Fluke COMPASS Software Covers All Calibration Needs
July 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Calibration, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
Fluke Corporation introduced COMPASS® for Pressure 3.0, software that helps calibration professionals organize and accelerate the task of calibrating pressure devices.
COMPASS for Pressure is a universal platform for all pressure calibration software needs. It provides an off-the-shelf software tool to maximize the automation of calibration and testing processes. COMPASS for Pressure integrates calibration functions with pressure-specific factors that are missing from more generic software packages.
This industry-leading pressure calibration software enables calibration professionals to advance from individual automated hardware components to a fully automated calibration system quickly, without consuming internal engineering resources. COMPASS software, and the expert assistance available from the product application specialists at the Fluke DH Instruments Division, removes the unknowns often associated with getting automated systems online.
COMPASS Software is structured around unit under test and test definitions. Unit under test definitions identify devices to be tested with all their characteristics. Test definitions define test sequences and all the details of test execution. The pressure reference devices, data acquisition equipment and auxiliary measurement and control devices available to COMPASS software are set up and stored in a hardware database. All DH Instruments devices and many commonly used data acquisition products are already set up as examples to simplify the implementation of actual test hardware. Users can change hardware selections without programming or interfacing skills.
And now, COMPASS software also enables users to export test data directly to MET/BASE database used by the MET/CAL® Plus Calibration Management System. Users can now manage their inventory, calibration location, maintenance and customers through MET/TRACK® software. Users gain the benefits of COMPASS software’s specialization in pressure calibration while maintaining the link to their organization’s overall calibration management system.
COMPASS for Pressure 3.0 is available in two versions. The basic version performs basic calibration and testing on units under test, even those that may have complex outputs. The enhanced version supports complex tests, including custom user macros within the test sequence and multiple outputs from a single unit under test. Each version is available for a single user or for a multi-user worksite.
Non-Contact Measurement System Fits On Any Benchtop
July 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Bench Test, Meters & Testers, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
The StarLite(TM) GX, from RAM Optical Instrumentation, Inc. (RAM), is a compact non-contact measurement system with a unique ergonomic design, motorized zoom optics, color camera, and ample 6″ x 3″ x 5″ XYZ capacity. StarLite GX is small enough to fit on any workbench, yet large enough for routine inspection and measurement – a welcome difference.
StarLite GX is built for precision measurement, with a sturdy cast aluminum base and column, precise coarse/fine manual stage positioning, and one-micron resolution linear scales. Its high fidelity white ring light and back light illuminators provide optimal image quality.
New feature-packed eGx(TM) metrology software allows every user to get accurate and repeatable dimensional measurements easily. Measure directly or run part programs that guide every user through the measurement process. Easy to measure – Automatic measurements without motors.
Digital Force Gauge Utilizes Motorized Test Stands
June 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
Mark-10 introduced the all new Series 5 digital force gauges, designed for tension and compression force testing in quality control, manufacturing, and R&D areas. A range of capacities from 0.12 lb to 500 lb (0.5 N to 2500 N) is available to address numerous applications in virtually every industry, including medical device, pharmaceutical, packaging, consumer products, automotive, aerospace, and others. Accuracy is better than +/-0.1% of full scale. Mark 10 is proud to showcase ESM301/ESM301L MOTORIZED TEST STANDS With PC CONTROL
The ESM301 and the new ESM301L are highly configurable motorized test stands for tension and compression testing applications up to 300 lb (1.5 kN). The stands can be controlled from the front panel or via computer.
The ESM301/ESM301L is engineered on a unique modular platform, allowing for “build-your-own” configurability. Features can be ordered individually at time of order or activated in the field. Integrated travel indication, overload protection, and a host of programmable parameters makes the ESM301/ESM301L quite sophisticated, while its intuitive menu structure allows for quick, simple setup and operation. A password can be programmed to prevent unauthorized changes. With a rugged and modular design, the test stand is a compelling solution for applications in laboratory and production environments.
The ESM301 travel distance is 11.5″, while the extended length ESM301L features travel distance of 18″. All other specifications are the same.
The force gauge’s averaging mode addresses the need to record the average force over time, useful in applications such as peel testing, while external trigger mode makes switch activation testing simple and accurate. An ergonomic design allows for hand held or mounted to a test stand or fixture for more sophisticated testing requirements. The housing may be reversed in order for the load cell shaft to be oriented up or down, while the display and buttons remain upright.
