Integrating Design and Simulation Tools with Labview Tests

In creating a new product, the designer needs to iterate between modeling, simulation, prototyping, and testing before he can arrive at a completed design. There are a number of tools, solutions and user code created that perform such integration. Unfortunately for many of products the solutions are partially which make difficulties for electronic circuits designers. For example the simulation results by Cadence’s PSpice can be used only in LabVIEW environment by users accustomed with this product. The designers familiar with EDA graphical environments like PROBE can’t use measurement results completely. The objectives of the presented paper are dedicated just for solving mentioned upper problems. As introduction a survey of existing build-in tools and third-party solutions is done. The detailed considerations of popular but less treated CSDF (Common Simulation Data Format) are performed. Using plug-in modular instruments or traditional GPIB instruments controlled by LabVIEW, engineers can easily generate stimulus signals, and acquire and analyze circuit response. In the paper a number of LabVIEW virtual instruments (VIs) for CSDF interfacing are created and explained. With such achieved integration, users can import measured data from LabVIEW and compare them on the same graph displays (PROBE) in PSpice simulators. As conclusion in the end of the paper some examples are appended in order to illustrate usefulness of created VIs.