Custom Manufacturing Test Systems | Custom Production Test Equipment | LabVIEW-based

Over 200 turnkey manufacturing test systems delivered.

How we can help:

Turnkey Custom Manufacturing Test Systems / Production Test Equipment
Software development for manufacturing test systems
Obsolete Manufacturing Test System Upgrades / Migration

A few clients that have trusted us enough to build them a manufacturing test solution:

Proof Points:

Over 200 turnkey manufacturing test systems delivered.
Software delivered for over 800 manufacturing test systems.
Platinum level National Instruments Alliance Partner, which puts us in the top 2% worldwide.
Over 3,000 LabVIEW solutions delivered (See more »).
Over 1,500 PXI-based solutions delivered (See more »).
Over 500 cRIO-based systems delivered (See more »).
Over 200 obsolete test systems updated (See more »).

Yes, I need a manufacturing test system »

The Importance of Manufacturing / Production Test

Manufacturing test is a final verification step between you and your customer… your reputation is on the line.

You’re on the hot seat when the tester needs to be updated or a new one needs to be built. You don’t have time for that. You’ve gotta get back to your real job!

We’ve delivered over 200 turnkey manufacturing test systems, and developed the software for over 800 manufacturing test systems.

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Manufacturing Test Case Studies

Enhancing an existing test system for ease of maintenance

Reduction of time and frustration motivates software upgrade of a capable but inflexible test system

Client – A world-wide manufacturer of refrigeration units

Challenge

Our client had been using a 15-year old test system LabVIEW-based application that was becoming difficult to update. Plus, the designs of their newest refrigeration units were more complex than ever, requiring new test steps.

On top of that, our client wanted to give the operator flexibility in sequencing the test steps. For example:

the operator might want to run a specific test twice to verify operation.,
The operator might want to restart a sequence in the middle after reworking a part.
Or the test engineer might want to add another test step to further clarify operational data for historical trend analysis.

The existing application was based on a state machine architecture. While state machines can be edited to handle different sequence flows, this test application had numerous alterations over the past 15+ years to support the needs for testing new product designs. These amendments compounded over the years into an unwieldy test application.

New products were about to be introduced which would require additional modifications to the existing state machine and subsequent verification that:

changes worked as planned and,
changes didn’t affect any other existing modes of operation. This need was increasingly daunting.

The Design and Development Process

Very early in discussions, we showed our client a test application based on an object-oriented (OO) software architecture, and its associated user interface, that we had used in previous test system projects for other clients. We thought it might satisfy some of the desires we were hearing about:

how the older state-machine-based test system was difficult to maintain,
how some users were frustrated by the inflexibility of the test sequencer,
and wondering why the system can’t be easier to update for new product requirements.

Moving the existing application over to this new architecture would clearly require more effort than another patch, so we had to decide if the cost for this approach would be justified based on two major benefits:

Simplify the management and verification of future changes.
Enable flexible test flows to give the test operator a better user experience.

Both benefits would accumulate cost savings for maintenance and upgrades going forward. After discussions with our client, we jointly decided this approach was justified.

After reviewing this OO approach, our client asked us to use it to develop a small test system for another component of the refrigerator products. This small system gave our client the chance to explore the “look and feel” of this new architecture and user interface design before embarking on the test system discussed in this case study.

That trial project was a success, and we were given the go-ahead. The benefits, as described above, were clear.

After the development was complete, we:

worked with our client on integrating the test system into the existing test station,
performed acceptance testing,
and delivered the final items, like source code, to our client.

Solution

The initial upgrade tasks in creating this new application started by identifying the code for the test steps in the existing test application, which was based on that state-machine architecture, and then rewriting the test step functionality with the OO methodologies discussed earlier.

We also reworked the sequencing of steps to use an OO-based test sequencer. The test sequencer was reused from some of our prior projects.

For each test step in the existing test application, we repurposed the existing LabVIEW code in two ways:

First, we identified code functionalities that were commonly used throughout the state machine for the purpose of defining a set of reusable step types.
Second, we converted that common functionality into LabVIEW classes via copy-paste into the class methods, coupled with extraction of the configuration parameters needed to give each class the behavior needed for a particular step.

For example, the existing state machine contained many steps that provided a request-response method over a data bus. These similar steps were corralled into a single class with methods for data communication. Thus, each of the multiple original states in the existing application which requested parameter values could be made by calls to the same class in the new application simply by providing specific configuration inputs to the same class method.

Benefits

This OO design simplified updates to the test steps and their sequencing.

Furthermore, the operator interface was simpler, cleaner, and allowed the operator to manage the flow of the test steps. For example, operators could jump around in the test sequence when needed, say for reviewing the occasional confusing result or helping to develop the production test sequence.

The OO design of this new test system application was aimed squarely at improving the user experiences of both the operator and test engineer. Secondarily, the OO design will help the test system developer by untangling the original state machine code into supportable, extensible, and maintainable software.

Some specific benefits available from this new OO design:

Reduced frustration – If the operator noted something confusing about the outcome of a test step, that step can be rerun without needing to restart the entire test sequence.
Improved operational efficiency – The operator and/or test engineer can try a different sequence of test steps for operational or efficiency improvement.
Faster test system updates – Two aspects make updates faster and cleaner. First, new product designs can be accommodated with less worry about whether the fragile state machine code will break, Second, the code modularity of OO test steps makes it easier to implement new tests.

These usability and maintainability features will save our client cost and schedule in future product upgrades as well as highlight the contributions of the test system on production efficiency.

System Overview

The test hardware was based on NI CompactDAQ and the application was written in LabVIEW. The automated test system provided the following main features:

Test configuration based on the type of part being tested
Test sequencing with part-specific test steps
Test sequence execution can be managed by the operator in real-time
Display of test results as the sequence progresses
Archiving of test data for historical tracking

The test flow that this application runs is:

The operator enters the model and serial numbers (typed in or scanned in).
The test system looks up the model number and finds the test sequence to run.
The test system populates the sequencer screen with the appropriate test sequence.
The operator can select a step from which to start or just click the Start Test button to begin the entire sequence.
Buttons at the bottom of the sequence display allow the user to Pause, Abort, or Resume the sequence.
Executed test steps are highlighted in green (pass) or red (fail) to indicate how the sequence is progressing. The operator can scroll through the test sequence to review the outcome of each step.
If the sequence is configured to do so, the sequence may pause at a failed step so the operator can repair and retest that step.

The unit under test (UUT) was monitored by the test system to view sensors both internal and external to the UUT. The external sensors are used to detect the environment of the unit, such as being in position, connected to power, and so on.

Besides a few thermocouples and digital inputs, measurement data used to determine pass/fail was obtained from the UUT via the data bus.

All these inputs were handled by a set of NI modules in a 4-Slot cDAQ chassis.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Data communications
Acquire sensor data
Control digital output
Acquire digital inputs
Test sequence management and execution
Archiving of all test results

HARDWARE USED
1 Port High Speed Communication Module
8 Channel AI Module
8 Channel Sourcing DO Module
8 Channel Sinking DI Module

Automated production test of EO/IR imaging subsystem

Assessing quality of mission-critical electronics for imaging

Increased throughput by automated signal skew adjustment and pixel verification

Client – Worldwide supplier of products for aerospace and defense

Challenge

Our client wanted a test system that would significantly increase production rates for a very specialized focal plane array (FPA) and associated readout integrated circuit (ROIC) electronics.

In broad strokes, the system needed to support the following:

Increase production test throughput as much as reasonably possible within budget and schedule constraints.
Provide some low-code or no-code way to create new test protocols.
Protect the DUT using hardware and software interlocks.
Verify the correctness of test image(s) and all its pixels.

Solution

The FPA and ROIC testing for this client used many of the same techniques we have implemented for FPA/ROIC testers at some of our other clients. Thus, the solution was built around our AEDIS platform and some custom connectivity hardware which paired the DUT to the AEDIS hardware.

Specifically, the test needed to:

Send digital signals from the AEDIS hardware to initiate and coordinate the test steps.
De-skew bitstreams from the DUT.
Organize and rearrange the bitstreams into image pixels.
Provide custom “personality” modules to connect the DUT and AEDIS hardware.
Protect the DUT from connection and power faults.

Benefits

All the bulleted items above are common requests from our clients and are supplied with the AEDIS platform or easily accommodated by design of the platform. Consequently, AEDIS often meets 80% or even 90% of typical client needs.

Thus, the client was able to cost-justify an AEDIS-based solution for two main reasons:

overall system costs for an AEDIS-based solution were significantly less than a completely custom system and
the increased production rates provided plenty of schedule buyback.

Furthermore, the script-based, low-code capabilities offered by AEDIS enabled:

Support of different test images.
Control of image transfer initiation, handling responses from the DUT, and flow.
Version control (by the client) of script-based test configurations.
Defined parsing of bitstreams to create the image pixels to simplify downstream image collection.

