Used Modular Instrument Chassis
163 units in stock — VXI, PXI, VME, and cPCI mainframe chassis from Agilent/Keysight, Keithley, and Astronics/Racal that house plug-in instrument modules. Ships from Pleasant Grove, UT.
Abaco Systems / Ramix Chassis (2 units)
Abaco Systems / SBS Chassis (1 unit)
Abaco Systems / VMIC Chassis (1 unit)
Adlink Chassis (2 units)
Aeroflex / Tektronix / CDS Chassis (1 unit)
Agilent / HP Chassis (1 unit)
Agilent / HP / Keysight Chassis (2 units)
Agilent / Keysight Chassis (41 units)
Ametek / VTI Instruments / VXI Technology Chassis (6 units)
Ando Chassis (6 units)
Anritsu Chassis (1 unit)
Astronics / EADS / Racal Chassis (8 units)
Axiomtek Chassis (1 unit)
Bird Chassis (1 unit)
Bluetest Chassis (1 unit)
Boonton Chassis (1 unit)
Bose / EnduraTec Chassis (1 unit)
Bristol Chassis (1 unit)
Capacitec Chassis (1 unit)
Curtiss-Wright / ACRA Control Chassis (3 units)
Dawn VME Chassis (2 units)
Delta Chassis (1 unit)
DiCon Chassis (2 units)
Dynamic Engineering Chassis (1 unit)
Dynapar Chassis (1 unit)
Electro-Metrics Chassis (1 unit)
Elma Chassis (2 units)
Elma / Bustronic Chassis (1 unit)
Emerson / Motorola Chassis (3 units)
Exfo Chassis (5 units)
Extron Chassis (1 unit)
HP / Agilent Chassis (6 units)
Hewlett Packard Chassis (1 unit)
JDS Uniphase Chassis (14 units)
JDSU Chassis (1 unit)
JDSU / Viavi Chassis (1 unit)
Jonathan Engineered Solutions Chassis (1 unit)
Keithley Chassis (22 units)
Keysight / Agilent Chassis (6 units)
Keysight / Agilent / HP Chassis (5 units)
Spirent Chassis (1 unit)
Tektronix Chassis (2 units)
Yokogawa Chassis (1 unit)
The Box, Not the Instrument
A modular instrument chassis is the physical mainframe — power supply, backplane, and card slots — that houses plug-in instrument modules, without providing any measurement capability on its own. The modules that plug in (covered separately under our VXI Modules, Logic Analyzers, Data Acquisition, and other categories) are what actually generate or measure a signal. A chassis alone is an empty box until compatible modules go into it.
VXI, PXI, VME, and cPCI — Not Interchangeable
These are different bus standards with incompatible physical form factors and backplane protocols. VXI (the Astronics/EADS/Racal and Ametek/VTI Instruments/VXI Technology chassis here) grew out of VME with added instrumentation-specific features and was the dominant standard for automated test systems through the 1990s and 2000s. PXI (Adlink's chassis) is a newer, PC-based standard built around a PCI/PCIe backplane. VME and cPCI are more general-purpose embedded computing bus standards also used for instrumentation. A module built for one bus won't fit or communicate in a chassis built for another — confirm bus type before buying either.
VXI Mainframes and Switch Systems
Agilent/Keysight and Keithley account for most of this category. Agilent/Keysight's VXI mainframes span several generations and slot-count configurations — smaller units for compact systems, larger ones for production test racks needing many modules. Keithley's switch-system mainframes specifically house scanner and multiplexer cards for high-channel-count measurement, a more specialized use case than a general-purpose VXI instrumentation chassis.
What to Check Before Buying
Confirm the bus type and slot count match your modules or planned system. Ask whether the chassis has been power-tested with a module actually installed and enumerating correctly, rather than just visually inspected — a power supply or backplane can look fine and still fail to properly power or communicate with an installed module. For VXI chassis specifically, confirm whether a slot-0 resource manager/controller is included, since a VXI system needs one to function at all.
Calibration for Chassis
A chassis itself is generally functionally verified — power rail voltages, backplane communication with a test module — rather than issued a standalone calibration certificate, since the chassis provides power and connectivity rather than performing a measurement. Individual modules installed in it are calibrated separately. See all calibration services →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a modular instrument chassis, exactly? +
It's the physical mainframe — power supply, backplane, and card slots — that houses plug-in instrument modules, without providing any measurement capability on its own. A VXI, PXI, VME, or cPCI chassis is the box; the modules that plug into it (which we carry separately under VXI Modules, Logic Analyzers, DAQ, and other categories) are what actually generate or measure a signal. Buying a chassis alone gets you an empty box until you add compatible modules.
What is the difference between VXI, PXI, VME, and cPCI chassis? +
These are different bus standards with incompatible physical form factors and backplane protocols — a module built for one won't fit or communicate in a chassis built for another. VXI (the Astronics/EADS/Racal and Ametek/VTI/VXI Technology chassis here) grew out of VME with added instrumentation-specific features and was the dominant standard for automated test systems through the 1990s-2000s. PXI (Adlink's chassis) is a newer, PC-based standard built around a PCI/PCIe backplane. VME and cPCI are more general-purpose embedded computing bus standards also used for instrumentation. Confirm bus type before buying any chassis or module.
Why are there so many different Agilent/Keysight and Keithley chassis models? +
Both companies made VXI mainframes across several generations and slot-count configurations — smaller mainframes for compact systems, larger ones for production test racks needing many modules. Keithley's switch-system mainframes specifically house scanner and multiplexer cards for high-channel-count measurement, a more specialized use case than a general VXI instrumentation chassis.
What should I check before buying a used chassis? +
Confirm the bus type and slot count match your modules or planned system, and ask whether the chassis has been power-tested with a module actually installed and enumerating correctly, rather than just visually inspected — a chassis power supply or backplane can look fine and still fail to properly power or communicate with an installed module. For VXI chassis specifically, also confirm whether a slot-0 resource manager/controller is included, since a VXI system needs one to function.
Need a specific bus type or slot count?
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