Introduction

Please Note: This article is part of the Digital I/O connectivity process. For more details on the process as a whole, please review the Digital I/O Connectivity Guide

Topics covered in this article

• Description
• Uses
• Power Supply
• Networking 
• The T4 has three different I/O areas
• Hardware Details
• References:

Description

The T7 is a DAQ device (Data AcQuisition) and captures an analog DC voltage at the AINx terminals, usually for thermocouples.  

Uses

The T7 is used for I/O machine applications that communicate to an Edge Device connected at the network switch or router.  All data is passed via an ethernet cable (from the RJ45 port on the T4) to the network switch or router.  The most common application for the device is collecting temperatures via thermocouples.  Visit this article for a list of our Hardware Kit and Connection Schematics.

Power Supply

The T7 is powered through it's USB port. During a connectivity process where a T7 is used, power is supplied via a 24VDC-to-5VDC USB power supply. Follow the link below for installation instructions for the USB Power Supply.

• USB Power Supply Installation

Networking 

The T7 must be configured with a static IP address in order to communicate with MachineMetrics. Follow the link below for instructions on how to configure the network settings on the T4.

• T7 Network Settings

The T4 has three different I/O areas

• Communication side: The T7 has a USB Type-B connector and an RJ45 Ethernet connector.  The T7-Pro has those and also has an SMA-RP female connector and a WiFi antenna. Power is always provided through the USB connector, even if USB communication is not used.
• Screw Terminal side: The screw terminal side has convenient connections for 4 analog inputs, both analog outputs, 4 digital I/O, and both current sources. The screw terminals are arranged in blocks of 4, with each block consisting of VS, GND, and two I/O. Also on this edge are two LEDs. The Comm LED generally blinks with communication traffic, while the Status LED is used for other indications.
  
  
• DB side: The DB side has 2 D-sub type connectors: a DB15 and DB37. The DB15 has 12 digital I/O.  The DB37 has the same I/O as the screw-terminals, plus additional analog inputs and digital I/O, for a total of 14 analog inputs, 2 analog outputs, 2 fixed current sources, and 11 digital I/O.

Figure 4.2-1. Enclosure & Connectors

Hardware Details

USB: Can be used for host communication. Power is always provided through this connector.

Ethernet: 10/100Base-T Ethernet connection can be used for host communication.

WiFi (T7-Pro only): 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi connection can be use for host communication.

LEDs: The Power and Status LEDs convey different information about the device.

VS: All VS terminals are the same. These are outputs that can be used to source about 5 volts.

GND/SGND: All GND terminals are the same. SGND has a self-resetting thermal fuse in series with GND.

10UA/200UA: Fixed current sources providing 10µA/200µA at a max voltage of about 3 volts.

FIO#/EIO#/CIO#/MIO#: These are the 23 digital I/O, and are also referred to as DIO0-DIO22. Besides basic digital I/O operations, some of these terminals can also be configured
with Extended Features (frequency input, PWM output, etc.), and all can be configured for various serial protocols: I2C serial, SPI serial, SBUS serial (EI-1050, SHT sensors), 1-Wire serial,
and Asynchronous serial.

AIN#: AIN0-AIN13 are the 14 analog inputs.

DAC#: DAC0 & DAC1 are the 2 analog outputs. Each DAC can be set to a voltage between about 0.01 and 5 volts with 12-bits of resolution.

References:

https://labjack.com/support/datasheets/t-series/hardware-overview/t7-hardware