System Overview

The test system was built around AEDIS, which is a combination of five major components:

NI FlexRIO PXI modules and chassis.
Signal conditioning hardware.
A REST API interface for the client’s test sequencer and LabVIEW FPGA for the hardware interfacing.
An out-of-the-box browser-based app to interact with the AEDIS system.
A source measure unit to supply and test the DUT’s power needs.

With this design, AEDIS acts as an instrument to incorporate into the client’s overall test system.

The NI FlexRIO modules use Xilinx FPGAs for digital I/O at the rates and channel counts required to fully test the FPA on the DUT. Some digital lines were used for commands to the FPA while most were used to receive output from the FPA.

The AEDIS interfacing hardware acts as an ITA while converting the FPA/ROIC signals to types expected by the FlexRIO. A custom “personality” module provides the physical connectivity from the client’s hardware cabling to the ITA. The AEDIS software handles the test configuration setup, data acquisition, and data storage via high-speed RAID drives.

During development of the test system, AEDIS hardware and software were also used to emulate the actual FPA and electronics to verify, before deployment, that the test system was working as required. This same setup can also be used for periodic verification as might be needed for an annual equipment performance audit.

Finally, configuration files were built from user-created scripts to give the client flexibility for adding new test capabilities for the DUT.

Some of the significant hardware and software challenges mitigated by this combination of PXI FlexRIO and AEDIS are:

Interface to tester: The AEDIS system is treated as an instrument managed by an overall test system. The client developed some custom C# code to interface to the AEDIS REST API interface to automate their test procedures.
DUT interfacing: Standard (keyed) cabling ran between the DUT and the custom AEDIS “personality” card to match cabling to the DUT. The output of this personality module went to the AEDIS LVDS modules.
Channel skew: The high-frequency digital LVDS signals from the DUT can develop noticeable timing skews between channels upon arrival at the FlexRIO inputs due to signal path length differences. The test system had to detect and accommodate for these skews before combining the bits streams into bytes, then pixels, then an image.
High data rates: Not only were the digital data output at high frequency but many channels were needed to accommodate the full frame rate of the DUT. The FPGA and the PXI backplane needed enough processing and transport bandwidth to accommodate the throughput.
Interlocks: Keyed cabling and “signal present” software checks assured proper connections between the DUT and the AEDIS hardware before testing would begin. These safety checks were justified due to the high cost of each DUT.
User-defined scripts: Scripts created and edited by the user provided flexibility to address future test types and system obsolescence. For example, the scripts defined details such as a) the DUT-specific commands (some of which could not be shared with us for secrecy reasons), b) when the image is being captured (or ignored), and c) if the image is stored to disk or RAM.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Browser-based app for manual operation and recipe creation and editing
REST API interface for support of automated operation
Configuration of the test via scripts
Pre-test interlock checks
Data collection, bit stream processing, and mapping digital bitstream to pixels

HARDWARE USED
Standard AEDIS components for signal buffering, conditioning, and signal acquisition
Custom personality hardware for connectivity and physical connection interlocks
Signal test points in AEDIS breakout ITA modules enabled use of a logic analyzer for troubleshooting and further verification

Replacing Wire-wrap Boards with Software, FPGAs, and Custom Signal Conditioning

Electronic components of fielded systems were aging out
Reverse engineering effort converted wire wrap boards to FPGA-based I/O

Client – Amentum – A supplier for Military Range System Support

Challenge

Amentum (www.amentum.com) supports a decades-old system deployed in the early 1980s. While the mechanical subsystems were still functioning, the wire-wrapped discrete logic and analog circuitry was having intermittent problems.

Systems designed and built decades ago can sometimes have wonderful documentation packets. Nevertheless, we’ve been burned too often when the docs don’t incorporate the latest redlines, last-minute changes, or other updates.

The replacement system needed to be a form-fit-function replacement to land in the same mounting locations as the original equipment with the same behavior and connections. Below is an image of the existing wire-wrap boards and their enclosure. We had to fit the new equipment in this same spot.

Figure 1 – Original wire-wrap boards

Finally, Amentum wanted to work with Viewpoint in a joint development approach. While our joint capabilities looked complementary, we didn’t know at the start how well we would mesh with our technical expertise and work culture – it turns out we worked extremely well together as a team and neither one alone could have easily delivered the solution.

Solution

Since the team treated the existing documentation package with suspicion, we adopted a “trust but verify” approach. We would use the documents to give overall direction, but we would need details from the signals to verify operation.

Leveraging Amentum’s experience with the fielded systems, the team decided early on to record actual signals to understand the real I/O behavior. We used the system’s “test verification” unit to run the system through some check out procedures normally run prior to system usage. This verification unit enabled us to use a logic analyzer for the I/O to and from the discrete logic digital signals and an oscilloscope and DMM for the analog signals. The available schematics were reviewed to assure that the signals made sense.

With a trustable understanding of system operation, Amentum created a requirements document. We jointly worked on the design of the new system. There were both an “inside” system (in a control shelter) and an “outside” system (in the unit’s pedestal).

Some overall tasks were:

Viewpoint recommended an architecture for the inside application running on PXIe LabVIEW RT and FPGA layers.
Amentum created the system control software on a Linux PC.
Viewpoint developed the more intricate parts of the inside application and mentored Amentum on other parts they developed. This work recreated the existing discrete logic and analog I/O using PXIe NI FPGA boards.
Viewpoint designed custom interposer boards to connect harnesses to the NI PXIe equipment, including a test point and backplane boards.
Amentum designed and developed the cRIO-based outside system application and Viewpoint created a set of custom interposer boards to connect harnesses to the cSeries modules.

The PXIe FPGA boards handled the required 60 MHz clock-derived signals with correct phases, polarity, and so on. Furthermore, the wire-wrap boards were register-based so the PXIe had to decode “bus signals” sent over a Thunderbolt bus to emulate the programming and readouts from the various wire-wrap boards.

Figure 2 – PXIe replacement to wire-wrap boards

Amentum wanted to be able to support the LabVIEW FPGA VIs used to replace the functionality of the discrete logic. So, Viewpoint acted as mentor and code reviewer with Amentum to ramp them up on using LabVIEW FPGA effectively. Neither one of us alone would have been successful coding the applications in the allotted time. Joint knowledge and experience from both Viewpoint and Amentum were required.

Signal conditioning and harnesses needed to be reworked or replaced as well, of course, since the landing points for the wires were different in the new system. Viewpoint suggested a technique, which we’ve used frequently in past obsolescence upgrade projects, to create PCB boards that accepted existing connectors.

For the cRIO, these interposer “connection” PCBs plugged directly into the cRIO cSeries module. For the PXIe, these interposer PCBs accepted the field wiring connectors and converted them to COTS cables that connected to the PXIe modules. These interposer PCBs could have signal conditioning incorporated as needed. This approach significantly reduced the need for custom harnesses. All told, about 200 signals were passed between the PXIe and various other subsystems, and about 100 for the cRIO. This approach saved significant wiring labor and cost.

Figure 3 – cRIO with interposer boards between cSeries and field harnesses

The work to design and build the signal conditioning custom electronics was split between Viewpoint and Amentum. Viewpoint did more design than build and handed over the schematics and Gerber files to Amentum so they could manage the builds while also being able to make modifications to the boards as needed.

Benefits

Amentum wanted an engineering firm that was willing to work along side them as a partner. Joint discussions about architecture and design led to a collaborative development effort where Amentum benefited from Viewpoint’s extensive expertise and guidance on LabVIEW architectural implementation and FPGA coding style.

The main outcomes were:

As a partner of the team, Viewpoint acted as staff augmentation by providing experienced engineers with technical capabilities that Amentum initially lacked.
This team approach delivered a stronger product to the end-customer more quickly than either of us could do alone.
The combination of Viewpoint’s and Amentum’s experience reduced the amount of reverse engineering needed due to the lack of firm requirements.
Reduction of electronics obsolescence by using software-centric FPGA-based functionality. Recompiled LabVIEW FPGA could target future boards models.
Increased software-based functionality simplifies future updates and modifications.
Decrease in number of parts leading to simpler maintenance.
Lower wattage consumed eliminated need for an anticipated HVAC upgrade.
Cybersecurity concerns were reduced by using Linux-based systems and FPGA coding.

System Overview

Using software to emulate the old hardware was a critical success factor. Since the requirements were not 100% solid at the start of the project, some field-testing was required for final verification and validation. The flexibility of the software approach eased modifications and tweaks as development progressed. A hardware-only solution would have necessitated difficult and costly changes. For example, some of the changes occurred very near the final deployment after the system was finally connected to an actual unit in the field.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Emulate original discrete logic functions via FPGAs
Emulate original analog signal I/O
Overall system control via Linux PC
Maintain the same user experience as existed before
Modern application architecture for simpler maintenance

HARDWARE USED
NI cRIO chassis with various cSeries modules
NI PXIe chassis with FPGA modules to handle all the analog and digital I/O via a combination of multifunction and digital-only cards
Custom PCBs for signal conditioning and connectivity

Pump Test Station – Increasing throughput

Standardizing on testing technique & reporting
Increasing test throughput with automation

Client – Industrial pump manufacturer

Challenge

Pump manufacturers typically test their product in the same facility in which the pumps are created. These tests are well defined and based on standards created by organizations such as API and ANSI to name a few. These tests are run to verify the performance of the pump as well as provide a report to the customer demonstrating that the pump they purchased will meet their needs. Sometimes these tests become factory witness tests where the customer sits in on the testing being performed on the pumps they had purchased.

