Industry : Bio-Medical

Category : Software Development

The Challenge:

To develop a Highly Accelerated Stress Test System (HAST) for the endurance testing of two X-ray systems, independently and simultaneously. The systems have to be controlled using CAN and serial communication and the irregular waveforms indicative of faults have to be acquired and analyzed.

The Technology:

Hardware   : PXI/Compact PCI, Compact FieldPoint, Industrial I/O, Digitizers/Oscilloscopes, High-speed DAQ, Multi port RS232
Software    : LabVIEW

The Solution :

The PXI instrumentation platform was used to integrate all the desired functionality to perform HAST on two X-ray units simultaneously and independently. Oscilloscopes were used to perform the high speed data acquisition of spit waveforms from the anode and cathode of each of the X-ray tubes. A four port PXI serial interface was used for serial communication with the test system and the X-ray measurement system. FieldPoint thermocouple and discrete I/O modules were used to measure temperature and implement the safety interlocks effectively. The test system was interfaced to a PC running a LabVIEW application that controlled the overall tests and data. The PC was connected to a web server and a database and this information was made available to the global teams interested in this data.

Engineering Challenges :

• Communication - Efficiently handling the communication between the various hardware components involved.
• Spits detection – To detect the occurrence of spits and to stop the tests if the spits exceed a preset limit.
• Safety - Monitoring temperatures and safety interlocks for the test chamber door status and the incoming power.
• Networking capabilities - Enabling the system to be completely web-enabled while ensuring that the system is not disturbed by people trying to access the system status and the data, since a lot of high-speed DAQ and analysis was being performed simultaneously.

Value Addition :

• Reduction in development time - In comparison to the alternative design that involved the use of four separate oscilloscopes and two separate PCs for the control of the X-ray system , the integrated system designed by us helped save one man-year of development efforts.
• Cost Reduction - By eliminating the high-end oscilloscopes and integrating all the functionality, we helped save more than $30,000 for the customer. In additions to these, we were able to save on space which is always at a premium in a fast growing manufacturing site.

Commendation :

This application was one of the finalists under the category of R&D/Lab Automation for the NI Week 2002 Best Application Contest.
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-241