With Test System Architect from Pickering Interfaces, you can design cable assemblies that connect your device-under-test to test equipment or switches. The cloud-based tool is free. You need only register to use it.
Connecting electronic devices to test equipment can be daunting, especially when building an automated test system and connecting several test instruments to devices under test. You probably start with a spreadsheet that lists connector types, cables, connector pins, signal names, and termination points. Things can get hairy very quickly. Is there a better way?
The people at Pickering Interfaces think so. Pickering specializes in PXI switching modules, so they’ve seen firsthand how messy designing cables can be. To help you design test cables, Pickering has developed Test System Architect, a free online design tool. Sign up and give it a try.
“All too often, engineers designing automated test systems don’t consider the signal path,” Pickering’s Kyle Voosen told me when I met him at Pickering’s Boston office. “Errors in spreadsheets only become apparent once you build the cable.” Voosen gave me a demonstration where he specified a cable to connect four devices to a multimeter through a switch matrix.
With Test System Architect, you specify the connector type, cable length (with or without accounting for connector size), and then you add the connections. You can also pull in specifications for Pickering’s PXI switching modules to complete the design. Test System Architect will show you the cable design and its schematic. When designing a cable, you can select from PXI switch modules that include matrix, mux, RF mux, and general-purpose switches. You can also add PXI, PXIe hybrid, and LXI/USB chassis into your overall design.
Through your online account, Test System Architect will let you save your design documentation. You can then export it as a data file, SVG file, PNG graphic, datasheet, or BOM CSV file.
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