Industry : Bio-Medical

Category : Turn-key solution

The Challenge:

To develop an automated test system to perform the functional testing of a high voltage source tank for the X-Ray generators used in medical applications. It was desired that the system communicates with the existing measurement instruments like precision LCR meter, pulse generator and leak detector for the measurement of various parameters.

Technology:

Hardware : NI DMM, High speed data acquisition cards, PXI
Software  : LabVIEW

The Solution:

Soliton replaced the large manual test bay at GE BEL, the Indian subsidiary of GE Medical Systems with a compact ATE based on the PXI platform. A PXI switch helped to communicate with different external instruments while a PXI scope card was used to capture the waveforms and a PXI DMM was used to measure the high voltages. High voltage supplies were controlled by the relays through contactors.  Thus the virtual instrumentation based system was more cost effective, compact, and easier to use than the earlier system.

Engineering Challenges:

• Safety - Safety was a primary concern due to the presence of high voltages upto 3000V. Thus the system had to be designed anticipating the potential risks that might arise due to component failures or any other external factors.
• Interfacing capability - The test equipment had to communicate with the external measuring instruments through GPIB and RS232 interfaces.
• Data logging – The solution had to automate the logging of the measured electrical parameters after each test.
• Switching - To provide an effective switching arrangement to perform the required tests.
• Customized report generation - Need for generating customized and consolidated reports for GE's Six-Sigma quality analysis.

Value Addition:

• Complete automation - Shift from completely manual testing to no human involvement after the start of the test.
• Test sequencing - Test sequencing was user selectable.
• Productivity improvements - Improved testing productivity by a factor of 3
• Significant time reduction - Substantial reduction in time required for the generation of reports, along with the flexibility to customize them as required.

Commendation:

This application was adjudged 'The Winner' for the biomedical category for the NI Week 2001 Best Application Contest
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-219