Dear All,
I'm sorry for this probably very stupid question, but I cannot find the answer myself probably because my knowledge on LabVIEW and data acquisition systems is not very good. Searching the forum also did not supply me with the desired answers, hopefully one of you is able to help me out with this.
For introduction;
I work at a company constructing and using small scale chemical process facilities. To receive data (mainly temperature and pressure), and control parts of the facility (mainly pumps and engines, through 4-20 mA and DO signal) we are currently using LabVIEW software coupled with the cDAQ system in which I install the required modules.
For a new setup I need to measure up to 60 Thermocouple signals, about 80 analog input signals (4-20 mA) and 24 digital input signals. Also I need to include 8x analog output (4-20 mA) and about 64 digital outputs. Needless to say I cannot fit all this in one cDAQ chassis. However I would expect it to be possible to connect multiple cDAQ chassis into one LabVIEW VI. If I just use 3 or 4 USB connectors to the PC, will this work together?
I've been in contact with NI and a PXI system was proposed, however this makes it much more complex for me, and I expect this will result in lower flexibilty if we need to adjust the system later on.
I would appreciate any response if this is possible or not, and if this is a smart thing to do or not. Our systems are generally 'slow' compared to typical signal processing activities, and accuracy is usually not limiting. In that sense I'm not looking to achieve fast communication (1 second delay in input and/or output is really no problem) also timing between the cDAQ chassis is not important, as long as it doesn't hinder communication.
Thank you for reading, and possibly for your response.
Evert
