Access AIM-16 User Manual

ACCES I/O PRODUCTS INC

10623 Roselle Street, San Diego, CA 92121

TEL [phone] FAX [phone]

MODEL AIM-16

USER MANUAL

FILE: MAIM-16.D1d

Notice

The information in this document is provided for reference only. ACCES does not assume any liability arising
out of the application or use of the information or products described herein. This document may contain or
reference information and products protected by copyrights or patents and does not convey any license under
the patent rights of ACCES, nor the rights of others.

IBM PC, PC/XT, and PC/AT are registered trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation.

Printed in USA. Copyright 1995 by ACCES I/O Products Inc, 10623 Roselle Street, San Diego, CA 92121.
All rights reserved.

Page iii

Warranty

Prior to shipment, ACCES equipment is thoroughly inspected and tested to applicable specifications. However,
should equipment failure occur, ACCES assures its customers that prompt service and support will be
available. All equipment originally manufactured by ACCES which is found to be defective will be repaired
or replaced subject to the following considerations.

Terms and Conditions

If a unit is suspected of failure, contact ACCES' Customer Service department. Be prepared to give the unit
model number, serial number, and a description of the failure symptom(s). We may suggest some simple tests
to confirm the failure. We will assign a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number which must appear on
the outer label of the return package. All units/components should be properly packed for handling and
returned with freight prepaid to the ACCES designated Service Center, and will be returned to the
customer's/user's site freight prepaid and invoiced.

Coverage

First Three Years: Returned unit/part will be repaired and/or replaced at ACCES option with no charge for
labor or parts not excluded by warranty. Warranty commences with equipment shipment.

Following Years: Throughout your equipment's lifetime, ACCES stands ready to provide on-site or in-plant
service at reasonable rates similar to those of other manufacturers in the industry.

Equipment Not Manufactured by ACCES

Equipment provided but not manufactured by ACCES is warranted and will be repaired according to the
terms and conditions of the respective equipment manufacturer's warranty.

General

Under this Warranty, liability of ACCES is limited to replacing, repairing or issuing credit (at ACCES
discretion) for any products which are proved to be defective during the warranty period. In no case is
ACCES liable for consequential or special damage arriving from use or misuse of our product. The customer
is responsible for all charges caused by modifications or additions to ACCES equipment not approved in
writing by ACCES or, if in ACCES opinion the equipment has been subjected to abnormal use. "Abnormal
use" for purposes of this warranty is defined as any use to which the equipment is exposed other than that use
specified or intended as evidenced by purchase or sales representation. Other than the above, no other
warranty, expressed or implied, shall apply to any and all such equipment furnished or sold by ACCES.

Page iv

Table of Contents

Notice ..............................................................iii

Warranty ...........................................................iv

Chapter 1: Introduction ..............................................1-1

Specifications ......................................................... 1-2

Chapter 2: Installation ..............................................2-1

CD Installation ......................................................... 2-1

3.5-Inch Diskette Installation .............................................. 2-1

Directories Created on the Hard Disk ....................................... 2-2

Installation of the AIM-16 ................................................ 2-4

Option Selection .......................................................2-7

Gain Selection ......................................................... 2-7

Channel Selection ...................................................... 2-9

Current Inputs ......................................................... 2-9

RTD Sensor Selection .................................................. 2-10

Power Supply Selection ................................................ 2-10

Calibration and Test ................................................... 2-12

Chapter 3: Software .................................................3-1

Drivers ............................................................... 3-1

Sample Programs ...................................................... 3-1

SETMUX ............................................................. 3-1

Chapter 4: Sensor Interface ..........................................4-1

Considerations for Thermocouples ......................................... 4-1

Considerations for RTD Sensors .......................................... 4-2

Considerations for Strain Gage Sensors ..................................... 4-2

Considerations for Current Inputs .......................................... 4-3

Considerations for Other Voltage Inputs .....................................4-3

Appendix A: Cabling and Connector Information ........................ A-1

Input Connector Pin Assignments ..........................................A-1

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List of Figures

Figure 1-1: AIM-16 Block Diagram ............................................ 1-3

Figure 2-1: Use of CAB-37Y Cables .......................................... 2-6

Figure 2-2: AIM-16 Option Selection Map ..................................... 2-11