Stnadard features include; Selectable speed units of measurement (in/min & mm/min), LCD display with UP, DOWN, STOP, and emergency stop buttons and soft keys, Password protection of test parameters, to prevent unauthorized changes, Integrated mechanical limit switches, Removable fixture mounting plate with matrix of threaded holes, Stepper motor-driven, produces 0% speed variation with load, Mounting holes for bench mounting, Unique mechanical design significantly reduces column bending.
Pump Testing – Closed Loop Electronic Meter Calibration
June 4, 2010 by admin
Filed under Meters & Testers, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
Gas pumps typically never provide the correct volume of fuel you have paid for due to a number of variable that most test methods are unable to correct for. The biggest one is vapour loss – which is why many governments around the world are beginning to outlaw open neck prover cans as a valid test measure. Another huge issue is temperature – specifically if you calibrate a gas pump on a hot day one time, and then on a cold day the next; your results will be very different.
Temperature correction at the gas pump to 15C, is mandatory in the UK, Canada and Australia. But in the USA it is a free-for-all, which is why “hotgas” is such a huge issue.
So if you are in America – BUY YOUR GAS ON COLD DAYS!! In the Summer months, buy in the early early morning when it is cold. Never buy your gas in the afternoon in the southern states unless you like paying extra for your fuels, a lot extra.
Laser Beam Analysis Software Combines Laser Profiling & Power Measurements
May 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Meters & Testers, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
Ophir-Spiricon has announced that BeamGage®, the company’s next generation laser beam analysis software, is the first to support the combination of laser beam profiling with power meter measurements in a single system.
BeamGage now interfaces with Ophir power meters, including the company’s new Quasar wireless device. BeamGage matches the time stamps of the laser power meter readings to the beam profile data with a similar time stamp, providing a more complete view of laser performance.
BeamGage now interfaces with most Ophir power meters, including the Juno, LaserStar, Nova II, Orion handhelds, and Quasar wireless Bluetooth power meter; the Vega color display; and the USBI laser sensor to PC interface.
The software provides a range of power/energy results, including total power or energy, peak power/energy density, average pulse power, peak pulse power, device efficiency, and % in aperture.
BeamGage Standard features also include BeamMaker® beam simulator, automatic camera control for ease of use, and comprehensive set of beam analysis algorithms. The Professional version also includes such capabilities as partitioning of the camera output for separate analysis of multiple laser beams from sources such as fiber, a .NET interface for full remote control when integrating beam analysis into an automated application, and camera sharing.
Accurate Measurements
BeamGage is based on UltraCal™, Ophir-Spiricon’s patented baseline correction algorithm that helped establish the ISO 11146-3 standard for beam measurement accuracy. BeamGage provides high accuracy results, guaranteeing the data baseline (zero reference point) is accurate to 1/10th of a digital count on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
BeamGage allows you to configure as many measurements as needed; it includes over 55 separate measurement choices, including many based on ISO standards, such as Centroid X and Y, Ellipticity, Eccentricity, Peak Fluence, and more.
Enhanced Interface
Running on Microsoft® XP, Vista or Windows 7, BeamGage operates in 32-bit mode. Enhanced 3D graphics improve data rendering. The software supports a selection of cameras with FireWire (IEEE-1394) and USB interfaces that cover wavelengths from 190nm to 3,000um.
Video Measuring Has Computed Numerically Controlled Option
April 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under Featured, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
Vision Engineering will be showcasing their new and exciting products at MACH 2010, including the new Falcon video measuring solution with computed numerically controlled (CNC) option; and the Mantis Elite-Cam – an award winning stereo inspection system with ‘eyepieceless’ viewing head, now with a built-in camera for digital image capture, and onscreen measurement software.
The new Falcon video measuring solution with CNC is a powerful yet compact machine, ideal for a wide range of measuring applications including 3-axis measurement of precision machined component parts, with its CAD import and export facility, and advanced data analysis including PC software integration. With touchscreen technology, the Falcon can be programmed easily and quickly to enable accurate, repeatable and reproducible measurements in microns; and the CNC capability allows users to benefit from an automated measurement facility. Also benefitting from calibrated stages, quadrant LED illumination, and progressive motorised z-axis, the Falcon 5000 with CNC is a valuable and capable machine to have in any quality control department. New in Vision Engineering’s latest range of stereo inspection systems, the Mantis Elite-Cam with onscreen measurement has just been introduced, and is proving to be a popular solution for engineers requiring accurate, instantaneous results. With superior optics and high resolution viewing head, components can be inspected, reworked, digitally captured, and now measured on screen within minutes.
