High Channel Count System

Combine Various Front-ends
The Spider-80Xi is a compact and versatile hardware platform designed to host various front-ends, including the Spider-80Hi, Spider-80Ci, Spider-80SGi, and Spider-80Ti.

Spider-80Hi
The Spider-80Hi input channels are equipped with an IEPE power source to support IEPE sensors, alongside standard voltage input functionality. This makes the Spider-80Hi particularly suited for applications such as shock, vibration, acoustic, or general-purpose voltage measurements. (Product Notes: Spider-80Hi (v8.9) Compared with Spider-80Xi and Spider-80Hi Comparison – V8.9 vs. V8.5)

Spider-80Ci, Spider-80SGi. Spider-80Ti
Users can select the Spider-80Ci for the charge input. Spider-80SGi front-ends are designed for measuring strain using precision excitation and general purpose measurement quantities with a customizable power supply. The Spider-80Ti adds temperature measurement capability to the Spider-80Xi system.

Spider-80M MIMO Controller
The Spider-80M platform is based on the efficient Spider-80Xi architecture and is dedicated to MIMO VCS control and MIMO structural testing applications. Each Spider-80M chassis features 8 outputs capable of carrying out 6-degree of freedom MIMO testing. One Spider-80M chassis and multiple Spider-80Xi chassis can chain together to form a very large system with up to 504 input channels.

Patented GPS Timestamping Technology
Crystal Instruments' patented GPS timestamping technology is now supported on Spider hardware. The Spider-80Xi chassis features an integrated GPS module, enabling data timestamping with 100-nanosecond accuracy. This technology allows synchronization of data from physically disconnected systems, making it possible to compute frequency response functions, cross-spectra, autocorrelation, and various other signal analyses with high precision.

Spider-HUB Ethernet Switch
The Spider-HUB Ethernet switch made by Crystal Instruments supports the latest IEEE 1588v2 technology. The Spider-HUB guarantees time-stamping accuracy within 50 nanoseconds and can be configured for 1588v2 Master, Boundary Clock, and Transparent Clock functionality. Accurate phase match between all measurement channels across the modules are guaranteed. In a Spider-80Xi chassis the Spider-HUB is installed internally.

Spider-NAS Storage Device
The Spider-NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a dedicated storage device designed to work with Crystal Instruments Spider front-ends, including the Spider-80X and the Spider-81. Each Spider-NAS device supports up to eight Spider front-ends to collect both streaming time waveform data and spectral data. An Ethernet connection in back connects to a computer for data download and configuration. At the center of the Spider-NAS sits a removable 250 GB solid-state drive (SSD) with a storage upgrade option of 2 TB. This SSD not only provides greater shock protection than a classic hard drive but it also features a faster boot up time (less than 15 seconds) and is particularly energy efficient. In a Spider-80Xi chassis the Spider-NAS is installed internally.

High Channel Count System
Multiple chassis combine to create a system up to 512 channels, all sampled simultaneously. A dedicated massive storage hard disk (a 250 GB solid-state drive) allows the time signals of all input channels to record at up to 256 kHz/channel. Accurate time synchronization results in excellent phase match in the frequency domain between all channels, either on the same Spider front-end or across different front-ends. Real time FFT, octave, order tracking or vibration control functions can be enabled. The modular boards of the Spider-80Xi are installed at the factory and are not onsite swappable.

High Precision Front-end Design
The Spider-80Xi analog input channels provide extremely high precision measurements. Each channel has single-ended or differential AC or DC input coupling. It can also provide IEPE (ICPTM) input mode (AC coupling with a 4 mA constant current from a 22 VDC source) for use with industry-standard accelerometers with built-in amplifiers. The ability to read TEDS (Transducer Electronic Data Sheet) identification from the attached transducer completes the channel’s compliance with IEEE 1451.4. Each channel provides an unprecedented dynamic range of 175 dBFS. This is accomplished by applying two 24-bit analog-to-digital converters to each channel and combining their outputs in accordance with our United States Patent number 7,302,354.

The external charge amplifier, CA-08, can be used if charge mode is desired.

IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTPv2)
The Spider front-ends comply with the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTPv2). Additionally, they support integration with a grandmaster clock, enabling sub-microsecond time-stamping accuracy. This allows for multiple physically disconnected Spider front-ends to be synchronized with a 100 nanosecond time accuracy. The Spiders can maintain a phase match of less than 1 degree making it possible to compute frequency response functions, cross-spectra, autocorrelation, and various other signal analyses with high precision.

Black Box Mode
Black Box mode enables Spider-80Xi operation without a PC. In this mode, a PC is used only to configure the control system before the system starts operation and to download data after the test is completed. During the test, the data acquisition system operates autonomously, according to a preset schedule or in response to external events such as input trigger or digital input.

Simple Network Connection
Ethernet connectivity allows Spiders to be located far from their host PC. This distributed structure greatly reduces noise and electrical interference in the system.