This particular pump manufacturer had a test facility where many different sizes and types of pumps could be tested. The software provided to them by another integrator to run the test stand had the desired user interface screens, but did not function as requested, and was missing certain desired features.

Our client came to us with the following requests:

Evaluate the software written by the previous integrator to assess whether any of the code could be reused in the new application.
Ensure that existing cDAQ hardware would be compatible with changes and improvements to the software.
Deploy the hardware/software solution on the test site to verify it performed as required.

Solution

The Pump Test Utility was used for end-of-line test and product validation.

It had the following features:

A Pump Test application that can run one of the following tests at a time:
- Performance Test.
- Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) Test.
- Mechanical Test.
All test configuration and data files generated by the software must be compatible with Microsoft Excel.
Ability to show vibration data real time while the test is running.

Benefits

Standardization of testing technique –each pump will be tested with the same procedures and calculations/algorithms.
Automated generation of report content and presentation – automation of this step will save hours of manually recording data and entering that data into a spreadsheet to generate the same report.
Automation of the reporting and elimination of the need to manually record data will increase throughput of the testing facility.

System Overview

We developed the Pump Test Utility application to allow our client’s engineers and operators to:

Run one of three guided tests that visually provides pump performance feedback during the test.
Create a test configuration user interface that will be used to store configuration information that can be recalled when testing a similar pump.
Automate the collection of data during the test.
Automate the population of report templates with the configuration and data acquired during the test.
View and print out vibration graphs real time during the test.

The pump test software was developed in LabVIEW.

It interfaced with simple delimited text files and Excel workbook templates to save the configuration information necessary to set up and run the required tests.

The resulting data acquired during the test, both raw data acquired from the sensors and calculated data used to characterize the pump being tested, are saved to delimited text files.

Both high-speed (10 kS/s) and low-speed (10 S/s) data are acquired. High-speed data are graphed real time in a separate UI that allows the user to set cursors on the graph for visualization and printing to a pdf report.

Low-speed data is written to a delimited text file for archival storage and retrieval if additional analysis is required.

The high-speed data are for vibration measurements. The low-speed data are for pressure, temperature, RPM and flowrate measurements.

Flow rate and vacuum pressure were automatically adjusted using a PID loop and 4-20 mA controlled valves.

The pump test configuration is performed within the application from a series of drop-down selections populated with sensors found in an Excel workbook. The Excel workbook is updated and maintained outside the application. Once the test sensors and conditions have been selected, those selections are written to an Excel workbook for use in the reports.

The Excel ActiveX interface was used to develop the reports the client provided to their customers for the slow data. The Excel workbook template contained the formatting necessary for the reports. As the software wrote the data into the workbook, the reports were built from the formulas and formatting already configured in the Excel template.
At the end of the test, the software printed the appropriate worksheets containing the elements of the report required. The vibration (high-speed data) is written to a binary file and a pdf.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Data Acquisition
Test Sequencing
3 Standardized Test Types
Generate Standard Table-Based Reports
Generate Pump Performance Graphs
Generate Vibration Graphs
Sensor Management Tools
Test Configuration Management Tools

HARDWARE USED
NI cDAQ Signal Conditioning Chassis
Variety of NI cSeries Signal Conditioning Modules
Pressure Sensors
Level Sensors
Flowmeters
Vibration Sensors
Displacement Sensors
Temperature Sensors
Torque Sensors
Speed Sensors

Pump Test Station

Client – Industrial pump manufacturer

Standardizing on testing technique & reporting

Reducing the number of pumps in the production queue

Challenge

Most pump manufacturers have more than one testing site at a facility to accommodate different pump types and sizes. The ability to automate these tests and to present a common look to the testing process and reports make the customer experience more positive to those reading the reports and/or witness the testing.

Our client came to us with the following requests:

Evaluate the software written by the previous integrator to assess whether any of the code could be reused in the new application.
Specify a hardware and software solution to acquire the signals needed to compute the performance results for standard tests.
Deploy the hardware/software solution on the first test site to verify it performs as required and then deploy to the remaining test sites at their facility.

Solution

The Pump Test Utility had the following features:

A Pump Test application that can run one of two different tests; a performance test and a net positive suction head (NPSH) test.
An Access database was used to store the available sensors for that test site. The user selected the appropriate sensors while configuring the test.
The test data was stored in an Excel file where each pump received its own Excel file.
The LabVIEW Report Generation toolkit was used to populate the Excel file with data as well as create the report for the pump

Benefits

Standardization of testing technique – now each pump will be tested with the same procedures and calculations/algorithms used are standardized across all test sites within the facility.
Standardization of report content and presentation – now every customer that purchases a pump from our client will receive a report with identical information presented and that information will have been derived from the same calculations/algorithms.
Reduction of the number of pumps in the production queue (and hence inventory) by roughly as much as 1/2 due to faster data acquisition and especially the archiving of the test results and the generation of the final report and its associated calculations.

System Overview

We developed the Pump Test Utility application to allow our client’s engineers and operators to:

Run one of two guided tests that visually provides pump performance feedback during the test.
Create a test configuration file based on an Excel template that will be used to store test data as well as generate a report.

The pump test software was developed in LabVIEW and interfaced with an Access database and Excel workbook to acquire the configuration information necessary to set up and run the required tests. The resulting data acquired during the test, both raw data acquired from the sensors and calculated data used to characterize the pump being tested, are saved to the Excel workbook. Both high speed (10 kS/s) and low speed (10 S/s) data are acquired and stored into one data file for archival storage and retrieval if additional analysis is required. The high-speed data are for vibration and sound measurements and low speed data are for pressure, temperature, RPM and flowrate measurements.

The pump test configuration is performed within the application from a series of drop down selections populated with sensors found in an Access database. The database is updated and maintained by the client through a series of user interfaces within the application. Once the test sensors and conditions have been selected, those selections are written to the Excel workbook for use in the reports.

The LabVIEW Report Generation Toolkit software was used to develop the reports the client provided to their customers. The Excel workbook template contained the formatting necessary for the reports. As the software wrote the data into the workbook, the reports were built from the formulas and formatting already configured in the Excel template. At the end of the test, the software printed the appropriate worksheets containing the elements of the report required.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Data Acquisition
Test Sequencing
Metric or SAE Units
Multi-Level User Authentication
2 Standardized Test Types
Generate Standard Table-Based Reports
Generate Pump Performance Graphs
Generate Vibration Graphs
Sensor Management Tools
Test Configuration Management Tools

HARDWARE USED
NI cDAQ Signal Conditioning Chassis
Variety of NI cSeries Signal Conditioning Modules
Pressure Sensors
Flowmeters
Vibration Sensors
Displacement Sensors
Temperature Sensors
Torque Sensors
Speed Sensors

Custom FlexRIO Adaptor Module supports HIL Test Upgrade

A custom-COTS approach reduces cost and delivery time.

Client – Major National Research Lab

Challenge

Our client has a client (the end-user) for which they developed an HIL test system several years prior. Parts were obsolete and the system needed an upgrade. The prior system had many custom-designed electronic components which could not be replaced without a complete redesign.

Consequently, our client wanted to use COTS. However, one device needed 28 VDC digital I/O, a couple of lines which carried significant current (amp, not milliamp, levels) and at switching rates much higher than a COTS solid state relay could provide.

Solution

Viewpoint reviewed the requirements and created a hybrid COTS-custom solution. We combined an NI FlexRIO module with a custom FlexRIO Adapter Module (FAM) for the front end to satisfy the 28 VDC signals levels and required current drive.

Benefits

COTS FlexRIO integrates into the remainder of our client’s PXI-based test system.
The Custom I/O was designed for flexibility. Our client can use this FAM for both their initial end-user and other programs / clients too.
Reduced cost relative to a completely custom solution.
Delivery time reduced by months relative to a custom solution

FAM Overview

The custom FAM interfaced with the NI FlexRIO module, which offered low-level digital I/O (3.3 V logic), to digital signal conditioning hardware that provided the 28 VDC signal levels and required current drive.

Each I/O pin was configurable as input or output (source or sink). Each bank of 4 channels had an adjustable threshold level set via an adjustable DAC output. Some of the channels are designed for amp-level current drive, while the remainder were 250 mA. All I/O was fused appropriately.

