One of the major setbacks of VXI and PXI systems is the cost. In some cases the high cost of solutions available on the market has inhibited their use in small and medium sized Italian industries. The new single-board PXI controllers from National Instruments PXI-8140 RT Series controllers and LabVIEW Real-Time 6i, permit development, deployment, and maintenance of integrated real-time PXI systems for a fraction of the cost of a typical PXI system.

The PXI-8145 RT and PXI-8146 RT controllers are up to 80 percent less expensive than other real-time PXI controllers and deliver unparalleled integration capabilities. Custom real-time PXI systems with data acquisition, signal conditioning, dynamic signal acquisition, serial and CAN connectivity, and motion control with guaranteed deterministic performance can be developed. These controllers can run a single control loop at up to 6 kHz.

Constructed for reliability, the PXI-8145 RT and PXI-8146 RT controllers reduce maintenance costs. With a 32 MB nonvolatile CompactFlash memory, the controllers can store data locally as well as withstand high levels of vibration. The controllers' durable structure makes them ideal for embedded industrial applications located in harsh environments, such as machine condition monitoring or distributed machine control.

Designed specifically for embedded networked applications, these single-board computers take up less space because they are half the size of standard real-time controllers, consume less power for longer operation time, and feature built-in Ethernet for networking.