Creating and Editing Waveforms with Keysight PathWave BenchVue Software
What is PathWave BenchVue Software?
The Keysight PathWave BenchVue platform contains and hosts various BenchVue apps. BenchVue apps enable you to control your test instruments and simplify your test processes.
PathWave BenchVue software lets you connect, control, and capture data from your choice of an ever-growing list of supported Keysight instruments. Most function generators have their own PC application software that links to their instruments. Software typically tries to eliminate the many issues around bench testing by making it simply to connect, control, and automate instrument test sequences. You can quickly move past the test development phase and access results faster than ever before in just a few clicks.
Creating and Editing Waveform Tools with Pathwave BenchVue Software
PathWave BenchVue software is a full-featured waveform tool software for waveform generators. The software enables engineers to take full advantage of signal-generation capabilities and makes custom waveform creation fast and simple.
PathWave BenchVue software provides easy-to-use creation tools, such as an equation editor and waveform math and drawing tools, so that you can create custom signals. Plug and play functionality enables you to connect your instrument to your PC and immediately control it in BenchVue.
When you open BenchVue and connect to your waveform generator, you will see your waveform generator’s graphical instrument control window, as shown below (Figure 1). Using its graphical user interface, you can easily set up normal sine, square, ramp, pulse, triangle, noise, PRBS, and DC waveforms with desired parameters
Figure 1. BenchVue’s waveform generator application
BenchVue function generator software allows you to integrate with other types of instruments such as an oscilloscope, digital multimeter, frequency counter, data acquisition system, and more. While the instrument itself can generate all the waveforms needed, BenchVue can do the same. It enables you to quickly configure the most commonly used measurements and setups for each instrument family. Rapidly build custom test sequences with the integrated Test Flow app to automate and visualize test results without the need for instrument programming.
By clicking the arbitrary waveform button as shown in Figure 1, you will launch a Keysight Waveform Builder Pro application. You can visualize multiple measurements simultaneously and analyze results within BenchVue. You can easily log and export data and screen images in just a few clicks for faster analysis. Overall, this software tool helps you save time and helps promote better collaboration with your colleagues and managers.
A waveform builder editor window pops up when you click on the “create Arb” button, as shown in Figure 2. You can create basic waveforms, advance waveforms, and even use the computer to draw custom waveforms.\
Figure 2. Keysight’s 33503A waveform builder window
The Waveform Builder Pro software is linked to BenchVue for quick, custom waveform creation. It is incredibly versatile which provides easy-to-use creation tools that come with a library of built-in basic and advanced waveforms to choose from, an equation editor to generate waveforms through simple or complex mathematic functions, and drawing tools to create custom signals.
The software also provides a waveform sequencer, filters, and windowing functions, allowing you to modify and define your waveform easily. With this software, you get advanced signal creation and editing capabilities without spending hours programming.
You can also create waveforms using the equation editor (Figure 3). You can build your math equation by simply selecting the math functions and operators, evaluate and preview your equation graphically before loading it into your waveform generator.
Figure 3. Waveform Builder’s equation editor
The software also provides a waveform sequencer so you can sequence multiple different waveforms together. You can set the waveform order and make segments repeat as many times as you want.
Conclusion
You can do many things with BenchVue’s software to save time and achieve faster results — all without ever having to write a computer program. Creating and editing waveforms using PathWave BenchVue Waveform Builder Pro software enables you to take full advantage of signal-generation capabilities and makes custom waveform creation fast and simple.
If you need more advanced creation capabilities, check out the PathWave BenchVue software, available for download here: http://www.keysight.com/find/benchvue
To learn more about Keysight’s Trueform waveform and function generators, go to https://www.keysight.com/sg/en/products/waveform-and-function-generators.html