LabView links with EDA tools

Design engineers can now integrate LabView graphical development software with Spice and PSpice EDA tools from vendors including Cadence, Synopsis and Mentor Graphics.

Design engineers can now download free Spice integration VIs to integrate National Instruments LabView graphical development software with Spice and PSpice electronic design automation (EDA) tools from vendors including Cadence, Synopsis and Mentor Graphics.

This integration makes it easier for engineers to test electronic designs by comparing simulations with real-world data.

With the Spice integration VIs, engineers using Spice circuit simulators can easily import simulated signals from circuit design into LabView, where they can compare expected results of their circuit design with real-world prototype measurements.

By combining Spice simulation results with measurement data from design prototypes in LabView, designers can more quickly iterate through the design process and shorten time-to-market of mobile phones, PDAs and other electronic products.

Engineers generate stimulus signals and acquire and analyse circuit responses in LabView using PXI modular instruments or traditional stand-alone GPIB instruments.

They then quickly visualise discrepancies between simulated results and actual measurements on LabView graph displays to rapidly identify errors and tune performance during the development process.

The Spice integration VIs work with any Spice simulator that outputs results in Berkeley Spice, Orcad PSpice or Multisim files from Electronics Workbench.

The VIs are available free of charge from the National Instruments website.

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