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We are reimagining productivity in the age of AI with updates to the industry’s first test-optimized technology. Integrated into the NI LabVIEW+ Suite, Nigel AI features advanced code completion and contextual awareness of your LabVIEW projects, TestStand sequences, and local hardware, offering intelligent suggestions that streamline workflows. 

Learn more 

LabVIEW+ Suite - Buy Now

Productivity in test has changed, and faster isn’t enough anymore. The new standard of productivity is built on intelligence, trust, and system-level insight. In this issue of The Edge, we explore how AI-assisted workflows, greener wireless optimization, and cybersecurity are reshaping modern test environments, and what it takes to lead in this next phase.

Read more: https://bit.ly/element14-theEdge 

We’ve officially launched four cost-effective NI PXI hardware options to help more engineers accelerate automated test system development. It’s another step in our effort to reimagine productivity and ensure organizations stay future-ready with scalable test solutions. Learn more about the new PXI products: https://bit.ly/New-PXI-Newark 

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Affordable, scalable, and now available. The power of PXI is within reach

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Our PXI platform is growing.
Soon more teams can build scalable automated test systems.
We are expanding our PXI portfolio with new PXI products that could make a real difference for your test setup.
Our webinar launch will introduce four new affordable products designed to help you:
• Scale efficiently for high-channel count applications without sacrificing performance
• Maintain seamless compatibility with your existing PXI infrastructure
• Streamline setup, development, and system-level debugging with NI software like InstrumentStudio, LabVIEW, and TestStand

You’ll also get access to live demos, expert insights, and new whitepapers during our upcoming webinar:
Scope It Out: 4 New Affordable PXI Products
January 21, 2026
11:00 a.m. CST

Register here.

Be among the first to explore LabVIEW in a fully hosted sandbox pilot.  

Join a free, expert-led session and get 3 days of hands-on access, including our new NI Nigel AI Advisor.

Your experience begins with a live, 90-minute session led by a seasoned test expert with over 25 years of experience.
You’ll dive into interactive demos, hands-on exercises, and get real-time answers to your questions—ensuring you leave with practical skills you can apply immediately.

Spots are limited - reserve yours now!

I'm super excited to announce that we are working with NI systems and integration partners to launch a series of technology focused webinars. Our first webinar is with Aliaro, who will provide key insights in to BMS testing.

The event is now officially launched and will be live on 25 Mar 2025 at 14:00 (UTC), sign up here:

 Battery Management Systems: Testing and Simulation Explained

More dates to follow!

Please be gentle, this is my first post!

As part of my role within Farnell, I should have been more active on this community but I haven't as yet. Moving forward, I'm aiming to bring updates from both NI and Farnell including events, promotions, new product launches and more. As a starting point, here are some of the activities that I should have been shouting about...

Authorised Training Partner - Farnell UK

To start off, for the LabVIEW users out there, Farnell is an Authorised Training Partner. What does this means? If you're in need official NI training you no longer need to join virtual sessions or self teach. Come join us in our Leeds office on one of the dates below to be taught by a real, in person instructor. The team over at Control Software Solutions are on-board to provide instructors for all of our dates from their team of NI Certified Professional Instructors.

• Developing Embedded Applications Using CompactRIO and LabVIEW Real-Time: 3 March - 6 March
• Data Acquisition Using NI-DAQmx and LabVIEW: 17 March - 18 March
• Object-Oriented Design and Programming in LabVIEW: 14 April - 16 April
• LabVIEW Core 1: 28 - 30 April
• LabVIEW Core 2: 1 - 2 May
• ATP Certification Exam: 7 May
• LabVIEW Core 1: 2 - 4 June
• LabVIEW Core 2: 5 - 6 June
• LabVIEW Core 3: 9 - 11 June
• Developing Embedded Applications Using CompactRIO and LabVIEW FPGA: 7 - 9 July
• HIL Fundamentals Using VeriStand: 21 - 23 July
• Actor-Oriented Design in LabVIEW: 4 - 6 August
• LabVIEW Core 1: 15 - 17 September
• LabVIEW Core 2: 18 - 19 September
• ATP Certification Exam: 23 September
• LabVIEW Core 3: 13 - 15 October
• Developing Embedded Applications Using CompactRIO and LabVIEW Real-Time: 10 - 13 November
• ATP Certification Exam: 25 November
• Developing Embedded Applications Using CompactRIO and LabVIEW FPGA: 8 - 10 December

Nestled in that list are also certification exam dates! Same location, but because we will invigilate the exam, there is no need to jump through all of the hoops of the virtual examination delivered over the last few years. If your CLD, CLA, CTD, CTA, etc certification has lapsed and the thought of resitting remotely is putting you off, reach out and we can get you signed up.

