TestStand A Complete Test Executive Environment TestStand NEW! Ready-to-run, customizable test executive Calls tests written in any language: LabVIEW LabWindows/CVI C/C++ Visual Basic DLLs Executables Interactive development environment for building test sequences Automatic report generation to ASCII, HTML, and database formats Intuitive, customizable operator interface High-speed, optimized 32-bit execution engine Multithreaded sequence engine can run multiple sequences at the same time Overview Worldwide Service, Support, and National Instruments TestStand is a ready-to- Training run test executive for organizing, controlling, National Instruments TestStand is designed to automate a wide and executing your automated prototype, variety of test systems, from the R&D lab to the production validation, or production test systems. The off- floor. To ensure your success when customizing TestStand for the-shelf TestStand executive is completely your specific requirements, National Instruments provides customizable, so you can modify and enhance worldwide technical support and service, standard training it to match your specific needs, including custom operator classes, and trained third-party experts who can help you interface, report generation, and sequence execution implement advanced test systems using TestStand. National requirements. Built upon an optimized, high-speed 32-bit Instruments TestStand delivers the performance, flexibility, and execution engine, TestStand also delivers the performance to worldwide support to meet your global automated test meet your most rigorous test throughput requirements. Using management solutions. TestStand, you can focus your engineering efforts on the more important tasks of creating a test strategy for your products and developing test programs that implement your strategy, while Operator Interface TestStand handles the sequencing and execution tasks for you. Customizable Call Tests Written in Any Language Reports The TestStand execution engine is compatible with all of the leading test programming languages, including LabVIEW, ASCII LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, Visual C++, DLLs, ActiveX HTML Engine Automation Servers, and EXEs, so you can easily support legacy Database test programs and multiple product testing on a single system. National Instruments TestStand is also fully integrated with the LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI programming environments, so LabVIEW CVI DLL EXE you can set breakpoints and single-step directly into your test programs from TestStand. With the open architecture of the TestStand engine, you can integrate new file formats and development environments as needed in the future. National Instruments 55 Phone: (512) 794-0100 " Fax: (512) 683-8411 " info@natinst.com " www.natinst.com TestStand Instrumentation and Analysis Software TestStand Ready-to-Run Test Executive Create local and global variables accessible from your test programs Call tests written in any language, including LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, C/C++, Visual Basic, DLLs, or executables Create setup and cleanup sequences for station management Breakpoint, single-step execution for troubleshooting View important variables at runtime in the Watch Window Standard Features Execution Options " Database storage based on ODBC (such as Access, Oracle, " Intuitive operator interface (customizable) and SQL Server) " Calls tests written in any language " Basic yield statistics (LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, DLLs, Exes) " Automatic sequence documentation " Conditional branching, looping, and sequencing " Multithreaded execution engine (run multiple sequences Debugging at once) " Breakpoints/single-step execution " Share data/variables between tests/sequences " Variable displays/watch window " UUT serial number prompt (customizable) " Interactive selective test execution " Dynamic test limit variances (product family testing) " Interactive test looping Customizable Reporting User Management " ASCII file " User manager for defining/controlling access privileges " HTML file 56 National Instruments Phone: (512) 794-0100 " Fax: (512) 683-8411 " info@natinst.com " www.natinst.com TestStand Instrumentation and Analysis Software TestStand Fully Customizable Test Executive Add custom SPC analysis to your system Customize the operator interface in LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or Visual Basic Automatically generate ASCII, HTML, or database reports Customizable Features them completely with your own modules to perform these actions Customize the Execution System in your system. Therefore, you can completely customize how the " Operator Interface TestStand execution engine runs your test system, but you can do " User-Modifiable Modules so in a modular fashion so your customizations are preserved as " Serial Number Prompt the TestStand engine is upgraded. " User-Defined Test Data/Parameters " Database/Reporting Customize the Development Environment Although TestStand is a ready-to-run test executive that you can You can also customize the TestStand sequence editor itself to install and run on your test system right out of the box, you can create a specialized environment for your engineers. For also customize TestStand to meet your specific requirements. The example, you can create custom test code templates to provide TestStand execution engine calls a series of individual modules that a standard starting point for test developers building test handle specific tasks, such as scanning UUT serial numbers, programs. You can also add your own utilities to the TestStand generating test reports, and displaying the operator interface itself. menus to integrate customized features into the environment Many of these modules are delivered in source code, so you can itself. The end result is an optimized test executive development modify them yourself to meet your own specific needs, or replace environment designed specifically for your organization. National