NI Multisim and NI LabVIEW: A Platform for Integrated Design and Test
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NI Electronics Workbench Group products deliver a platform of tools for electronics design, marking a significant advance in the vision of tightly integrated design and test. The platform, comprised of NI Multisim, NI Ultiboard, and NI measurement technology including NI LabVIEW and NI LabVIEW SignalExpress, introduces a large number of new professional tools for an easy-to-use and improved methodology to capture, simulate and test a design.
The integration between capture and simulation, with the industry leading virtual test of NI LabVIEW, provides exciting new possibilities for design engineers powered by test and measurements. Test engineers are also empowered with the power to easily benchmark real prototypes and effectively implement design changes in the intuitive environment of NI Multisim.
In this article you will be introduced to the vast resources and articles available to you at ni.com, which explore how to integrate NI LabVIEW test and measurement, with the design of NI Multisim.
Figure 1 - NI Multisim, NI Ultiboard and NI LabVIEW
Benchmarking Prototypes
In the modern design cycle, engineers often use simulations to predict circuit behavior. These simulations form a benchmark to which prototype and production printed circuit boards (PCBs) are measured. With NI Multisim and NI LabVIEW, due to the transfer of native measurement data through the LabVIEW measurement (.LVM) format, test and design engineers have a simple yet effective method for transferring data.
For the test engineer, this means that simulation results can be exported from NI Multisim, and brought into the verification and validation phases of a design. This simulation data can be immediately utilized to benchmark the performance of the real-world prototype against theoretical simulation values.
Advanced Applications
This linear transfer of measurement data is but one application of an integrated design and test platform.
Designers and engineers are now able to utilize a simulation methodology called the virtual prototype. The virtual prototype is a distinct step in the iterative simulation process which acquires a real-signal and introduces this data into a SPICE simulated circuit. By combining a mathematical model of a circuit in NI Multisim, with real stimuli acquired in NI LabVIEW, an engineer can better approximate the behavior of a circuit and therefore improve the final product of the design stage.
NI LabVIEW can also be used to create custom virtual instruments that can be used from inside Multisim. These instruments based upon virtual instrument templates can be found in the Multisim sample folder and significantly expand the capabilities of Multisim with advanced analyses and simulation tools that are available through the power of LabVIEW.
Available resources
The following resources are available at ni.com upon our platform for Integrated Design and Test.
Articles and Webcasts
Custom LabVIEW Instruments
Product Resources
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