ATP Certification Exams:

• 7 May
• 23 September
• 25 November

LabVIEW User Groups

Farnell is proud to support the engineering community, and as part of that we are supporting LabVIEW User Groups in the UK. These are local events, organised by engineers, for engineers. Each event typically has 3 or 4 speakers providing insightful talks based on something they've learned, best practices, new toolchains, etc. It's also a great place to hear from NI with updates on software roadmaps, releases, etc. 

Following on from a strong start in January at the NWLUG, the rest of the year currently looks like this:

• February:
  • Midlands LabVIEW User Group (26th Feb, Gloucester)
• May:
  • Yorkshire LabVIEW User Group (details TBC)
  • Cambridge LabVIEW User Group (date TBC)
• June:
  • North West LabVIEW User Group (details TBC)
  • Central South LabVIEW User Group (17th June, Theale)
  • Midlands LabVIEW User Group (18th June, Birmingham)
• September:
  • Yorkshire LabVIEW User Group (details TBC)
• October:
  • Cambridge LabVIEW User Group (details TBC)
• November:
  • North West LabVIEW User Group (details TBC)

If I've missed any, let me know and I'll add them in and more details to be confirmed throughout the year too. Reach out to be included in the contact list for more information!

GDevCon

Following on from LabVIEW User Groups, GDevCon returns to the UK this September! GDevCon#6 is in Brighton from 9th to 11th September! This event is independently run and provides (probably) the best forum for all things graphical programming. Organised by leaders in the LabVIEW community, GDevCon is focused on delivering world-class graphical programming material covering a wide spread of topics relevant to today’s discerning developer.

• Three day conference
• Presentations by LabVIEW & Graphical Developer peers from around the world
• Run by community leaders
• Independent from system vendors
• Focused on real problems encountered everyday by graphical developers

NI Days

NI are bringing NI Days back to Europe!

So far this post has been UK centric, sorry about that. NI Days however, is a Europe wide series of events, where you can meet peers and key contacts within Farnell and NI to ensure you get the best support moving forward. Farnell will be attending all NIDays events in 2025 so sign up and stop by our stand to meet your local NI BDM! Events below with some details to follow:

• NI Days Italy, Feb 18th
• NI Days Germany, Feb 25th
• NI Days France, June 19th
• NI Days UK, July 1st

Edit: Fixed some formatting and added images... everything looks better with pictures.

I heard about this job after we ran a roadtest on NI's Thermocouple Measurement Kit.  I'm passing it on:

Who They're Looking For

• The ideal candidate has a love of test engineering and experience with NI software and hardware, eager to both listen and evangelize, by creating innovative user programs and compelling content that is seen as valuable assets to our users.  

What You'll Do

• Leverage your insights & experience of software community best practices to develop intentional and curated content, programs, and events, turning users into advocates
• Create value in sharing, leading to a vibrant community that is a bustling repository of beneficial user generated content.
• Gather & tell meaningful stories about NI, our products, & capabilities encouraging our developers to unleash their true potential.
• Engage with industry thought leaders & influencers, earning their trust to help magnify your work.
• Source and consolidate feedback articulated internally as recommendations to improve the developer experience with our products and user touch points.
• Collaborate across Business Units, R&D, and digital teams, to shape goals, activities, and outcomes.

What You Need

• 5+ years of experience building communities around software, with a deep understanding of how to create mature developer relation programs.
• Regular participant and experience speaking at technology conferences (in person & online), blogging and/or writing articles, and contributing to online technology-based discussion forums.
• Ability to trailblaze new paths with limited direction.
• Demonstrate a drive for results, and possess an ownership mentality, while having the ability to successfully solve problems and make decisions.
• Possess expert skills around building consensus and rallying cross-functional and/or global teams to work together despite organizational boundaries.
• A strong desire and thirst for continuous learning and growth, constantly keeping up with current industry trends and processes.
• Ability to travel internationally 20% of the time.