Viewpoint also developed LabVIEW FPGA and VHDL to enable our client and the end-user to:

Configure the I/O as in or out.
Communicate to the DAC to allow custom input threshold trigger levels.
Read and write the digital data.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Set the direction of each of the DIO channels
Set the threshold level on the input channels
Read / Write DIO Data
End User Application

HARDWARE UTILIZED
COTS NI FlexRIO
Custom FlexRIO Adaptor Module(FAM)

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS
Customized VHDL Component Level Intellectual Property (CLIP) integrated with LabVIEW FPGA
LabVIEW FPGA as required along with LabVIEW and TestStand

Pump Test Station Used Across Multiple Locations Worldwide

Client – ITT Goulds Pumps

Challenge

Pumps are used for everything from sump pumps for the consumer home market all the way to large pumps for industry capable of moving thousands of gallons per minute. Just as varied is the fluid being pumped: from water to slurries to hydrocarbon-based fluids.

Pump manufacturers typically build and test in plants across the world and each of those facilities is responsible for testing every pump manufactured at that site to ensure that the pump will perform as the customer expects. These tests are well defined and based on standards such as API, ANSI and other organizations. These standards provide test procedures but do not give details as to how to perform the tests. Each site typically tests their product without guidance as to how to satisfy the aforementioned standards. As a result, differing hardware and software solutions are usually put in place to test the individual site’s products.

Such varied testing systems make it exceedingly difficult to compare test results across testing sites, both within plants and between plants.

We were asked by our client to create a homogeneous test platform with which they could compare data across manufacturing plants and test sites within the plants as well as automate calculations of plant performance metrics and reporting.

This client engaged us to develop and implement a software and information storage solution that could run the prescribed tests on any testing site and make these data available to their engineers. These tests were to be semi-automated and guide the test operator through a test ensuring that the procedure and the resulting data were collected in the same manner on every test site, worldwide.

Solution

The Pump Test Globalization application consists of the following sub-applications:

A Pump Test application that can run 1 of five different tests simultaneously to reduce the amount of time the UUT is under test. A separate data file is generated for each test and those data files are stored in the database along with the test results.
A Test Configuration application that helps to manage the orders and the tests association with those orders.
A Report Generation application that creates a report for each test run on a pump. Additional performance graphs are generated along with options for graphs depicting vibration and orbital performance of the pump.

Benefits

Standardization of testing technique – now each pump will be tested with the same procedures and calculations/algorithms used are standardized across all manufacturing test sites.
Standardization of report content and presentation – now every customer that purchases a pump from our client, regardless of origin of manufacture, will receive a report with identical information presented and that information will have been derived from the same calculations/algorithms.
Ability to generate manufacturing performance data – metrics such as first pass yield may be calculated for all manufacturing sites. Data from all manufacturing sites may now be compared.
Abstraction of data acquisition hardware – measurement data can be acquired from a variety of sources including OPC servers and NI DAQ Hardware. With this abstraction, the client’s existing hardware was reused where it made sense and replaced with new hardware as needed.

System Overview

We developed Pump Test, Pump Test Configurator and Pump Test Report Generator applications to allow our client’s engineers and operators to:

Run one or a series of guided tests that visually provides pump performance feedback during the test.
Configure a test for a specific pump model number and serial number. This configuration is read in by the Pump Test software to set up the test according to the configuration.
Generate a report that would be sent with the pump to their customer showing how the pump performed and that it met the customer’s requirements.

The pump test software was developed in LabVIEW and interfaced with a SQL database to acquire the configuration information necessary to set up and run the required tests. The resulting data acquired during the test, both raw data acquired from the sensors and calculated data used to characterize the pump being tested, are saved to the database. Both high speed (10 kS/s) and low speed (10 S/s) data are acquired simultaneously and stored into one data file for archival storage and retrieval if additional analysis is required. The high-speed data are for vibration and orbital measurements and low speed data are for pressure, temperature, rpm and flowrate type measurements.

The pump test configuration software was also developed in LabVIEW and is a separate application that uses a SQL database on the back end. The database is located on a secure server and has been designed to retain the following information:

Lists of all the manufacturing and test facilities.
List for all the motors used for running the pumps.
List for all the available sensors and hardware for each test station for every manufacturing plant.
Ability to associate each sensor with a hardware channel for acquisition.
Create and edit orders that contain pump specific information such as model number and serial number.
Create and edit test configuration information for a given order.

The report generation software was also developed in LabVIEW and provides the user a means to create standard reports for each of the test types. Additional addendums to the standard report can be created to include graphs utilizing the high-speed data such as vibration and orbital information.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Data Acquisition
Test Sequencing
Test Configuration Verification
Language Localization
Metric or SAE Units
Multi-Level User Authentication
5 Standardized Test Types
Generate Standard Table-Based Reports
Generate Pump Performance Graphs
Generate Vibration and Orbital Graphs
Pump Order Management Tools
Sensor Management Tools
Test Configuration Management Tools

HARDWARE USED
NI cDAQ Signal Conditioning Chassis
Variety of NI cSeries Signal Conditioning Modules
Various OPC Servers for PLC Communications
Pressure Sensors
Flowmeters
Vibration Sensors
Displacement Sensors
Temperature Sensors
Torque Sensors
Speed Sensors

Custom Test System Using NI PXI for Electrical Test

Updating an obsolete tester that maintains functionality

Client – Medical Device Manufacturer

Challenge

Our client already had a test system in place, but the tester (really two test systems testing two different product variants) was becoming obsolete. The tester was old, hardware was failing, and it was getting harder and harder to keep it reliably running. They wanted a new tester to improve reliability, but maintain the functionality of the existing tester to keep the FDA-mandated verification and validation time to a minimum.

Solution

The updated end-of-line manufacturing test system maintains the functionality of the old test systems, but with updated hardware and software. The same software is utilized for both the manual test system update and the automated test system update. Our client deployed 6 manual testers and 1 automated tester.

Benefits

Improved maintainability and reliability with updated hardware and software
Maintains existing test system functionality to keep certification time down

System Overview

There were two variants of the new test system. One was for an older product line that utilized manual test, with an operator that connected/disconnected the UUT, and initiated the test. The other was an automated tester, integrated into a manufacturing machine. Both testers utilized custom fixtures (provided by the client), off-the-shelf NI measurement hardware (selected by Viewpoint), and custom test software (developed by Viewpoint). The software is configurable for both the manual test system and the automated test system.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Read UUT limits from config file
Perform tester self-test
Measure impedance
Power UUT
Pressurize UUT
Measure UUT output
Perform leak down pressure test
PLC interface (for automated tester) for start, done, pass, fail

HARDWARE USED
Custom test fixture (provided by client)
NI PXI
PXI Multifunction I/O Module
PXI Digital I/O Module
PXI Relay Module
PXI Digital Multimeter Module
PXI Switch Matrix Module

*- images are conceptual, not actual

Manufacturing Inspection System Uses Machine Vision to verify assembly and labeling

Reducing human error with automated inspection

Client – Automotive Component Manufacturer

Challenge

Our client already had an end-of-line tester in place. However, preventing incorrect product shipments drove them to add machine vision capabilities to verify that the part being packed is of the correct physical configuration and that the part was labeled correctly. They also wanted a more automated way to track which serial numbers were being shipped.

Solution

Viewpoint enhanced the existing end-of-line tester by adding machine vision capabilities to verify correct part assembly and part labeling. This capability also allowed for automated tracking of which parts went into which shipping container.

Benefits

Automated part assembly verification to reduce human error from manual visual inspection
Automated label verification to reduce the chance of shipping the wrong product

System Overview

The enhanced system added machine vision-based capabilities to an existing end-of-line manufacturing test system. New hardware (cameras, lighting, fixture) was selected and integrated by the client. Viewpoint developed the image analysis routines using the Cognex In-Sight software. These routines were then downloaded and controlled using LabVIEW software developed by Viewpoint. In addition, the LabVIEW GUI contained the image acquired by the camera and the results of the image analysis. The tester can inspect four different part types.

The software essentially performs the following functions:

Look up the expected characteristics of the part being inspected.
Populate the on-camera In-Sight “spreadsheet” with configuration information used in the image analysis/inspection.
Trigger the image capture and read results from the on-camera spreadsheet.
Use the on-camera image analysis to check a critical angle of the part as the part is set in the nest fixture.
Check the information laser etched on the part and compare the results with what should be on the part (relative to the barcode read in for the lot and the 2D barcode on the part) using the OCR/OCV capabilities of the camera.
Perform other physical part characterization image analyses to verify the part was correctly labeled & assembled.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Look up expected part characteristics
Trigger image capture
Read results of on-camera image analysis
Display image taken by camera and show if test passed or failed
Monitor contiguous part failures & initiate shutdown
Log vision test failures to database

HARDWARE USED
Existing end-of-line tester
Test Fixture
(qty 2) Cognex camera
Lighting for camera

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS
TCP/IP

Automated Manufacturing Test System for Electronic Medical Devices

Using PXI and LabVIEW for modular testing of over 1,000 different models

Client – a medical device manufacturer and repair depot

Challenge

Our client manufactures hospital patient pendants used to control bed frame, nurse calling, and TV functions. The company was also growing after adapting a business model of being a repair depot for older designs for their own and the pendants of other manufacturers. As such, their products are very high mix and medium volume.

