MAX31855 Evaluation Kit Evaluates: MAX31855 General Description Features The MAX31855 evaluation kit (EV kit) provides the S Includes Everything Needed to Evaluate a K-Type hardware and software (GUI) necessary to evaluate the Thermocouple MAX31855 cold-junction compensated thermocouple-to- S EV Kit Hardware is USB Powered (USB Cable Included) digital converter. S Windows XP , Windows Vista , and Windows 7 The MAX31855 EV kit comes with a MAX31855KASA+ Operating Systems-Compatible Software soldered to the PCB. This is the K-type thermocouple ver- S USB HID Interface sion of the MAX31855. Other thermocouple types can be S Graphical User Interface (GUI) Consists of a evaluated by procuring the desired thermocouple, ther- mocouple socket, and corresponding MAX31855. Contact Single .EXE File the factory for free samples of the MAX31855 to match S Second Channel Allows Easy Evaluation of Other your desired thermocouple type. See the Evaluating Other Thermocouple Types Thermocouple Types section for part numbers and addi- S RoHS Compliant tional information regarding other thermocouple types. MAX31855 EV Kit Files EV Kit Contents FILE DESCRIPTION S Assembled Circuit Board Including MAX31855KASA+ MAX31855EVkit.EXE Application program S Mini-USB Cable Note: The .EXE file is downloaded as a .ZIP file. S K-Type Thermocouple Ordering Information appears at end of data sheet. MAX31855 EV Kit Board Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. For pricing, delivery, and ordering information, please contact Maxim Direct at 19-6072 Rev 0 10/11 1-888-629-4642, or visit Maxim Integrateds website at www.maximintegrated.com.MAX31855 Evaluation Kit Evaluates: MAX31855 8) Once the device driver installation is complete (from Quick Start an earlier step), double-click the .EXE file to run the GUI. A message box stating The publisher could Note: In the following sections, software-related items not be verified. Are you sure you want to run this are identified by bolding. Text in bold refers to items software may appear. If so, click Run. directly from the EV kit software. Text in bold and under- lined refers to items from the Windows operating system. 9) When the GUI appears, the EV Kit Status group box should indicate that the EV kit hardware is ready. Also, Required Equipment the COM LED (D2) should turn green. PC with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 OS with a spare USB port 10)Click the Single Read button to read the temperature. A valid temperature should be displayed along with all K-type thermocouple (included) four Alarm Status indicators remaining green. At this Mini-USB cable (included) point, the EV kit and setup is fully functional and ready EV kit hardware to begin evaluating the MAX31855. If any issues arise, see the Troubleshooting section. Procedure Follow the steps below to get started measuring tem- Detailed Description of Software perature using the MAX31855 interfaced to a K-type thermocouple. Figure 1 shows a screenshot of the MAX31855 GUI. 1) Connect the included K-type thermocouple to J2 EV Kit Status Section (thermocouple socket) of the EV kit hardware. One On the right-hand side of the GUI is a section titled EV terminal of the thermocouple is wider than the other, Kit Status. It is used to indicate the status of the com- ensuring proper polarity. munication between the GUI and the EV kit hardware. If 2) Ensure that jumper/shunt J4 is installed and is select- everything is working properly, a message indicates that ing Channel 1. the hardware is present and/or ready. Otherwise, EV Kit not found. is displayed. 3) Set the EV kit hardware on a nonconductive surface that ensures nothing on the PCB gets shorted togeth- Thermocouple Type Section er. The drop-down box in this section is used to select the 4) Prior to starting the GUI, connect the EV kit hardware thermocouple type installed on the EV kit hardware. See to a PC using the supplied mini-USB cable, or equiva- Table 1 for the list of possible settings. Out-of-the-box, lent. The COM LED (D2) should flash between red the hardware contains a K-type version of the MAX31855 and orange. along with a K-type thermocouple and socket. Therefore, the drop-down box defaults to the K-type setting. The 5) Windows should automatically begin installing the thermocouple type selection is used by the GUI to calcu- necessary device driver. The USB interface of the late the linearized temperature values. EV kit hardware is configured as an HID device and therefore does not require a unique/custom device driver. Once the driver installation is complete, a Table 1. Thermocouple Types and Windows message appears near the System Icon Sensitivities menu indicating that the hardware is ready to use. Do TYPE SENSITIVITY (V/NC) not attempt to run the GUI prior to this message. If you do, you must close the application and restart it once K* 41.276 the driver installation is complete. On some versions J 57.953 of Windows, Administrator privileges may be required N 36.256 to install the USB device. S 9.587 6) Go to www.maximintegrated.com/MAX31855EVKIT T 52.18 to download the latest version of the EV kit software, E 76.373 titled MAX31855EVkit.ZIP. Save the EV kit software to a R 10.506 temporary folder. *Default setting. 7) Open the .ZIP file and extract the .EXE file to your desired location. The .EXE file is the actual EV kit GUI and not an install program. You can store the .EXE wherever you like and then uninstall it later by simply deleting the .EXE file. Maxim Integrated 2