Designers surfing the net for information have a new tool at their disposal. The webDAQ/100, a web-based data-acquisition device, combines high-performance analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog hardware with current web technology.
The webDAQ/100 not only has a built-in web server, it also has its own user interface. Engineers simply plug the device into a network connection, open up their web browsers, and tell it what to do. Easy-to-use screens allow the configuration of acquisition parameters, start and stop operations, and the definition of data reports. To obtain data, users just click and download the file. Data can even be downloaded directly into Excel.
Any computer that has an Ethernet port can use the webDAQ/100. The device can be locally connected as well. Multiple webDAQ/100s can be utilized in a factory or at remote sites for unattended data logging. Users don't need to maintain a continuous computer connection while the webDAQ/100 is gathering data because the device even has up to 32 Mbytes of internal RAM.
As an intelligent appliance, the webDAQ/100 is easy to use but powerful enough to assume complicated tasks without custom programming. Its scheduled report feature automatically e-mails data to users or uploads it to an FTP file server. Also, it includes 500 kHz of throughput at 12-bit accuracy on 32 input channels, as well as eight digital/analog output channels. Digital and analog triggering, along with built-in sensor scaling and conversion to engineering units, are included, too. And, the webDAQ/100 can simultaneously sample at multiple data rates.
Volume production shipments of webDAQ/100s with 4 Mbytes of RAM installed will begin in July, priced at $995 each.
Capital Equipment Corp., 900 Middlesex Tpke., Bldg. 2, Billerica, MA 01821; (800) 234-4232; fax (978) 663-2626; www.cec488.com.