The basic functions for all these pendant models are closely related, so the client wanted a means to build a single automated test system that could verify functionality for 1000s of models. And, since the products are medical devices, the testers needed to comply to 21 CFR Part 820 and Part 11.

Solution

The testers were designed to support the common measurements needed to test the circuitry of the devices as well as the complex signals required to drive TVs and entertainment systems. A test sequence editor was created which allowed the client to create as many test sequences as needed to test each specific pendant model by creating a list from pre-defined basic measurement steps configured for each specific measurement.

For example, each device had a power supply, the voltage of which needed to be tested. To test a specific model, a voltage measurement step was added to the model-specific sequence and configured with the upper and lower measurement limits for the power supply. The complete test sequence was created by adding and configuring other measurements test steps as needed. Each test step could also be configured with switch configurations to connect the measurement equipment, such as a DMM, to the proper pins on the device circuit board.

Using this configuration process, the client was able to support the testing of well over 1000 models without any programming. A separate application was developed to create these test sequences which were saved as XML and fed to the test system for selection and execution.

The test execution was managed by NI TestStand and the pre-defined common test steps were written in LabVIEW. The test sequences and test results were interfaced to the client SQL database which they used in their ERP system. This ERP system used the results produced by the test system to help manage the workflow of production, for example by assuring that all units had passed testing before being shipped. Part 11 compliance was handled through checksums used to check if results had been modified.

Benefits

Test sequence editor used to develop and maintain tests for 1000s of device models
Enabling our client to create test sequences without programming reduced overall development costs by about 50%.
Test sequences and test results were stored in the client’s ERP SQL-compliant database for integration with manufacturing workflow
Modular and common software developed for the test systems reduced the V&V effort during IQ & OQ by allowing testing of the test execution application separate from the individual test sequences.

System Overview

The automated test system was able to execute each test sequence in three different modes: engineering, service, and production. Each mode has been specifically designed for various departments throughout the manufacturing floor. Typically, the manufacturing engineer would verify the sequence by executing it in engineering mode. Once the test sequence parameters pass, it was then approved for production testing.

During actual product testing, an approved and digitally-signed test sequence is loaded and executed via the test sequencer, designed for automated production. During execution, test results are displayed to the operator and simultaneously pushed to a database. The automated test system produces a record for each tested device, indicating the disposition of each test step and the overall performance of the device. All result data are digitally signed and protected from tampering.

The architecture of the test system follows a typical client – server model.

All client stations communicate with a central ERP and SQL server and each computer is secured by applying operating system security. The SQL server contains all of the test definitions, device history records and results. Information from it can be queried at any time by quality engineers throughout the organization, assuming they have proper login access. This provides real time status about products ready for shipment. Also, other than the software running on the client stations, no other user has permission to write or modify any information in this database. The client is able to keep the server in a protected area separating it from the manufacturing environment while the client test stations are placed throughout the manufacturing area.

Surprisingly, there were only twelve test steps needed to uniquely configure and be combined to create sequences to test well over 2000 unique models. Test steps are capable of measuring basic resistance, current and voltage parameters as well as perform sound quality measurements and high speed digital waveform analysis. Several tests were designed to be subjective while others are fully automated and test to a specified acceptable tolerance. During configuration, each test step requires the manufacturing engineer to enter expected values and tolerance limits to define pass – fail status. Upon testing, the devices are attached to a generic interface connection box and the test system makes the appropriate connections and measurements.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
NI TestStand
Low-level measurement drivers to interface to a DMM, signal generator, switches, and data acquisition cards.
Measurement-based test steps
Test sequence execution
Test sequence management
User access management
Test report creation and management
Verification of test sequence content and ability of user to execute
Verification of the content of the test results

HARDWARE USED
NI PXI chassis and controller
NI PXI acquisition cards for analog measurements
NI PXI acquisition cards for digital input and output
NI PXI DMM for precision voltage and resistance measurements
Audio amplifier for speaker tests

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS
Ethernet

*- images are conceptual, not actual

Yes, I’d like to chat about my test system needs »

Automated Manufacturing Test Systems for Medical Diagnostic Equipment

Using NI PXI and LabVIEW as a common architecture for multiple test systems testing several subassemblies

Client: a manufacturer of automated blood analysis machines

Challenge

Our client was embarking on a complete redesign of their flagship automated in-vitro Class 1 blood diagnostic machine. In order to meet schedule goals, the design and build of several automated test systems needed to occur in parallel with the overall machine. In a major design paradigm shift, many components of the machine were being manufactured as modular subassemblies, every one of which was an electro-mechanical device. Thus, multiple testers were required to test each of the specific subassemblies in the machine. And, since this was a medical device, the testers needed to comply to 21 CFR Part 820 and Part 11.

Solution

With a looming deadline, the testers needed a common architecture, so that all testers could leverage the development from the others. Since each subassembly could be tested independently of the overall machine prior to final assembly, the design of the testers was based on a common measurement and reporting architecture, written in LabVIEW, that interfaced to the customers Part 11 compliant database for testing procedures and measurement results. Furthermore, procedures and validation checks for calibration of the testers were part of the overall test architecture.

Benefits

Modularization of the test system architecture aided development and maintenance
Reduced overall development costs due to standardization of test sequence steps and reporting
Both test sequences and test results were stored in a managed database that satisfied 21 CFR Part 11 requirements
Modular and common software developed for the test systems reduced the V&V effort during IQ & OQ.

System Overview

Since multiple subassemblies were being tested, with one part-specific test system per part, the automated test systems used as much common hardware as possible to simplify the development effort through common hardware drivers and test steps. Measurements were made with PXI equipment. Test steps and the test executive that executed the test sequence(s) were developed using LabVIEW.

The types of test steps required to verify the proper operation of each subassembly were categorized into basic operations, such as voltage reading, pulse counting, temperature reading, and communications with on-board microcontrollers. The specifics of each measurement could be configured for each of these measurement types so that each test step accommodated the needs of the specifics of each subassembly. For example, one subassembly might have needed to run the pulse counting for 2 seconds to accumulate enough pulses for accurate RPM calculation while another subassembly might have only needed 0.5 seconds to accomplish that calculation.

The configuration of a test step algorithm was accomplished via an XML description. The accumulation of these XML descriptions of each test step defined the test sequence run on that specific subassembly.

Test results were associated with these test sequences by completing the entries initially left blank in the test sequence, so that all results were explicitly bound to the test sequence.

The operator user interface distinguished between released and unreleased test sequences. With unreleased test sequences, engineers could try the most recent subassembly designs without needing to wait for final validation. The released sequences were only available to test operators. This login-driven branching was managed using the Windows login, so that the client employees could use their company badge-driven login process. Once logged in, the user would be able to execute the test sequence in automated mode, where all steps happen automatically, or manual mode, where one step could be operated at a time.

Furthermore, the Windows environment was locked down using built-in user account group policies to designate the level at which a user could access Windows or be locked into accessing only the test application.

V&V Effort

During the V&V effort, each test sequence was verified for expected operation, against both known good and bad parts. Once verified, the sequence was validated against the requirements and, when assured to be as expected, a checksum was applied to the resulting XML test sequence file and all was saved in a Part 11 compliant database. Upon retrieval, when ready to run a test, the sequence was checked against this checksum to assure that a sequence had not been tampered.

Test results, saved as XML in the same file format as the test sequence, were also surrounded by a checksum to verify that no tampering had occurred.

The IQ/OQ efforts were handled in a traditional manner with the client developing the IQ/OQ documentation, with our assistance, and then executing these procedures, again with our assistance.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Low-level measurement drivers
Measurement-based test steps
Test sequence execution
Test sequence management
User access management
Test report creation and management
Verification of test sequence content and ability of user to execute
Verification of the content of the test results

HARDWARE USED
PXI chassis and controller
PXI acquisition cards for analog measurements
PXI acquisition cards for digital input and output
CAN card

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS
Ethernet
CAN

*- images are conceptual, not actual

Yes, I’d like to chat about my test system needs »

Creating an N-Up Tester to handle increased production volume demands

Enhanced throughput offers ROI payback period of less than 1 year

Client

Automotive Components Supplier / Manufacturer

Challenge

The company makes automotive components in very large volume, several part models each at more than 1 million per year.

The client’s primary concern was conserving floor space. They were completely out of spare manufacturing space.

Solution

Viewpoint created an N-up NI PXI-based Manufacturing Test System. In this case, N=6 because analysis showed that a 6-up electronic part tester allowed the test operator to cover the test time with the load/unload time.

At the high volumes needed, the client needed to parallelize as much as possible. The cost of 6 sets of test equipment and device sockets was less important than speed. Using the equation:

ProfitPerUnit x NumberAdditionalPartsPerYearAfterParallelizing > CostOfTestEquipment,

being able to completely parallelize made the number of extra units per year large enough that the payback time for completely duplicating the measurement instrumentation for each UUT socket was less than about 1 year.

