Recommend hardware for RTD input

[JPNaidu]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help me choose a device I could use for getting data from a RTD (Resistance Temperature Detector). I am not very familiar or good at analog input or output and labview, so please treat me as a newbie.
Here is a brief description on the system.

There are 64 heating elements, each connected to a RTD, i need to collect the current temperature of each RTD in real-time. What analog device would i use for this problem?
The RTD i was looking at was this model:http://www.omega.com/Temperature/pdf/RTD-2-F3102.pdf <-the F3105 s, and one will be connected to each heating element.

I was looking at this NI input analog device: http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/202571 . I was wondering if it could do the job for me. Since it has 32 input lines, would i need 2 of those modules each line connected to one RTD? Or would I need more modules? Or would it be a bad choice for this problem?

Also a question for labview related to this, with the input, can i get graphical representation of each input, and export it to Excel?

Thanks for any suggestions,
JP Naidu

[tnek]

Hi JP,

It sounds like you have done a good deal of background research. However, the module which you are chosen may not be the best option for you. RTD's require additional signal conditioning such as an excitation current. While it is possible to provide this externally, you may want to consider the RTD modules available in SCXI or CompactDAQ form factors. A PXI digital multimeter/switch system may also be a viable option for you. For more information on using RTDs, you can look at this article. Once the data is acquired, you will be able to display the data in a graph indicator and use File I/O functions to export the data in files which can be opened in Excel. If you have additional questions, feel free to call a technical representative or post back.

Regards,
Kent
Applications Engineer

[JPNaidu]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. The module you linked me too looks good for my application.

I was wondering if you could help with something else which goes with this application. I just want to be sure.

We are looking to heat elements using this module: NI 9263 - https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/model/ni-9263.html.
The heating elements have a rated VMax of 8V.
There are 64 heating element (so 16 modules) and each output channel will be attatched to the heater element.

Q1. I was wondering if the NI 9263 is a good choice for this app?

Q2. I was wondering with Labview, can we make a feedback circuit where a RTD can read the data and Labview can output a certain voltage? i.e. with this we can set an Max Temperature and Labview can maintain the temperature. I am new to Labview, I was just wondering how it functions. I am sure it has lots of functions, just making sure.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Message Edited by JPNaidu on 06-05-2008 08:16 PM

[tnek]

Hi JP,

I'm not quite sure what your requirements are for your application but this module will work if you wanted to set programmatic voltage setpoints for each individual element. If this what you need, you may also want to consider the NI 9264 to pack more channels into a module. As for your second question, this can be easily done in LabVIEW. If you have LabVIEW installed already, there are good examples for this in the Example Finder which can be accessed in the Help menu. One good example for your application may be PID Control-Single Channel.vi which can be found browsing by task under Hardware Input and Output » DAQmx » Control » General. If you are interested, there is also a PID toolkit available for LabVIEW. More information on this can be found here.

Regards,
Kent
Applications Engineer