Modular Automated Test Software for Scalable Test Systems
DMC CORTEX is a modular production test software framework built for manufacturers and engineering teams that need to standardize and scale automated test systems without starting from scratch.
Built on NI TestStand and LabVIEW, CORTEX combines reusable sequencing tools, hardware abstraction, configurable station management, operator-ready interfaces, safety monitoring, and rich reporting in one scalable platform.
CORTEX reduces test-system development effort, accelerates deployment, and provides a scalable, proven foundation tailored to your hardware, workflows, and long-term roadmap.
Move Beyond One-Off Test Software
Manufacturers need production test software that stays consistent across benches, lines, and locations. With increasing variation in products and equipment, the use of unique applications results in inconsistency in sequencing logic, repetitive driver development, different user interfaces, and the inability to compare reporting.
DMC understands this problem because it appears repeatedly in real automated test deployments: companies want standardization, but building an internal framework from scratch can take months or years and often pulls key engineers away from higher-value work. CORTEX is designed to solve that exact gap.
CORTEX Capabilities for NI TestStand and LabVIEW
CORTEX integrates the sequence-based NI TestStand toolset with LabVIEW architecture to provide standardization in automated test development, implementation, and sustainment. The modular components allow for hardware interfacing, configurable workflow, parallel processing, diagnostics in real-time, traceability in reporting, and flexible implementation.
- NI TestStand Sequencing and Execution
- Reusable LabVIEW Software Components
- Parallel Multi-DUT Test Execution Modular
- Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
- Instrument and Industrial Protocol Integration
- Automatic, Manual, & Semi-Automatic Modes
- Dynamic DUT and Sequence Configuration
- Live Data Visualization & Waveform Logging
- Alarm, Safety, and Diagnostic Management
- Role-Based User and Permission Control
- Traceable Results and Failure Analysis
- Scalable Multi-Station Configuration & Deployment
Strategic Partnership
Since 1997, DMC has partnered with NI to deliver advanced automated test systems. As NI’s exclusive Platinum-level partner in the Americas and a certified Center of Excellence, our LabVIEW and NI TestStand expertise gives CORTEX customers confidence in proven architecture and disciplined implementation.
Backed by Test System Integration Expertise
Organizations choose DMC CORTEX because they need more than software – they need a trusted system integrator who understands test architecture, instrumentation, operator workflows, and long-term maintainability. DMC pairs a vetted, reusable framework with real-world test stand design, deployment, and support experience. CORTEX is standardized without being rigid, allowing DMC and client teams to tailor integrations, interfaces, safety, reporting, and workflows to each application.
With DMC, clients get both a proven framework and an engineering partner who can help implement it successfully, scale it responsibly, and support adoption over time.
Built Around Your Production Test Priorities
Manufacturers need test systems that remain consistent, adaptable, and easy to troubleshoot as products and operations evolve. These priorities shape how CORTEX supports scalable test deployment.
- Standardized Software Across Every Station
CORTEX provides a repeatable production test software foundation for sequencing, hardware integration, configuration, and operator workflows across benches, production lines, and manufacturing sites. - Flexible Architecture for Hardware Changes
A flexible design for adapting to hardware modifications includes hardware abstraction, customizable station definitions, plugin reuse, and standardized test steps. - Connected Data for Faster Troubleshooting
CORTEX unifies test results, waveforms, alarms, live data, and diagnostic logs so engineers can identify failures faster and understand execution issues.
Test Systems Powered by CORTEX
FAQs
What is a modular automated test framework?
A modular automated test framework gives your team a reusable software foundation for developing and deploying test systems without rebuilding sequencing, hardware integration, operator interfaces, safety logic, reporting, and configuration tools for every station. CORTEX combines NI TestStand and LabVIEW with hardware abstraction, reusable software modules, and deployment-ready workflows that can be adapted to your products, instruments, and test requirements.
Is DMC CORTEX for production test, validation, or both?
While CORTEX can support both production testing and non-real-time validation applications, it provides most value when scaling when teams need to scale from validation to production testing. CORTEX provides streamlined operator interfaces for repeatable test execution while giving engineers the tools needed to configure hardware, develop and debug sequences, manage product variants, and investigate failures. The framework can be applied across individual benches, production stations, and broader multi-station test environments.
Can CORTEX work with our existing instruments, PLCs, and factory systems?
Yes. CORTEX is designed to integrate with a wide range of existing test hardware and factory infrastructure. Its hardware abstraction layer and plugin-based architecture can support instruments, power supplies, data acquisition hardware, PLCs, databases, and industrial communications such as EtherNet/IP, CAN, OPC UA, and Modbus. Integration requirements are evaluated during implementation so the framework can be configured around your existing technology and workflows.
How does CORTEX improve test traceability and root-cause analysis?
CORTEX integrates test results, diagnostic logs, alarm information, channel data, and waveforms within a single software environment. It enables engineers to map specific testing operations and pass/fail results back to actual data taken from each test step. It thus increases the amount of context that is available when dealing with any failure.
Does CORTEX support multi-station and multi-DUT deployments?
Yes. CORTEX can support parallel multi-DUT testing as well as standardized deployments across multiple test stations. Station types, device settings, DUT parameters, test limits, and sequence selection can be configured for different products and hardware arrangements. Depending on your deployment strategy, software and configuration updates can also be managed across multiple stations using tools such as NI SystemLink or Git-based workflows.
Is CORTEX appropriate for hard real-time HIL sequencing?
CORTEX is best suited for production testing, automated validation, and other workflows that do not require the primary test executive to provide deterministic sub-millisecond execution. Applications involving hard real-time plant simulation, high-speed closed-loop control, or deterministic fault injection may require a dedicated real-time or HIL subsystem. CORTEX can still serve as the supervisory test environment when integrated with an appropriate real-time architecture.