How to Apply

https://pef.fa.us1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/job/4035?utm_medium=jobshare&utm_medium=jobboard&utm_source=Linkedin

My Take

If you are at all interested, I'd take the time to apply. My personal interactions with NI have always been positive. I've found them easy to work with. And their products have received good reviews. My feeling is test engineering is on a growth path, so it's an area that one should see career growth. Good luck.

Overview
Choosing the right technology for your design validation testing, automated system testing, and mechanical test pays off in time to market and total cost of test. Here are seven reasons CompactDAQ should be one of those technologies.

Flexible Hardware
Your products change. Even when they don’t, customers are going to ask you to test something “off the menu.” How easy is it to add a power measurement to validate battery life, add more thermocouples to track component heat production, or upgrade to high-speed inputs to catch operating state transitions? Build your test system on CompactDAQ and use any of the more than 100 measurement modules to meet your test requirements now and in the future.

FIGURE 1. Use the over 100 modules for CompactDAQ to meet your sensor and signal requirements now, and in the future when they change.

Flexible Software
The best software in the world doesn’t matter if your team can’t use it. NI has one of the best selections of software support on the market. Choose to develop with LabVIEW, Python, MathWorks MATLAB® software, C, C+, C#, VB 6.0, .NET, or choose not to program at all and use NI’s FlexLogger configuration-based data acquisition software. Want more choice? Call DLLs or scripts from LabVIEW. Use Python scripts to automate FlexLogger projects. Reuse your existing code and adjust the software to your team, instead of having to adjust your team to the software.

FIGURE 2. Choosing the right software tool becomes less of an issue because you can integrate your existing code for analysis, communication, or data formatting into LabVIEW.

Synchronization
Things happen fast on complex designs. What is the pressure difference as the valve opens to 50 percent? What is the flow rate when the pump is at 60 RPM? What is the current draw on the motor at maximum torque? You need synchronized measurements. CompactDAQ chassis with Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology synchronize all measurement modules in the chassis and between connected chassis, so test and design teams can link cause to effect, faster.

FIGURE 3.  CompactDAQ chassis with TSN synchronization use the Ethernet cable for communication and synchronization. Run test software from a connected PC, or from a CompactRIO system with DAQmx compatibility (as seen in image)

A Brand Known for Reliability
Datasheets don’t mean much without brand quality. Have confidence you’ll get the data you need when you need it. NI instrumentation is built with more than 40 years of experience in test and measurement so you can Engineer Ambitiously.

FIGURE 4. NI has worked with test engineers for decades and blind surveys show our brand is associated with overall satisfaction.

Automation for System Testing
Life-cycle tests, battery drain tests, repetitive system tests: these should happen while you’re at lunch or overnight while you’re sleeping. Automate them! Use analog and digital output modules to modify controller setpoints or simply turn things off and on. Using a PLC for some of this today? Pick a chassis with a built-in controller that runs a Linux-based RTOS so you can add an extra layer of reliability.

FIGURE 5. Use CompactDAQ’ s flexible software options and hardware output channels to build a fully automated test system for tests such as temperature ramp-and-soak in thermal chambers as seen in the image above.

Ruggedness
Functional testing environments aren’t always clean, air-conditioned spaces. Be confident your test system will survive real-world conditions with -40 to 70 ºC, 50 g shock, and 5 g vibration operating specifications.

FIGURE 6. Rugged shock, vibration, and temperature specs let you install CompactDAQ close to your DUT for shorter signal wires and a faster setup experience.

Size/Portability
Take CompactDAQ hardware with you so you have the data you need to make decisions. Use the 1-slot USB-powered chassis with a laptop for walk-around measurements and test your designs on the proving grounds or your real-life test bed. Build a Pelican-case style system and take it to a customer installation to see what they see—or just ship it to them. Either way, shorten the back-and-forth and focus on engineering a fix. This is portability without sacrificing capability: a 256-channel system fits into a space the size of a small suitcase.

FIGURE 7. Build CompactDAQ into a portable case to validate systems on site with customers or in real-world testbeds.

Next Steps
 Save time building your next test system with the Design Validation Test System Build Guide for CompactDAQ

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