Instruments 57 Phone: (512) 794-0100 " Fax: (512) 683-8411 " info@natinst.com " www.natinst.com TestStand Instrumentation and Analysis Software TestStand Flexibility and Performance for Advanced Test Systems Custom Execution Models By defining a custom process execution model, you can customize the sequence execution procedure of the TestStand test execution engine itself. With a custom execution model, you can insert your own code modules (written in any language) into the engine to handle specialized analysis, reporting, or sequence managing operations. You can even change the basic operation of the engine, such as prompting for multiple serial numbers at startup and running your sequences against multiple UUTs at once. High-Speed, Multithreaded Execution Engine The TestStand execution engine is optimized for execution speed Interactive User Access Manager to handle the most demanding production test-throughput You can control access to specific TestStand capabilities based on requirements. Benchmarks on the execution engine show less the user login level. TestStand has an interactive User Manager than 1 ms overhead for calling a test in a sequence*. Using environment from which you can add users, set passwords, TestStand, you can run multiple test sequence at once. Each access levels, and user profiles. You can also add custom user sequence runs on its own execution thread to optimize the use of privileges when access to customized features must your computer resources and maximize test system throughput. be controlled. Dynamic Test Limit Loading User-Defined Test Data For testing large families of a product, you can develop a single With TestStand, you can define custom data structures and sequence and dynamically modify the sequence test limits and information to be collected from your tests. You can easily group subsequence calls based on UUT serial number/part number common test operations into reusable properties, evaluation information. Test sequence limit files can be stored as ASCII, comma- algorithms, and source code templates to streamline test delimited, tab-delimited, or Excel .XLS files as shown below. program and sequence development. From any of your test programs, you can access the defined test data, local and global Automatic Test Code variables, and past test results or properties for ultimate Generation Tools programming flexibility. You can use TestStand as a tool to help guide your test developers when creating test programs. TestStand is integrated width the LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI programming environments to assist in test code generation. From TestStand, you can right-click on a test and select Create Test Code, and TestStand will automatically find your LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI development environment, open it, and insert a test code template file. You are free to customize the template files. If you have your own standards for error handling, test initialization, or general code structure, TestStand and these templates can help you both enforce your standards and automate the development process for your engineers. *Benchmark performed on Pentium II 300 MHz computer with 64 MB RAM, running Windows 95. Overhead times based on the average calling time of 100 empty steps packaged as DLLs. 58 National Instruments Phone: (512) 794-0100 " Fax: (512) 683-8411 " info@natinst.com " www.natinst.com TestStand Instrumentation and Analysis Software TestStand System Components and Ordering Information TestStand A Test Management Environment Network Test Connectivity Report for Your Complete Automated Test System TestStand is designed for building advanced TestStand automated test systems. TestStand is fully SQL SPC integrated with LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI, Database the leading test development languages in the industry. You can take advantage of the power and User Application flexibility of these programming tools to perform measurements, analyze the results, and build Measurement custom displays. TestStand is optimized to handle Test Programs and Control Modules the high-level control, sequencing, and execution of these test programs with centralized reporting and display capabilities. Together, National Instruments TestStand and National Instruments LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI make up the most powerful functional test software platform you can PXI VXI buy. Hardware and GPIB Plug-in DAQ Boards Instrument Drivers System Components TestStand Full Development System Includes execution engine, sequence development environment, customizable operator interfaces, SQL and SPC tools, and interfaces to LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, System Requirements DLLs, and EXE tests. " Windows NT/98/95 " Pentium 90 MHz processor or greater TestStand Base Deployment Engine " 32 MB RAM Includes minimum TestStand execution engine and support files " 50 MB hard disk space for deploying your systems on a target computer. " Mouse TestStand Deployment Debug Environment Includes TestStand Deployment Engine and sequence debugging capabilities for viewing variables, setting breakpoints, and single-stepping through sequences. Also includes a license to use LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI on the target computer for debugging purposes only. TestStand Training Course Two-day hands-on training course on developing sequences, customizing the environment, and building test programs Ordering Information for TestStand. TestStand Full Development System ............................777777-03 Debug Deployment Environment................900851-01 Base Deployment Engine ............................900850-01 TestStand Training Course.............................910555-xx (see page 848 for details) Training Course Kit.......................................777873-01 National Instruments 59 Phone: (512) 794-0100 " Fax: (512) 683-8411 " info@natinst.com " www.natinst.com TestStand Instrumentation and Analysis Software