Instrument Positioning
Transportation Instrument Positioning Positioning Description
Railroad Track Quality
Transportation Railroad Track Quality Surface Description
Monitoring Critical Variables
Monitoring Critical Variables Customer Case The customer wanted a quick visual inspection of many readings of slow varying parameters. Readings of pressure, temperature and voltages had to be compared with reference values and the differences had to be displayed in analog fashion in the form of a simple visual display. A Go/No Go decision had to be reached almost instantly. GaGe Case Solution The solution suggested by a major electronics company was to multiplex the differences 32 readings a channel for two channels, this gives a total of 72 reading in one display. The zero line is the no [...]
Fork Lift To Pallet Position
Transportation Fork Lift To Pallet Position Distance Description
Hopkinson Bar Testing (Stress Pulse Reaction Testing)
Hopkinson Bar Testing (Stress Pulse Reaction Testing) Customer Case This customer is involved in testing materials for how they react to stress pulses. The idea is to introduce a stress pulse into the Material Under Test (MUT) and monitor it as it travels through the material. This method of material characterization is also known as "Hopkinson Bar" testing. Multiple sensors pick up the reaction of the material and provide outputs which need to be digitized. These outputs are transient signals of approximately 2 Volts and have a rise time of approximately 600 nanoseconds. The resulting system must be programmable [...]
Sheet Metal Brake Bending
Industrial Sheet Metal Brake Bending Tolerances Description
DC Motor / Commutator Bar
DC Motor / Commutator Bar Industrial Dc Motor / Commutator Bar Depth Description Using a MTI Microtrak 4 laser triangulation sensor to measure a DC motor’s armature / commutator bar run out. We fitted a DC motor armature (rotor) in a lathe to spin it. The MTI laser head a DTS 50-20 has 50 mm standoff and a 20 mm measuring range. The laser was placed in a FS-5 magnetic  mount fixture and pointed at the commutator bars. The lathe was spun at 180 RPM and the commutator bar run out [...]
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Customer Case This customer manufactures non-destructive test equipment which allows customers such as steel mills to test the quality of their end-products. Presently, the ultrasound frequencies being used are centered at either 5 MHz, 10 MHz or 15 MHz. The worst case analog bandwidth requirement in this case is 35 MHz. In order to set up their equipment properly, the customer presently views the return signal (including the flaw) on an analog oscilloscope with a sweep time of either 50 us or 100 us (providing approximately 5 to 10 inches of depth in a metal). The [...]
Cement Board Quality Control
Cement Board Quality Control Industrial Cement Board Quality Control Dimensions Description Introduction: Cement backer board is used as underlayment for tile floors, walls and counter tops. It is also used as exterior sheathing and in exterior stucco systems. Cement backer board has proven to be more durable than virtually any other underlayment if quality control and thickness is maintained. The Problem: A major cement board manufacturer was faced with the challenge to improve a board production line throughput and decrease the amount of waste in the process. Too thin of cement board [...]
Acoustic Micro-Imaging
Acoustic Micro-Imaging Customer Case The customer is a leader in the field of acoustic micro-imaging. They use pulse ultrasound to image non-human materials. The ultrasound frequency used is between 100 and 200 MHz, as the materials they study can handle these frequencies (one cannot normally use such high frequencies with human tissue). The customer's PRF (Pulse Repeat Frequency) is approximately 4 KHz, with a PRI (Pulse Repeat Interval) of 250 ms. They need to capture approximately 2 ms (1,000 points) of data for each pulse. The customer wants scope emulation software to allow verification of board operation without having [...]