Pickering to show new product developments at electronica

In Hall A3 on Booth 161, Pickering will highlight its latest PXI multi-cell battery simulator module along with its other switch and simulation modules, including fault insertion switching and programmable resistors inside their battery management system (BMS) test demo developed in integration with partner Austin Consultants.

Paul Bovingdon, Simulation Product Manager explained: “With the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, one of the significant challenges to be tackled is the effective testing and validation of battery management systems. Using modular, PXI-based switch and simulation modules offers many advantages in testing a BMS, including flexibility to optimise the test system to meet exact requirements; simple modification to address evolving requirements; and an industry-standard open architecture that promotes system longevity and mitigates obsolescence while providing seamless integration of multi-vendor instrumentation and communication modules.”

The BMS test demo includes the following Pickering products:

• 41-752A PXI Battery Simulator – Simulates batteries in a stacked architecture
• 40-190B PXI Fault Insertion – Simulates cell shorts and broken wires
• 40-253 PXI Precision Resistor – Simulates battery load
• 42-297A PXIe Programmable Resistor – Simulates battery temperature sensors
• 41-743 PXI Programmable Power Supply – Simulates battery charger
• 43-920 PXI Embedded Controller
• 42-925 PXIe 18-slot Chassis

Further highlights planned for Pickering's electronica booth

New optical switches launched – new models in Pickering’s range of space-saving, versatile optical switches, the 65-280 (matrix) and 65-281 (multiplexer) plug-ins for the LXI 65-200 platform are being launched at the show. The 65-28x plug-ins increase the switching element size up to 16x16 (matrix) and 32:1 (multiplexer) for a single plug-in. The new topologies fit well with the LXI platform, as its larger real estate permits up to six banks of 2x2 or eight banks of 2:1 per plug-in.

9kV PXI High Voltage switching solutions – available in both PXI & PXIe, these are SPST high voltage power relay modules featuring 7 or 14 high-quality Pickering reed relays per module. The modules can cold switch up to 9 kilovolts DC/AC peak, hot switch up to 7.5 kilovolts DC/AC peak at 50W maximum and carry up to 250mA. Both modules include hardware interlock and user connectors are supported by Pickering's range of connectors and cabling.

Single-slot PXI 1000Based-T1 Fault Insertion Switch Modules (models 40/42-203 and 40/42-204) – these compact single-slot modules deliver high-performance switching in PXI and PXIe formats. With typical differential bandwidths of 1.6GHz and 700MHz, respectively, both modules are suitable for 1000Base-T1 switching and fault insertion applications.

PXI RF Matrix Modules (model 40/42-724) – integrated PXI and PXIe RF matrix modules are available in 16x4, 16x8, 32x4 & 32x8 configurations – representing a 33% increase in matrix density per chassis slot. These new compact-footprint modules provide high performance with a usable bandwidth of 300MHz for models without the Y-axis loop-thru option; models with loop-thru have a bandwidth of 150MHz.

Switch Path Manager Signal Routing Software – this signal routing software simplifies signal routing through switching systems and speeds up the development of switching system software. Switch Path Manager supports Pickering's PXI, LXI and PCI switching modules. Its ability to automate signal routing results in effective and efficient switching system management.

eBIRST Switching System Test Tools – Designed specifically for Pickering's PXI, PCI and LXI products, these tools simplify switching system fault-finding by quickly testing the system and graphically identifying the faulty relay.

Cable Design Tool – A graphics-based online tool used to create custom cable solutions for many applications. Features include a built-in library of standard cable sets that can be used as the basis for customisation, or they can be defined from scratch.

Visitors can also get the latest information about Pickering's new PXIe Hybrid and LXI/USB Chassis, various PXI modules, including Fault Insertion Switching, Sensor Simulation, and RF/Microwave Switching up to 67GHz and cabling solutions.

Pickering's Reed Relay division, Pickering Electronics, will also be on the booth highlighting their latest reed relay ranges for high-end instrumentation, automatic test equipment and semiconductor test.