Boundary Scan Option for NI's FlexRIO Cards

16 October 2012 - GOEPEL electronic has developed a Boundary Scan option for National Instruments‘ PXI/PXIe FlexRIO cards. The solution enables the utilization of the FPGA based FlexRIO hardware as Boundary scan I/O module. That provides users a wide range of supplementing test strategies for a significant increase in structural test depth for prototypes or in the production process.

The new Boundary Scan option is based on the utilization of a customer-specific adapter module for the FlexRIO PXIe-7962R card combined with a specially developed Boundary Scan IP (Intellectual Property) for the onboard FPGA. The FlexRIO adapter MDK (Module Development Kit) was used to develop the adapter module. For the Boundary Scan IP integration an appropriate VHDL design was compiled as Component Level Intellectual Property (CLIP). The entire handling is executed via the LabVIEW FPGA software from National Instruments. GOEPEL electronic additionally provides a hardware support package incl. VHDL source code for individual Boundary Scan adaptions.

The configured module supports all Boundary Scan procedures such as automatic interconnection test with pin-failure diagnosis, automatic cluster test with pin-failure diagnosis or hardware debugging. A SYSTEM CASCON run-time version is utilized as Boundary Scan software, also controlled from LabVIEW via an API (Application Programming Interface). 

“Our Boundary Scan solutions have been used by major primes for many years. Thanks to the extraordinary cooperation with SELEX Galileo we were able to implement the project for FlexRIO support within a few weeks”, says Bettina Richter, GOEPEL electronic’s Marketing Manager. “We understand such customer-specific development projects as integral part of our customer support, providing important information on perspective market requirements“.

“Technologies such as Boundary Scan and FlexRIO are fundamentally important the testing of our products“, says Antonio Cardinale, Senior Test Manager with SELEX Galileo. “The successful cooperation with GOEPEL electronic provides us a highly efficient utilization of the PXI Express FlexRIO modules. We are now in an excellent position to interlock structural and functional test strategies even deeper on one test platform”.

“National Instruments’ PXI and PXI Express based FlexRIO modules offer an unrivalled flexibility for numerous instruments and applications“, adds Rahman Jamal, Technical & Marketing Director Europe with National Instruments. “In this sense, the newly developed Boundary Scan adaption is an important step towards this potential’s practical implementation“.

About Boundary Scan

Boundary Scan (IEEE Std. 1149.x) is a technology for embedded access of IC pins by integrated scan cells. They form a shift register controlled via the Test Access Port (TAP). The principle was developed as an alternative to the In-Circuit Test (ICT) to avoid the utilization of nail probe contacting.

Boundary Scan is part of the so called Embedded System Access (ESA) technologies, containing procedures such as Chip Embedded Instruments, Processor Emulation Test, In-System Programming or Core Assisted Programming. ESA technologies are the most modern strategies for validation, test, debugging as well as programming of complex boards and systems at the moment. They can be applied throughout the entire product life cycle, enabling an enhanced test coverage at reduced costs.

About FlexRIO

The product range NI FlexRIO offers flexible, user-definable I/O for NI LabVIEW FPGA. The hardware consists of two elements: NI FlexRIO FPGA modules for PXI/PXIe and NI FlexRIO adapter modules. Together they present a powerful, re-configurable metering solution based on LabVIEW FPGA software.