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ScanWorksAPI easily integrates JTAG tests into NI’s LabVIEW, TestStand and others

ScanWorksAPI eliminates the need for boundary-scan expertise in order to integrate JTAG testing or programming operations into custom test executives developed with tools such as NI’s LabVIEW™ and TestStand™, or Windows-based tools like Agilent Technology’s VEE™, LabWindows/CVI™, Visual Basic, C++ and others. A suite of Virtual Instruments (VI) and a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) interface in ScanWorksAPI provide the boundary-scan infrastructure so the developer of the test executive simply calls in the ScanWorks capabilities that are needed.

Users like Alcatel appreciate the ease-of-use features in the ScanWorks user interface (UI), but the consistency of a standard test executive for the entire organization holds additional value as well.

“We really liked the ScanWorks user interface, but for the sake of consistency we wanted all of our users to have the same interface for test, and that is TestStand,” said Milos Obradovic, test design engineer at Alcatel, a leading equipment provider to the telecommunications industry. “All of our test operations, such as functional test, system test and others use TestStand. We’ve been able to integrate ScanWorks into TestStand and our overall experience with ScanWorks has been very good.”

ScanWorksAPI includes a suite of functions developed specifically to NI’s VI specification. These VIs provide an infrastructure so that ScanWorks can be immediately integrated into an operator interface that was developed with one of NI’s VI-compatible tool sets. Technicians then launch ScanWorks-generated boundary scan tests from the test executive with which they are familiar. ScanWorksAPI’s suite of VIs eliminates the need to program basic functions such as the connection to the ScanWorks environment, the loading of ScanWorks projects, the execution of JTAG test actions or sequences, error handling and others.

“In many cases, boundary scan tests have been developed by a design engineer to verify the design of a product during development. For the sake of consistency and efficiency, the manufacturing operation may want to deploy these same JTAG tests under a test executive that was developed with a tool like TestStand or LabVIEW,” said Dave Bonnett, technical product manager for ASSET. “ScanWorksAPI accomplishes this with very little effort. And once the tests have been integrated, the technicians or test operators who are applying them from the test executive don’t have to know anything about boundary scan. It’s just another test for them to run from the executive.”

ScanWorksAPI is included as a feature on all ScanWorks development stations. Tests created with ScanWorksAPI can be run on any ScanWorks Manufacturing Station.