The National Instruments Systems Development Platform is a tightly integrated suite of industry-standard Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware components and software tools. It is widely recognized as one of the strongest and most flexible platforms available for building measurement and automation systems, from plug-and-play data acquisition for PCs and laptops, to high-precision powerful and robust industrial controllers.
ICON Technologies is a Silver Level National Instruments Alliance Partner, and a Preferred Integration Partner for Braemac, NI’s Australian Distributor. We offer local sales and support services for NI product in Western Australia, backed by the practical experience that comes from working with these products every day to solve real-world problems.
The Benefit of Working with a Development Platform
All the elements of the Platform are designed and engineered from the ground up to work together seamlessly, and to present a consistent interface to the user. You spend more time actually working with the outputs of your system, and less time trying to make the pieces fit together. And maintaining or extending the system is straightforward and predictable – you can be sure that any new components will integrate seamlessly and consistently with the existing system. Newer hardware technologies can be smoothly integrated into a system as required, and old legacy hardware will still be supported in a consistent fashion under new versions of driver and application software.
For our clients, this means shorter times-to-market for their products and services that are built on top of the platform, less budget uncertainty, and confidence that their systems can evolve to meet changing requirements and be supported over their full commercial lifetime. It also means that the majority, if not all, of the components of their integrated system are supported through a single vendor via a world-wide network of sales and engineering offices.
Software Defined and Re-Configurable
The overall system functionality is determined by custom-written application software. This means that the system can be re-configured in both hardware and software to address any change in your requirements over time. Changes may be necessary to address:
- Incorporation of new technologies as they emerge
- Changes to your business environment
- Changes to competitor products and services
- Changes to external industry and test standards
Whatever the reason, you can be sure that your measurement and automation system won’t be left behind.
ICON Technologies is the Right Integrator for the NI Platform
The NI Platform itself is only part of the equation. It is equally important to have the expertise and best practices to apply the toolset to your particular requirements.
ICON Technologies is Australia’s most experienced integrator of the NI Platform in industrial and academic environments. We understand that delivering a solution that meets the technical requirements of the job is not enough. It must also meet standards for reliability, safety, and maintainability, and it must be supported on your timetable, not ours.
Start with a great toolset, add the right integrator, and solve your most challenging industrial control and automation problems!
A Deeper Look
The NI website contains full details of the products that make up the NI Platform. Whilst ICON Technologies is familiar with all elements of the Platform, we have particular expertise with the following:
- NI CompactRIO is the ultimate industrial programmable automation controller (PAC) which incorporates a Real-Time OS and FPGA hardware.
- NI CompactDAQ a “little brother” to CompactRIO, without the built-in FPGA. Can run a Real-Time OS or embedded Windows. Best suited to monitoring applications with modest output/control requirements.
- NI PXI is arguably the most powerful modular measurement and automation platform available. Less robust than CompactRIO and CompactDAQ, but on a par or better than most industrial PCs.
- NI SystemLink enables the remote management and maintenance of distributed networks of devices.
- NI SystemLink TDM Module seamlessly integrates data management, analysis and reporting into any measurement or monitoring application.