Product Overview
The National Instruments PXIe-1435 is a Camera Link image acquisition device for PXI Express systems. It is designed to capture images from Camera Link cameras and deliver them to a host application with reliable timing and high throughput. The module is used in machine vision, scientific imaging, high speed inspection, and automated test systems that require deterministic camera control.
Camera Link remains a common interface in industrial imaging because it provides a direct, high bandwidth connection with predictable cabling. The PXIe-1435 pairs this interface with PXI Express backplane bandwidth, allowing multiple cameras and other instruments to operate in one chassis. Engineers can combine imaging with analog measurement, motion control, and digital I/O in a single system.
Camera Link Interfaces
The module provides Camera Link connections for compatible cameras, supporting the configuration and bit depth of the attached camera model. Camera Link cables carry image data, camera control signals, and serial communication, which simplifies integration compared with multi cable camera setups. Engineers should confirm cable length limits and connector retention for the installed environment.
Camera triggering can be handled through hardware signals so that image capture aligns with motion, strobe lighting, or external events. Deterministic triggering is essential in high speed inspection, where a timing error of a few milliseconds can produce an image of the wrong part. Trigger routing and camera configuration should be verified during commissioning.
FPGA Based Acquisition Control
The module includes FPGA based logic for acquisition control and data handling. This allows image timing, region of interest selection, and transfer behavior to be implemented in hardware rather than in the host application. Hardware control reduces latency and makes acquisition behavior repeatable across runs.
Engineers can use NI development tools to customize acquisition behavior for specific camera formats and inspection requirements. Custom logic is useful when a camera mode is not fully supported by a standard configuration, or when preprocessing such as line based filtering is best performed before transfer. Any custom logic should be validated against the camera timing specification.
Throughput and Multi Camera Systems
PXI Express provides substantial bandwidth between the module and the embedded controller, which supports high resolution and high frame rate imaging. Multiple frame grabbers can be installed in one chassis to monitor several cameras on the same production line, and their images can be correlated in time through shared triggers.
System design should account for sustained disk write rates, memory capacity, and processing load when multiple cameras stream continuously. Engineers often combine full rate acquisition for short bursts with reduced rate or region based acquisition for continuous monitoring. These choices should be validated against the inspection rate requirement of the line.
Software and Integration
The PXIe-1435 is supported by NI vision acquisition software and drivers, and applications can be developed with LabVIEW and other NI environments. Image acquisition can be combined with processing libraries for pattern matching, measurement, and defect detection. Results can be logged, displayed, and sent to plant systems over the controller network interface.
In a PXI Express chassis, the module can be synchronized with motion controllers, digital I/O, and analog instruments. This integration supports systems that trigger a camera, capture an image, actuate a reject mechanism, and record measurements in one application. Documentation of camera settings, lighting, and calibration data helps maintain consistency across production stations.
Typical Applications
High speed inline inspection and defect detection
Multi camera production monitoring
Scientific imaging and microscopy
Position and alignment measurement
Vision guided automation and robotics
Image acquisition integrated with analog and digital test
The PXIe-1435 provides Camera Link image acquisition with FPGA based control in a PXI Express module. Its throughput and integration make it suitable for machine vision and scientific imaging applications that require reliable, deterministic capture.