Software Developed for Mobile WiMAX Testing
December 17, 2009 by admin
Filed under PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
National Instruments introduced the NI Measurement Suite for Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e-2005), a software suite that engineers can use with modular RF instrumentation for automated testing of Mobile WiMAX devices. With this software suite, engineers can perform Mobile WiMAX component and device testing faster than with traditional instruments, and with better accuracy and greater flexibility.
Based on PXI Express instrumentation powered by multicore technology, the suite can perform error vector magnitude (EVM), power and spectral measurements three to five times faster than traditional instruments. PXI WiMAX test systems from National Instruments also provide a low-cost, R&D-grade instrumentation alternative to traditional instruments. With a typical residual EVM accuracy of -46 dB at 3.5 GHz (-10 dBm), this test system can perform significantly more accurate measurements than alternative production test-grade instruments. Additionally, the suite provides engineers enhanced flexibility with the same equipment used for testing Mobile WiMAX devices to test hardware that complies with other standards such as Fixed WiMAX, wireless local area network (WLAN), GPS, and GSM/EDGE/WCDMA cellular standards.
The Measurement Suite for Mobile WiMAX supports channel bandwidths from 1.25 to 28 MHz and fast Fourier transform (FFT) sizes 128, 256, 1024 and 2048, as well as all Mobile WiMAX modulation types with both convolution coding and turbo convolution coding. The Measurement Suite for Mobile WiMAX also can generate or analyze signals with up to eight zones and 16 bursts. Combined with the NI PXIe-5663E RF vector signal analyzer and NI PXIe-5673 RF vector signal generator, the measurement suite also provides continuous frequency coverage from 85 MHz to 6.6 GHz.
By including the NI Signal Analysis Toolkit for Mobile WiMAX and the NI Signal Generation Toolkit for Mobile WiMAX, the suite offers programming APIs and virtual instrument panels for signal generation and analysis in programming environments including the NI Lab VIEW graphical system design platform. In addition to a LabVIEW API, the toolkits install with an equivalent C-style API for engineers using C, C++, .NET, or similar programming language.
The Measurement Suite for Mobile WiMAX supports multiple PXI hardware configurations to meet different application needs. A standard NI test bundle for Mobile WiMAX includes anNI PXIe-5663 6.6 GHz vector signal alayzer, NI PXI e-5673 6.6 GHz vector signal generator, NI PXIe-1075 18-slot high-bandwidth chassis and a NI PXIe-8108 dual-core controller to provide high-performance flexibility to a variety of automated test systems.
Lab Brick Generates Signals for Portable Testers
December 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under Featured, PC-based Test Equipment, Test Equipment
The Lab Brick® family of USB-compatible signal generators cover frequencies from 50 MHz to 6 GHz in a fraction of the cost and size of traditional test signal sources.
Signal generators are essential to most test systems, but they are typically too large and expensive for portable measurement applications. In cases where portability is important, the Lab Brick® family of signal generators from Vaunix Technology Corporation includes five low-cost, compact models covering a total range of 50 MHz to 6 GHz with high output levels and excellent spectral purity. They can be powered and controlled by means of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) equipped personal computer (PC) or laptop computer, or operate under battery power or with a remote power supply for embedded or automated applications.
The five members of the Lab Brick® signal generator family are models LSG-251 (50 to 250 MHz), LSG-152 (250 to 1500 MHz), LSG-222 (500 to 2200 MHz), LSG-402 (1000 to 4000 MHz), and LSG-602 (1500 to 6000 MHz). Each Lab Brick® signal generator (Fig. 1) measures 4.90 x 3.14 x 1.59 in. (124 x 80 x 40 mm) and weigh less than 1 lb. (0.45 kg). It can be connected to a host computer by means of a standard USB cable and controlled by means of Graphical User Interface (GUI) software run on the host computer. The simple GUI features large display windows to quickly view and adjust the signal generator’s frequency and amplitude.
The Lab Brick® signal generators each deliver at least +10 dBm output power across their full operating-frequency ranges. Signals are available at an SMA connector, and output levels can be adjusted via the GUI software over a control range of 50 dB (-40 to +10 dBm) for the 6-GHz model LSG-602 and 55 dB (-45 to +10 dBm) for the other four models. Output-level settings are accurate within +1.5 dB and -0.5 dB. In addition to controlling output levels, the GUI allows an operator to complete shut off the signal generator’s output power. Frequency can be set with 100-kHz resolution, with initial accuracy (before aging) of better than ±2 PPM.
