An Automated Remote Functional Test System for Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division(SED)’s environmental testing lab in Bengaluru, India is based on AMETEK VTI Instruments’ FlexSys Series of common core automated test equipment (ATE) solutions.
The test system was envisaged, designed, developed, integrated and tested by AMETEK engineers based in India. Prior to the development of this new system, the standard qualification procedures required the Tata Power SED’s acceptance team to be on site to witness the functional tests each time the ESS testing cycle was performed.
In contrast, the infrastructure of the new system allows the acceptance team to control and monitor qualification tests remotely, saving both time and money by eliminating the need to travel to the test lab to witness the tests. Observers can monitor the entire test run through a live video feed and control the tests via a web-based software interface. The new system also allows the testing team to record the entire test cycle and test reports for future reference.
Among other things, the new system has enhanced the quality and repeatability of the tests performed, thereby increasing confidence in the accuracy of the test results.
The Tata Power SED technical team remarked, “The success of this ATE project has enabled Tata Power SED to quickly turnaround its ESS testing for all future large-volume production orders. That will result in a tremendous savings in terms of time and cost for its customer QA agencies, as well as its internal QA team”.
Jatin Kumar Tanwar, Senior Business Development Manager at AMETEK Instruments India, remarked, “Tata Power SED created a clear vision as to what was needed in the test lab. That allowed us to architect a scalable ‘enterprise’ test solution, which could be used across multiple platforms. By working as an extension of the Tata test engineering and quality teams, we were able to meet all their requirements in a timely fashion. I’m very proud that our team in Bangalore was able to help Tata Power SED achieve its objectives so quickly and effectively.”
FlexSys ATE systems are scalable, integrated test and measurement systems designed for use in medium- to high-mix production environments. In addition to boosting test throughput and reducing floor space requirements, the systems are designed to preserve signal integrity through the entire test system, including cabling and signal switching to the user interface, maximizing the performance of the test instrumentation. FlexSys systems offer manufacturers a new approach to minimizing their capital equipment and system development costs by providing fundamental ATE building blocks of preengineered components, which reduces development costs and speeds time-to-readiness. These systems are configured from precision power, instrumentation and switching blocks produced by AMETEK Programmable Power and AMETEK VTI Instruments.
AMETEK Programmable Power, 9250 Brown Deer Rd., San Diego, CA 92121, 858-450-0085, www.programmablepower.com
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