Benefits

Paid for itself in less than 1 year by the enhanced throughput.
This approach consumed about 20% the floor space that would have been used for duplicating the test system 5 more times (for a total of 6 testers)

System Overview

Viewpoint developed an NI TestStand application that ran 6 instances of the test sequence independently of each other utilizing the duplicated PXI-based test equipment. The common parts of the overall master sequence were:

Startup check for the entire test stand
Shutdown of the entire test stand
Archiving the test results into the database

Part handling was managed by a PLC and robot which delivered the parts from a tray into the UUT sockets. Digital bits were used for signaling the test sequence which parts were present in their sockets and ready to test.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Test System GUI
Test sequencer
Startup checker
Test Results Archiver

Yes, I need an N-up tester »

Increasing Test System Automation for Existing Tester to handle Production Volume Demand Increase

Reduced test time across several products by an average of ~25% and reduced time to create paperwork by ~3x

Client

Manufacturer of high-voltage power supplies

Challenge

The client already had an existing manufacturing test system in place. They wanted Viewpoint to enhance the tester due to an increase in production volume demand. Viewpoint reviewed the existing test system and noted 3 areas for improvement:

Automation available in the measurement instruments – most of the test equipment was automatable, via some combination of serial, GPIB, or Ethernet interfaces. Furthermore, some equipment, such as an oscilloscope, had the ability to store and recall setup configurations. The test operators already used these configurations to decrease setup time for the next test step. Most test equipment did not have automated setup.
Operator time spent on each test step – the client had been through a Lean assessment and had already done a good job of timing operations. However, we specifically noted that the operator was manually connecting to the test points and manually transcribing to paper the measurement results from instrument displays.
Automating the connections – many types of product models were being tested at this test system. Connecting the test equipment to all sorts of products would require either 1) many types of test harnesses and connectors or 2) a redesign of the products to make test connections simpler and quicker.

Solution

The enhanced automated test system included automation of instrumentation interfaces, a test executive to run the test sequences, automated test report generation, and automated test data archiving for the electronic UUT.

Benefits

Reduced total test time across several products by an average of ~25%.
Time to create paperwork was reduced by ~2/3 due to automated data collection.

System Overview

The enhanced test system included the following updates:

Test sequence automation
Automated test report generation
Automated test data archiving
Automation of instrumentation interfaces
Configurable automated test steps associated with each type of measurement instrument. The test operators would create a sequence of steps to setup each instrument and record the resulting measurement. The sequence of steps could be saved and recalled for each product to be tested, so the instruments could be used automatically.
New programmable meter – integrated the new DMM meter with a programmable interface to replace the one that was not automatable.
Foot switch integration – Since the connections to the test points were manual, a foot switch allowed the operator to take the measurement and advance to the next step.

The StepWise test executive platform managed the multiple test procedures created for the different products. StepWise also handled creation of HTML reports for every part tested.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Test GUI
Test Sequencer
Report Generator
Test Data Archiving
Instrument interfaces

Yes, I need to increase my level of automation »

Product Validation & Production Test System – For complex Mission-critical sub-system

Client

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense

Upgrade reduces per unit test time by ~40% and improves reliability of software

Challenge

The customer needed to upgrade their existing test system. Their old test system was very manual:

It did not provide ability for unattended operation
The thermal control had to be set manually
They wanted to do less manual review of the data

The client develops mission-critical products, so there’s a desire to reduce manual operations because they have to explain any anomalies, and manual operations are typically more error-prone. They needed repeatable results that they could trust.

Solution

Viewpoint developed a new test system that utilized new hardware and software, augmented by existing low level hardware and firmware. The test system was developed to perform both functional test for production and environmental testing, and was designed to handle up to 4 DUTs at once. The test system utilizes the StepWise test executive software with custom test steps, which allowed the client to create their own highly configurable test sequences. The system was developed in two phases, with the second phase adding support for a FPGA expansion backplane (NI CompactRIO chassis) in order to provide future capability for bringing some of the microcontroller sequence activity into the NI space. In addition, the previous version had a mix of serial, TTL, and USB instrumentation, which was not as robust as Ethernet based instrumentation. Phase II involved upgrading to all Ethernet based instrumentation, and did away with the original test system’s many manual toggle switches that could be used instead of the programmable mode through the SW.

Benefits

~40% test time reduction per unit
~25% reduction in anomalies that needed to be justified
~500 manhours saved in test execution

System Overview

Software Functions
Test sequencing
Test report generation
Data recording/logging
Error handling
Test GUI
Oscilloscope interface
Thermal chamber interface
Power supply interface
External custom hardware interface

I need an automated test system »

Manufacturing Test Data Logger

Data Acquisition System Facilitates Continuous Improvement of Product Performance

Client – A manufacturer of welding consumables

Challenge

Our client produces welding consumables. These products are inspected for continuous improvement of product performance. Our client wanted to standardize their data collection method to improve product quality and utilize SPC (statistical process control) across multiple international manufacturing facilities.

Solution

The solution is a relatively straightforward data acquisition system measuring force, vibration and voltage for comparison across multiple international manufacturing facilities to support continuous improvement of product performance.

Benefits

Standardization of data collection across multiple manufacturing sites
Ability to check product performance tolerances, which could trigger root cause analysis
Ability to analyze data across product runs and across sites for SPC

System Overview

The system utilizes off-the-shelf data acquisition hardware from National Instruments along with custom LabVIEW code to perform force and vibration measurement and basic calculations such as RMS Min and Max. Each test generates an MS Word file showing summary data as well as graphs of each attribute over time. In addition, the program creates (and automatically archives) a complete data set of all data recorded during the trial and finally adds a line with all the summary results and comments to a Master log file. This Master log file can then be sorted by date, wire type, diameter, or any other input for analysis.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
Calculations (e.g. standard deviation, RMS, Max)
GUI for configuration, control, and results.
Automated Report Generation

HARDWARE USED
NI cDAQ
NI C Series voltage input module
NI USB Multifunction I/O Device

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS
USB

Hidden Factory Assessments Lead to Waste and Cost Reductions

2015-03-05 08_53_53-Value Stream Map – Internet Explorer – Cropped

Sharing Business and Test Data Enables Efficiency Improvements

Reduce Production Costs by Coordinating Business and Test Data

Client: A major manufacturer of aerospace components

Problem Scope

Many companies operate in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment. In these situations, production of such parts is often complex, with long assembly and test procedures describing the process to make and verify the part. Discussions of automating any part of these processes are often dismissed because an automated test system is thought to be expensive, especially an aerospace test system which requires significant documentation and acceptance testing efforts. Plus, it’s often erroneously thought that each part needs a unique test system.

Challenge

Our client wanted to improve their capability to manage the assembly procedures and get clarity on the status of any parts, whether partially or fully assembled. The existing situation had data manually-entered into a database form or even handwritten data that needed to be transcribed into a database. Often the database was local to the assembly cell. The chance for error was significant and the lag between data collection and updating the database was often days. When questions arose about the status of a particular unit, many hours could be spent in locating and evaluating the associated forms and paperwork.

The steps needed to achieve these goals were clear: automate the collection data on each part while being assembled so that those results would appear in a business-level database which would give a plant-wide view of the status of all the parts in progress.

Thus, this project needed to allow read/write access to sections of the Manufacturing Enterprise System (MES) database so that information about a part being assembled could be obtained automatically and results could be submitted to that MES database automatically.

Solution

We designed the PXI-based system based on the StepWise test executive platform to automate the assembly and testing. This platform enables two significant changes. These changes were made at each assembly cell by having the operator use a test PC and perhaps some measurement equipment as appropriate for the part(s) being assembled at that cell.

First, we replaced all the printed assembly procedures with electronic records so that any operator could review the latest version of the work instructions on a computer screen. This approach helped with version control, especially important since the client had various model revisions that came through the factor for rework, each with slightly different versions of assembly instructions.

Second, we displayed those electronically documented work procedures as steps in a test executive, allowing the results of each step in the assembly procedure to be captured electronically. When an assembly step was purely manual with no measurements, the fact that step was completed would be recorded, along with information such as the name of the operator performing the step, the duration that the step took, and so on. When a step required a measurement to be made, such as a functionality verification or a calibration result, the measurement would be collected. If the equipment making that measurement could be automated, we would collect that data automatically, and not require the operator to type the result into a computer form.

The outcome of this effort has enabled the client to get a snapshot of the status of parts in assembly, i.e., Works in Progress (WIP), quickly and accurately.

After these changes were made, many additional capabilities are now available with the advent of purpose-built queries into the appropriate MES database tables. The table below shows the overall efficiency gains achieved.

The key is the combination of the electronic test results obtained at the test equipment with information on work orders and manufacturing flow held in the various tables in the business MES database. This improvement happens even with manual or semi-automated test systems, and does not require a completely automated assembly and test system. Thus, the cost of the test system is much less than usually expected and, hence, the benefits are more easily cost-justified.