In spite of being low-cost, portable units, these high-performance signal generators boast low phase noise and excellent spectral purity. For the 250-to-1500-MHz model LSG-152, for example, the single-sideband (SSB) phase noise is typically -95 dBc/Hz offset 10 kHz from the carrier and -115 dBc/Hz offset 100 kHz for the carrier (Fig. 2). For the 50-to-250-MHz model LSG-251, the phase noise is typically -105 dBc/Hz offset 10 kHz from the carrier and -125 dBc/Hz offset 100 kHz from the carrier. For the 1000-to-4000-MHz model LSG-402, the phase noise is typically -85 and -105 dBc/Hz, respectively, at 10- and 100-kHz offsets, while for the 1500-to-6000-MHz model LSG-602, the phase noise is typically -75 and -95 dBc/Hz, respectively, at 10- and 100-kHz offset frequencies. For all models, harmonics are typically -10 dBc while spurious content is typically -80 dBc.
The Lab Brick® signal generators include a green LED status indicator to show connection to a USB host computer. When the host computer recognizes a Lab Brick® signal generator, it loads the GUI software and displays that signal generator’s serial number and model number. The GUI software can track and control several connected Lab Brick® signal generators, simplifying multiple-signal test setups. In addition, each Lab Brick® signal generator can store settings in internal memory, allowing it to power up in a specific instrument state. This same capability also allows a Lab Brick signal generator to be used in an embedded or remote instrument application without USB control required to achieve a given instrument state. In non-USB applications, the Lab Brick® signal generators can operate with battery power or remote power supply. For automatic-test-equipment (ATE) applications, a programming guide is available for each Lab Brick® signal generator. In addition, they are programmable by means of LabView software drivers from National Instruments (www.ni.com).
A Lab Brick® signal generator provides several operating modes, including continuous-wave (CW) and swept-frequency operation. In CW mode, the sources deliver a fixed-frequency, sinusoidal output signal. In the swept-frequency mode, the generators can perform a single sweep or continuous sweeps across a user-defined frequency band in user-defined frequency steps. A user can define not only the frequency step size but the frequency dwell time.
The RoHS-compliant signal generators are supplied in rugged aluminum housings complete with mounting holes. Lab Brick® signal generators comply with international requirements for electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) emissions and immunity for Class A ISM devices to ensure that they don’t interfere with other ISM-band equipment. Each Lab Brick® signal generator is shipped with a 6-ft.-long USB cable and a USB flash memory drive containing the GUI software and a software file copy of the user manual. Lab Brick® signal generators can be used with any PC or laptop computer with USB 2.0 port (or powered USB hub) and running the Windows 2000, XP, or Vista operating system.
Internet Meters Set to Release Aug. 2010
December 2, 2009 by admin
Filed under Meters & Testers, New Articles, PC-based Test Equipment
The integrated measurement of advertising across both TV and internet viewing might happen sooner than we thought. Nielsen now expects to have a portion of its people meter households covered with “Internet meters” prior to the 2010-2011 broadcast season.
Once that happens, count on internet viewing on Hulu.com and the network’s websites having the same national advertising load as the telecasts for at least 3 days after airtime, so it will count in the C+3 commercial ratings that the networks sell to advertisers.
Urged by clients to move faster, Nielsen responded Tuesday with a plan to accelerate the rollout of the Internet meter to its national people meter sample. The plans call for Nielsen to complete the roll out by Aug. 31, 2010, instead of some time in 2011.
The initiative, now called TVandPC will create the industry’s first single source measure of viewing to both TV and online. Once the rollout is complete, Nielsen will be able to report online video viewing from 7,500 national-people-meter homes, representing about 20,000 people and 12,000 computers.
Handheld ADSL 2+ Tester Provides Increased Performance
September 14, 2009 by admin
Filed under PC-based Test Equipment
Toronto, Canada – GAO Instruments offers its compact, handheld and easy-to-use test instrument – ADSL 2+ Tester, which is used to test ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL 2+ and RE-ADSL2 lines. This multi-functional tester quickly determines whether the line tested complies with appropriate standards and clearly displays test results through its high resolution, backlit LCD, and indicates alarms and the connectivity of WAN or LAN.
This ADSL 2+ tester, model A0300010, conducts ADSL2+ line parameter testing, TX and RX data packet accounting, PING testing and ISP login simulation. The tester writes VPI, VCI, user name and password automatically according to embedded configuration parameters and also allows the input of configuration and margin values via Test Manager Pro software. It supports a maximum measurement distance of 6.5km and is able to store over one hundred test results; test results can be downloaded to a PC for further analysis, printing, and output. Configurations and margins can also be saved and downloaded through its software interface.
GAO Instruments also offers a series of ADSL testers for customers to choose from.
