What Are PMC Cards and Can They Be Used in an NI PXI Chassis?

Updated Jan 23, 2023

Reported In

Hardware

  • PXI Chassis

Issue Details

I have a PMC card and would like to use it in my PXI chassis. Is this possible? If so, how do they interface?

Solution

A PCI Mezzanine Card or PMC is a circuit board that combines the electrical characteristics of the PCI bus with the form factor of the Common Mezzanine Card or CMC. A PMC can have up to four 64-pin bus connectors. The first two (P1 and P2) are used for 32 bit PCI signals, and a third (P3) is needed for 64 bit PCI signals. An additional bus connector (P4) can be used for non-specified I/O signals. In addition, arbitrary connectors can be supplied on the front panel.

PMC carrier cards in the PXI form factor are compatible with NI PXI Chassis.

Additional Information

PMC carrier cards accept PMCs and act as adapters to the PCI or PXI form factor.  This allows the PMC front panel to lie flush with the front panels of other PCI and PXI cards.  It also connects the PMC's pins to the standard PCI or PXI connector's pins on the carrier card.