Production Test of Large Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Manufacturing Test of UPS Units Designed for Data Center Backup Power

Client: A major manufacturer of data-critical three-phase uninterruptable power supplies

Challenge

A major manufacturer of very large three-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) needed better measurement, analysis, and report generation capabilities. Their clients used these UPSs on mission critical equipment, such as data warehouse server farms, communications equipment, and so one. Existing testing procedures used equipment that did not allow for complete simultaneous coverage of all sections of a UPS unit, from input to output. Our client wanted a better understanding of the signals on each of the three phases at various locations within the UPS, especially when power sources were switched or faults were induced.

Also, in the prior test procedure, factory acceptance reports were manually assembled for our client’s end-customers, delaying the final sign-off. Finally, since the end-customer might want to run a specially configured test or run a series of tests in a different sequence than some other end-customer, our client wanted to be able to rerun certain types of tests or run tests in a customer-specific order. Thus, the test sequencing needed to be flexible and editable, possibly on the fly.

Finally, synchronization between the data collection on all signals was critical to assess functionality, since all 3-phases of the UPS output needed to be in the proper timing relationship.

Solution

At a high-level, the majority of testing a UPS relies on knowing the reaction of the UPS to changes on the input side (such as a grid power outage) and changes on the output side (such as an immediate heavy load). Thus, many of the tests performed on a UPS deal with power quality measurements, such as defined by IEEE 519 or IEC 61000 series standards, which cover both continuous and transient operation. The StepWise test execution platform was utilized to allow the customer to develop arbitrary test sequences using the application specific test steps developed for the program.

Our solution used a cRIO to measure both current and voltage from each leg of the 3-phase power (and neutral) by using appropriate cSeries modules connected to various voltage and current test points within the UPS. The cRIO had enough slots to allow a single cRIO to measure a single UPS.

Assessment of continuous operation mainly reviewed the UPS output power quality. Here, it was important to know the amplitude and phase of each leg of the 3-phase power. Synchronous data acquisition between all voltages and current channels was needed for proper timing alignment of collected data points.

Assessment of transient operation was often a review of power ripple and recovery time. For example, in the event of grid power loss, a UPS would switch over to backup power, with the result being a small transient created on the output a UPS. Again, the voltages and currents needed to be collected synchronously to assure that event timing was aligned.

For increased power capacity, the UPSs could be connected in parallel. When ganged together, the continuous and transient behavior of each UPS needed to be compared to the others, in order to capture the behavior of the entire combined system. Consequently, each cRIO (one per UPS) had to share a clock to enable synchronous data collection across all cRIOs. A timing and synchronization module was placed into each cRIO chassis with one cRIO acting as the master clock source and the others being slaved to that clock.

The overall test system architecture has a master PC communicating with each cRIO. Each cRIO was placed in certain activity states by the master PC, such as “arm for measurement”, “transfer collected data”, and “respond with system health”. This arrangement enables the number of cRIO to shrink or grow depending on the number of UPSs being testing in parallel.

Results

The test system connected the timing module in each cRIO in a daisy-chained configuration, leading to data sampling synchronization error of less than 100 ns between all cRIOs, which translates to about +/-0.001 degree phase error for 60 Hz power signals. This timing synchronization was more than sufficient to analyze the collected waveform data for power quality and transient structure.

LabVIEW was used to create various configurable test steps that could be executed in random order as well as in an automated sequential manner. Our client was thus able to test a UPS in a predefined manner as well as react rapidly to queries from their customer when they were viewing a factory run-off test. For example, the customer might ask to re-run the same test several times in a row to validate consistent responses.

Each type of test included automated analysis routines that numerically calculated the relevant parameters against which the UPS was being checked. Not only was this automated calculation faster, but it reduced mistakes and improved reproducibility as compared to the previous post-testing partially manual calculations.

Data from all tests, even repeated ones, on a given UPS were archived for quality control purposes and made a part of the device history for that UPS.

Finally, the report generation capability built into this test system was far superior to the previous methodology by allowing our client to hand their customer a professional report package practically immediately the testing was complete. Customer satisfaction was improved substantially with this state-of-the-art test system.

Manufacturing Test – for mission-critical components

Manufacturing Test – for mission-critical components

Using PXI & LabVIEW RT

Client: A major manufacturer of implantable cardiac and neural stimulators

Challenge

Our client needed several extremely reliable test systems to test the batteries that power their implantable medical devices. These new test systems were needed for two main reasons. First, the needed to upgrade existing obsolete test equipment, based on antiquated hardware and software. Second, new battery designs could not be tested on the old equipment.

A critical aspect of the new test system was the need to detect any excessive charge being extracted from the battery, thus rendering it unsuitable for surgical implantation. Thus, the test system needed to monitor the total energy withdrawn from a battery during testing to assure that it never exceeded a certain limit while also offering precise control of the type of pulses being drained from a battery.

All test results had to be stored in a database in order to maintain device history for each battery manufactured for archiving, quality control, and process improvements.

Solution

PXIe

The updated manufacturing test system is PXI-based along with a custom micro-controller-based circuit board for some low-level control. Each PXI controller communicated to the microcontroller (uC) on the custom PCB via CAN. The uC controlled the current drain from the battery while monitoring actual current and voltage from the battery at over 1000 samples per second using a precision 6.5 digit PXI DMM. Additionally, each PXI chassis was used to test many hundreds of batteries. Signal connections were handled by several switch multiplexers. Overall control of all the PXI testers was managed by a host PC connected to the PXI controller.

Benefits

Reduced test system cost vs complete COTS solution with combo LabVIEW RT on PXI and firmware on microcontroller-based custom circuit board
Enabled tight control of DUT operation on controller with microsecond level responsiveness while being supervised by higher-level PXI RT
Quick-reaction test abort capability
Test results stored to database for archiving, quality control, and process improvements

System Overview

In a simplified view, the testing proceeded by pulsing the battery with a series of different durations and varying amperages. The exact sequence of this pulsing is unique for each DUT model. Measurements were made using a PXI filled with various NI boards such as DMMs, for accuracy, and data acquisition cards, for general purpose use.

Additionally, the pulsing amperage levels needed to be tightly controlled in order to know that the tests have been performed properly. Thus, a real-time amperage control scheme had to be implemented to maintain the level requested for the pulse. We chose to accomplish this control via an analog control circuit developed using a custom Viewpoint-developed circuit board. This board was controlled via a Microchip PIC microprocessor. The LabVIEW RT application communicated with the microcontroller to setup the pulsing sequence and coordinate the start and stop of the pulsing and the NI acquisition hardware.

This custom circuitry also reduced the overall cost of the test system by about 40%.

The engineering time to design this custom circuitry was more than offset by the reduction in material costs because more than 10 test systems were deployed, allowing the non-recurring engineering effort to be shared between many systems.

When no critical issues were detected, the waveforms acquired by the PXI system were stored and then analyzed to determine the viability of the DUT. The pass/fail disposition, the waveforms, the total energy consumed, and other test results were then passed along to a master PC that managed all these results in a database for archiving, quality control, and process improvements, each set of results being tied to the unique unit serial number.
The test systems provided reliable operation for testing the large annual production volumes of the mission-critical DUTs.

SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS
LabVIEW RT – for managing the microcontroller functions and overall data collection and safety monitoring
Microcontroller application – to provide precision pulsing of the batteries
Communicate to the host PC – to both receive pulsing instructions and configurations and to return pulse waveforms for each battery tested.

MAIN HARDWARE COMPONENTS
PXI chassis & controller
PXI DMM
PXI analog input modules
SCXI multiplexing switches

INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS:
Ethernet TCP-IP
CAN

Gas Turbine Test System

GAS TURBINE TEST SYSTEM

A MEDIUM SCALE SCADA SYSTEM

Client: Dresser-Rand

Problem Scope

For this application, Dresser-Rand needed an extensible system capable of monitoring numerous signals interfaced to a large gas turbine. Well over a
thousand signals needed to be collected from an extremely varied set of data acquisition devices and instruments. The configuration of this system and
viewing of data needed to be available from any of a number of computers connected to the data acquisition network. Also, data needed to be available for additional processing on other connected networks. Dresser-Rand required that all of the components that were necessary to run a test, such as the server, database, acquisition, configuration, and viewing, were able to be run on one computer or distributed over several computers.

Solution

This system utilizes Client-Server architecture to acquire signals from a variety of devices and logs the data to a central SQL Server database. The data is then processed and viewed on remote terminals. It is modularly designed to facilitate changes in acquisition hardware as well as viewing and processing software. There are three important components to this application: a SQL Server data management system, TCP/IP packet based messages for configuration and data, and a flexible, applicationindependent driver model.

National Instrument’s LabVIEW was used for the bulk of this project. C, Visual Basic, and Fortran were also used to develop analysis routines and interface with various pieces of hardware.

