National Instruments 778444-01 PXI Motion Control Module

The 778444-01, often referred to as the PXI-7334, is a sophisticated 4-axis stepper motion controller designed for point-to-point motion applications. This module excels in linear interpolation for coordinating multiple axes and offers real-time system integration, facilitating seamless communication with data acquisition or image acquisition hardware. Its high-performance stepper generation ensures smooth motion at high velocities.

The 778444-01, designed specifically for PCI and PXI bus computers, offers completely programmable motion control for up to four independent or coordinated axes. In addition to extra I/O for general-purpose operations, it has dedicated motion I/O for limit and home switches. The module is perfect for many different stepper motor applications because it can perform both straight-line and point-to-point vector motions.

The dual-processor design of the 778444-01, which combines a Motorola MC68331 real-time 32-bit CPU, an Analog Devices ADSP-2185 digital signal processor (DSP), and bespoke field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), is the source of its exceptional capabilities. By offloading complex motion operations from the host PC and utilizing a first-in-first-out (FIFO) bus interface, this arrangement maximizes command throughput and system performance while enabling high-speed communications.

The 778444-01 has motion I/O for trigger inputs, breakpoint outputs, end-of-travel limit and home switch inputs, and encoder feedback rates up to 20 MHz on each axis. Furthermore, four analog inputs for ±10 V signals, joystick inputs, or analog sensor monitoring are provided by the module together with 32 bits of digital I/O. Loop closure feedback is also provided by the analog inputs.

The Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) bus from National Instruments is supported by the 778444-01, enabling high-speed communication across National Instruments products, including as image acquisition (IMAQ) and data acquisition (DAQ) systems. Using a single trigger or timing event, the RTSI bus enables synchronization across numerous motion, IMAQ, or DAQ devices.

The 778444-01 has a user-friendly application programming interface (API), and it may be used with either static or dynamically linked libraries (DLLs) to execute setup and motion control functions. Full function set implementations for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and other industry-standard software applications are available for these libraries, which are interoperable with C, Visual Basic, and other high-level languages.