Pickering Interfaces, the leading supplier of modular signal switching and simulation solutions for use in electronic test and verification, has announced Test System Architect, a free online graphical toolset designed to simplify signal path design for electronic test systems, allowing engineers to design, configure, and visualize complete test architectures before deployment.

“Pickering is already recognized as the value leader in PXI. But hardware typically represents less than half of the total cost of an automated test system,” explains Kyle Voosen, Product Marketing Manager at Pickering. “The greater challenge for our customers lies in the engineering, integration, and assembly effort required to deliver those systems into production. Test System Architect directly addresses this challenge by making the signal path explicit and architecturally visible earlier in the design process, resulting in faster system development, fewer integration errors, and a more predictable deployment schedule.”

Pickering’s Test System Architect is the first dedicated, graphical design tool for signal switching and cabling systems. Its end-to-end workflow integrates solutions such as the System Configurator Tool, Schematic Design Tool, Product Selector, and Migration Tool with previously released tools, including the company’s Cable Design Tool and Microwave Switch Design Tool.

This powerful graphical toolset, available free and online, enables engineers to create detailed schematics, automate cable designs, and configure complex test systems with ease. From graphical concept to production-ready test system, the toolset significantly accelerates time-to-market.

With Test System Architect, engineers can select appropriate PXI, PXIe hybrid, and LXI/USB chassis and pinpoint the exact switching, simulation, and instrumentation modules for their specific application. They can also incorporate third-party instruments, add modelled DUTs (devices under test), visually configure the system, graphically interconnect all items and automatically generate cable designs. Test System Architect is an intuitive, collaborative design, visualization, and documentation platform with much greater functionality than a simple configurator, that speaks the language of the test engineer—topology and connectivity, not just part numbers.

Built on an integrated, robust database, Test System Architect’s cohesive capabilities reduce errors, enable collaboration, and accelerate signal path design from concept to deployment. The built-in validation and connectivity checks eliminate design errors, reducing costly hardware rework and delays. Moreover, designs are securely stored in the cloud, allowing test system designers to collaborate with colleagues, third-party systems integrators, and Pickering engineers worldwide through the integrated project manager.

Version control and revision history ensure project continuity and data integrity. At the same time, the automated generation of wiring schematics, pin-to-pin lists, datasheets, BOMs (bill of materials), and visualization models slashes documentation time from hours to seconds, simplifying maintenance, collaboration, enhancements, and replication. Meanwhile, the Migration Tool streamlines the transition from obsolete VXI and GPIB systems to the latest, functionally equivalent PXI architectures, ensuring continued long-term support.

For more than 30 years, test engineers have relied on Pickering Interfaces to help accelerate their project development cycles and streamline production readiness when building value-priced, high-performance modular switching systems, providing the foundation for highly reconfigurable signal routing and electronic test solutions. Test System Architect simplifies and accelerates this process, and it is backed by Pickering’s engineering expertise, comprehensive support, and robust tool integration for end-to-end test system development. Test System Architect is available now as a free resource for the test engineering community. Learn more at: pickeringtest.com/tsa