List of Tables

Table 2-1: AIM-16 Gain Table ............................................... 2-8

Table A-1: Connector Pin Assignments ........................................A-2

Page vi

Chapter 1: Introduction

Analog Input Multiplexer, Model AIM-16, is installed external to the computer. The AIM-16 accepts,
preamplifies, and multiplexes up to 16 analog input signals before passing them to an analog-to-digital
converter typically located in an I/O slot in a PC/XT/AT type host computer. This allows direct
sensor interface without jeopardizing the quality of gathered data. The AIM-16 provides
screw-terminal terminations and input signal conditioning for a variety of sensors including
thermocouples (J,K,T,E,S,R, and B), three-wire RTDs (both for 392- and 385-alpha), and strain gages
as well as DC voltage and current inputs. For strain gage applications, +10V at up to 220mA
excitation voltage for the strain gages is provided by the ACCES Model AD12-8 analog-to-digital
converter through the AIM-16. That excitation voltage is available at a 2-position screw-terminal
block labeled REF OUT.

An input, when selected by the input multiplexer, is filtered, amplified, and, if required, level shifted.
After this processing, the signal is supplied to an output channel where it is passed to the
analog-to-digital converter. The A/D converter digitizes the DC signal and presents it to the computer
CPU for further processing and/or display.

A major feature of this card is that it can be used with mixed-range analog inputs. The AIM-16
provides extensive programming flexibility for both hardware and software configuration. Four digital
input lines are used for channel selection and three digital input lines are used for gain selection. Gains
may be selected by software or manually by switch. When selected manually, the gain setting chosen
applies to all input channels.

Software included with model AD12-8 analog-to-digital converter facilitates interface to the AIM-16.
That software includes setup programs, drivers, and sample programs. Read sections Installation and
Software for more details.

The AIM-16 card may be used as part of a large data acquisition system. A system may comprise one
to eight of these cards, all interconnected on the same output bus because each card has two parallel
input/output connectors. For thermocouple measurements, each card may provide it's own reference
junction compensation at input IN0 by using jumpers marked "TMP" as described in Installation.
Also, for thermocouple applications, a break-detect circuit is activated by installation of a pair of
shorts for each thermocouple input channel.

Option P consists of a DC-DC converter which operates from the +5VDC computer power supply and
provides isolated ±15VDC for use by the analog circuits on AIM-16. This option is particularly useful
if the ±12VDC computer power is noisy and/or is marginally low.

Model AIM-16I has current-sensing resistors installed for use in 4-20mA applications. Further, it has
also been modified so that maximum resolution is provided at the A/D converter. The modifications
that are made include introduction of an offset and addition of a gain adjustment pot, so that full 12-bit
resolution is provided. Model AIM-16R is specifically modified to provide the best possible accuracy
for RTD inputs.

Manual MAIM-16.D1d

Page 1-1

AIM-16 Manual

Specifications

Analog Inputs and Outputs

• Input Channels: 16 Differential Analog Input Channels per AIM-16.

• Output Channels: Analog Output assignable to 1 of 8 Output Channels.

• Common Mode Rejection: 125 db for gains above 100.
90 db for gain = 1.

• Output Rating: 5mA at ±10VDC or ±5VDC.

• Gain Nonlinearity: ±0.005%.

• Temp. Coefficient: 5 ppm/ °C.

• Overvoltage: Continuous: 70V peak-to-peak, 35VDC.

• Sensors: Thermocouples, with break detect provided.

• RTDs, with excitation and offset provided.

• Strain gages, with ratiometric outputs.

• Voltage and current inputs.

• Reference Junction: Temperature Scale Factor: +24.4mV/ °C., 0.0VDC @ 0 °C.

Reference junction temperature output assignable as an input to
Analog Input Channel #0, or to any Output Channel.

• Preamplifier: 12 Analog Gains ranging from 0.5 to 1000.

• Programmable gains selected by computer, channel by channel.

• Manual gains selected by DIP switch one gain setting for all channels.

• Three TTL digital inputs for gain selection.

• Control Inputs: Four TTL digital inputs for channel selection.

• Terminations: Analog inputs: Plug-on screw terminal blocks for 12-22 AWG wire.

• Digital Input/Analog Output: 37-pin Sub-D connector.

Environmental

• Operating Temp: 0 °C. to 65 °C.

• Storage Temp: -40 °C. to + 100 °C.

• Humidity: 0 to 90% RH non-condensing.

• Size: 8.0 inches long, 4.75 inches wide, 0.75 inches high.

• Power Required: +5VDC: 20mA typical, with option P, DC to DC converter,

+5VDC: 125mA max..
+12VDC: 10mA typical.

-12VDC: 10mA typical.

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Manual MAIM-16.D1d

Figure 1-1: AIM-16 Block Diagram

Manual MAIM-16.D1d

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AIM-16 Manual

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Manual MAIM-16.D1d