
6di
±5V..±5mV
0.006, 4
4
20
i430
16se/8di
±10V..±10mV
2
2
±10V
0-10V
4
20
i460
12
16
20
200
i410
The i410 connects Card Cage to Windows Computer via
i2x0
instruNet Controller.
instruNet Software
instruNet includes software to interrogate, test, configure, and do I/O with all network channels.
This includes an application program called "instruNet World" and interfaces to Visual Basic,
C, and C++. instruNet software can configure all I/O channels, store your settings,
view digitized data in real time, stream data to disk, and scroll through your waveform
post-acquisition. instruNet software runs on Windows computers.
instruNet World
iW+
DASYLab
LabVIEW
Direct To Excel
C/C++
Visual BASIC
instruNet Scope
i555 Starter System
The i555 Starter System, shown to the right, provides the following:
Usb 2.0 High Speed Data Acquisition Hardware for Windows = Xp Sp3, Vista, 7 or 8
Easily expand via 2 free slots in 4 slot i4xx Card Cage
The i555 includes the following products: i240, i430, i510, i400, i410, i312.
Why is instruNet Better Than Other Systems?
Low Cost Card Cage
instruNet is a low cost card cage that attaches to Windows computers via USB 2.0. The advantage
of a card cage is one can mix and match modules as needed, to build exactly what they need.
The advantage of the instruNet card cage is cost. For example, instruNet 4/8/12/16 slot chassis sell
for $100 per slot; whereas comparable chassis are 2x to 4x more costly.
Analog Backplane Reduces Cost
The instruNet card cage typically has one A/D measurement module and additional modules
provide signal conditioning. The conditioned analog signal is routed to the A/D module
via the backplane. This is dramatically different from comparable systems which place A/D measurement
electronics on each module. The advantage of the instruNet topology is cost. After the 1st module is
installed, additional instruNet channels are conditioned at approximately $40 per channel; whereas
comparable systems typically cost 2x to 8x more.
Universal Inputs Reduces Cost
instruNet measurement modules have universal inputs that enable one to directly connect each channel
to one of: Thermocouple,
Thermistor,
Strain Gage,
Load Cell,
RTD,
Voltage,
Current,
Resistance and
Accelerometer.
Absolute accuracy for all of these sensor types is specified. In some cases, the end user adds
an external shunt resistor. The advantage of universal inputs is cost.
Connect to Computer Via USB
Each instruNet Network is controlled by an instruNet i240 DSP controller card that attaches
to a Microsoft 32bit or 64bit Windows = Xp Sp3, Vista, 7 or 8 computer via High Speed USB 2.0
at 480mbit/sec. Each i240 Controller is an independent computer in itself that utilizes a powerful
32-bit DSP processor and onboard RAM to control all aspects of data acquisition along its network.
All real-time tasks are off-loaded to this processor, therefore the host computer is not burdened
with real-time issues. Each instruNet network supports up to 4 instruNet iNET-400 card cages.
Maximum Sample Rates
The following table shows maximum aggregate sample rates for an i240 USB controller
attached to an i4xx Card Cage. To calculate the sample rate for each channel, divide
by the number of channels attached to the i240 controller. For example, if the maximum
aggregate sample rate is 166Ksamples/sec/controller, and you digitize 4 channels, then you
could digitize each channel at 41Ks/sec/channel. One can attach up to eight i240/i60x controllers
to a computer to increase total system throughput with ≥ v3.7 software.
Max Aggregate Sample Rate per Controller (K samples/second/controller)
i51x wiring boxes easily bolt to i4xx cards. The i510 is the simplest and is included with the
i555 starter system. The i511 includes 8 bnc connectors. The i512 has a vRef/2 source that is used
to help complete 1/4 bridge and 1/2 bridge strain gage circuits. If you are measuring thermocouples,
then the i510 is the only wiring box that will work, since it contains an internal temperature sensor that
measures the temperature of the i510 screw terminals.
Model
Bnc Connectors
Thermocouple Support
1/4 and 1/2 Bridge Strain Gage vRef/2 Support
Individual Banks of Screw Terminals for each sensor
i510
0
yes
no
no
i511
8
no
no
yes
i512
0
no
yes
yes
Low Cost 4/8/12/16 Slot Card Cage
The i400 product provides 4 slots, and multiple i400's can be bolted together
by the end user, side-by-side, to create an 8, 12, or 16 slot system.
In many applications, one i400 with 4 slots is sufficient.
Specifications
iNET-400
No. of Slots: Each iNET-400 supports up to four cards. Multiple iNET-400's
can be bolted together side-by-side to create an 8, 12, or 16 slot system Material: Solid aluminum construction Dimensions: 15 D x 11 W x 14 cm H (6 x 4.5 x 5.6") Mounting: Place on desktop, affix to DIN rail, 19" rack, or wall mount
ANALOG INPUTS
No. of Channels:
iNET-420: 20 single-ended (SE)/10 differential (DI) iNET-423: 6 differential (DI) iNET-430: 16 single-ended (SE)/8 differential (DI) A/D Converter: 16-bit (iNET-430 only) Voltage: See voltage accuracy/range charts (on PDF) Thermocouple: J/K/T/E/R/S/B/N/C/G/D Thermistor: 2252 Ω (OMEGA 44000 Series) RTD: 100 Ω , 500 Ω , 1 kΩ platinum Load Cell: 10 kg, 25 kg, 100 kg, 250 kg, 1000 kg, 5000 kg Strain: 350 Ω (1/4 bridge, half bridge or full bridge), 1 kΩ (1/4 bridge) Potentiometer: 10 kΩ , 50 kΩ Current: ±80 uA, ±120 uA, ±500 uA, ±600 uA, ±800 uA, ±1.2 mA, ±2.5 mA,
±12 mA, ±24 mA, 0 to 24 mA Resistance: 0 to 33 Ω, 0 to 100 Ω, 0 to 330 Ω, 0 to 1 kΩ, 0 to 3300 Ω, 0 to 10 kΩ Common Mode Voltage: ±10Vdc (iNET-420 and iNET-430), ±5 Vdc (iNET-423) Crosstalk: <-80 dB typical Input Impedance: 100 MΩ
iNET-430 PRECISION ANALOG VOLTAGE OUTPUTS
No. of Channels: 2 Resolution: 14-bit Range: ±10.1V Output Current Drive: ±4 mA
iNET-430 ANALOG VOLTAGE OUTPUTS
No. of Channels: 2 Resolution: 8-bit Range: 0 to 10.1V Output Current Drive: ±4 mA
DIGITAL I/O (iNET-420/423/430)
No. of Channels: 4 universal digital I/O (20 mA sink, -10 to 30V) "0" Input Voltage: -10 to 0.65V "1" Input Voltage: 2.1 to 30 Vdc "0" Output Voltage: <0.8V @ < 5 mA; < 2V @ <20 mA "1" Output Voltage: 3.9 to 4.5V Schmitt Trigger Input: Yes
ENVIRONMENTAL
Operating Environment: 1 to 45°C (34 to 113°F), <90% RH Storage Temperature: -20 to 70°C (-4 to 158°F)
POWER
Required: +5 Vdc, ±12 Vdc required (supplied by iNET-312-8) User Available: 3.3 Vdc, 5 Vdc, ±12 Vdc