Technical Highlights

Client-Server technology
TCP/IP packet based messages for communication of data and commands
100base-T local network with bridge to other company/worldwide networks
Remote configuration and viewing
SQL Server database
High channel count (1000+ signals)
Flexible data acquisition system
- Diverse data acquisition devices: DAQ, GPIB, VXI, RS-232, PLC
- Common driver model – drop in drivers, self-aware configuration
- Common calculation model – drop in calculations, self-aware configuration
Flexible GUIs with drop in screens

Several software technologies used for various aspects of the project: LabVIEW, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft PowerStation Fortran, Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft C, Microsoft Access

System Overview

Software Architecture

Automated End-Of-Line Tester Upgrade – Boiler

Automated End-Of-Line Tester Upgrade – Boiler

Automated End-Of-Line Tester upgrade makes operators and engineers happy

Client – ECR International: A manufacturer of heating and cooling systems.

Challenge

ECR has significant domain expertise in developing boiler systems. Viewpoint has significant domain expertise in measurement and control systems. To ensure quality control ECR International utilizes an end-of-line testing stand. Each boiler is test fired and adjustments are made to optimize proper combustion. Results of the testing are recorded along with the boiler’s unique serial number.

The team at ECR needed an upgrade to one of their end-of-line test systems to support an increase in production capacity without sacrificing the testing and quality assurances process.

ECR also wanted to eliminate the need to constantly adjust test limits based on temperature. This manual adjustment process was time consuming.

They took this as an opportunity to update and clean up the code base for supportability.

Solution

Viewpoint was asked to upgrade the existing test stand code and add a bit of functionality. Since ECR already had the necessary hardware, Viewpoint worked with the existing hardware set, porting software and adding new features.

The updates improved usability, saved time, and increased accuracy.

The solution was delivered on time and under budget.

Benefits

Test time reduction and increased accuracy (automated temperature-based test parameter control)
Increased test flexibility (can test at multiple boiler capacities)
Improved operability with updated user interface
Improved development supportability with cleaned up code base
Improved IT supportability with updated code base
Increased stability (EEPROM test stand lock-up resolved)

System Overview

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Improving Efficiency in Industrial Manufacturing Test

Improving Efficiency in Industrial Manufacturing

Simplifying Report Generation for High-Mix, Low-Volume Industrial Servo Valve Tests

Client: A major industrial servo valve manufacturer

Challenge

A manufacturer of components for both commercial and military aircraft built a large number of different models of servo valves. Some models were made only a few times each year, while other models were made with an order of magnitude higher volume. Each unit underwent rigorous testing during and after assembly.

Our client needed to submit the results of that testing to their customers but since the production and testing of each unit happened in many locations, possibly even around the world, many hours were spent locating the appropriate datasets and assembling the report.

Furthermore, our client wanted to improve their responsiveness to requests from their customers by having rapid retrieval of the test report for any part after it had been delivered into the field.

Solution

Since the test datasets were varied due to the large numbers of different valve models and associated test procedures, a database was created using a platform based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF). An RDF database can accept arbitrary types of data, manage that data through metadata tags, and adjust gracefully to changes in content and shape of the connections between objects in the database.

This adaptability was key to our client being able to leap past some of the issues in standard SQL-based relational databases.

The results from each test run on each part at each (PXI-based) test system were tagged with metadata and pushed into the RDF database. The StepWise test executive platform interfaced to the RDF database by outputting XML content which was scanned by a routine created for the RDF database and converted into the RDF data and links. The part ID was a critical tag since this allowed searching the RDF database for all results associated with that specific part. This database resided on a server at the client’s headquarters and accepted data from worldwide locations.

Once the data for each part was housed in the database, a report could be generated. To accommodate the variety of data in that report, web technology was used to render the report pages based on the types of data entered into the database, as described by the metadata tags. For example, data identified as waveforms could be plotted or listed in tabular format. Having reports rendered based on the data types made it possible to handle adjustments to the types of data measured by the test system.

Results

With the ability to render reports quickly, our client could produce detailed reports for their customers indicating the performance of any specific requested servo valve.

Our client was able to trim the time to create reports to less than 1 day from the previous effort of 3-5 days and with less error.

Data are now organized uniformly, simplifying the location of desired information, as compared with files stored on various test PCs and file servers.
The client has the ability to generate automatic emails to their customers with the required reports already attached and ready to go.
In potential warranty and customer service situations, having the ability to send the customer a report within hours represented great customer service.

All these features are available consistently across worldwide manufacturing facilities, reducing training and maintenance of procedures. And, of course, the reports handle using metric or English units as appropriate for the end customer.

Manufacturing Test System for Electrical Components

Manufacturing Test System for Electrical Components

Replacing Obsolete Custom Electronics with cRIOs in High-Power Capacitor Testing

Modular Embedded cRIO Systems Shortens Development and Reduces Risk in Complex PC-based Test System

Client: A major manufacturer of electrical power generation and distribution equipment.

Problem Scope

This project involved retrofitting a test system used to verify operation of a high-power capacitor used in electrical power distribution. This system was originally built around 1990. Critical sections of the original test system relied on custom, wire-wrapped analog and digital circuitry to process, analyze, and isolate the high-voltage and high-current signals created by the capacitor. Analog filters, rectifiers, and comparators produced pass/fail status signals. A master PC, other measurement and control equipment, the analog circuits, and a six-position carousel were integrated to create the entire automated test and control system.

For each unit under test (UUT), test specifications are obtained from a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and cached locally. The subsystems at each carousel position are designed to run independently. This parallel capability allows greater throughput and reduced test time per capacitor unit. In addition, as different capacitor models move through the carousel stations, the test parameters and conditions must be aware of the particular model being tested.

Test results for UUT are pushed back to the MES system for record retention and data mining. The existing MES interfaces were retained exactly for the retrofit.

Challenge

All capacitors require 100% testing prior to shipment, so the test system is critical for the facility operation. Two or even three shifts are common depending on production needs and the facility cannot afford any significant downtime. Thus, a challenge was to design and build a test system that worked and was very robust.

Another huge challenge was the lack of documentation on the existing system, requiring a sizable amount of reverse engineering to understand the test system operation before development on the new system could begin.

Furthermore, one of the most important challenges surrounded replacement of substantial amounts of original test equipment before the new test equipment could be installed. Thus, we absolutely had to minimize the time and risk in this upgrade changeover.

Technical Highlights

A schematic of the overall system architecture is shown in the figure. The major components of the system are:

Master PC for supervisory control and test execution management
NI cRIOs with FPGAs and Ethernet for independent yet PC-supervised operation
Station-specific FPGA code for replacing wire-wrap circuitry functionality
Integration with existing MES, safety equipment, tooling, and measurement hardware

The architecture chosen was made very modular by the capabilities offered by the cRIO. The Master PC interfaced with station-specific measurement instrumentation as needed, such as GPIB controlled equipment, and coordinated control and outcomes from the cRIOs. This additional equipment is not shown in the figure.

Solution

The Master PC coordinated all the activities including interfacing with the existing MES database and printers at the manufacturing facility. In addition, this PC provided the operator interface and, when needed, access to engineering screen on a diagnostic laptop.

The cRIOs were essential to the success of this test system. Each cRIO functioned as the equivalent of a high-speed standalone instrument.

The cRIOs at each carousel test position had to provide the following features:

Digital I/O for machine feedback, safeties, and fault conditions
State machines to coordinate with external commands and signals
Perform numeric calculations to emulate the old analog circuitry
Control loops for currents associated with voltages needed by different capacitors
Communication support with the master PC
Computation and detection of internal fault and UUT pass/fail conditions

We were able to duplicate the behavior of the wire-wrapped circuitry by converting the schematic diagrams of these circuits into FPGA code and then tweaking that code to mimicking the actual signals we measured with data acquisition equipment on the original test hardware.

The outputs of the circuitry were reconstructed on the FPGA with band-pass filtering, calibration compensation, point-to-point RMS, and phase & frequency functions. This functionality was implemented in fixed-point math and the 24-bit inputs on the A/D provided sufficient resolution and bandwidth for a faithful reproduction of the electronic circuitry. These embedded cRIOs provided a very effective solution to what otherwise might have required another set of costly and rigid custom circuits.

Finally, for optimizing the task of replacing the old equipment, we used a set of cRIOs, not shown in Figure 1, to provide Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulation of the manufacturing and measurement equipment. These cRIOs imitated the rest of the machine by providing inputs to and reacting to outputs from the embedded cRIO controllers, thus supporting comprehensive verification of the new test system before the tear-out of the existing hardware. Furthermore, these HIL cRIOs enabled fault injection for conditions that would have been difficult and possibly dangerous to create on the actual equipment.

Yes, I need a manufacturing test system »

Yes, I need a custom production test system »

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Manufacturing Test Case Studies

Enhancing an existing test system for ease of maintenance

Client – A world-wide manufacturer of refrigeration units

Challenge

The Design and Development Process

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Automated production test of EO/IR imaging subsystem

Client – Worldwide supplier of products for aerospace and defense

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Replacing Wire-wrap Boards with Software, FPGAs, and Custom Signal Conditioning

Client – Amentum – A supplier for Military Range System Support

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Pump Test Station – Increasing throughput

Client – Industrial pump manufacturer

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Pump Test Station

Client – Industrial pump manufacturer

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Custom FlexRIO Adaptor Module supports HIL Test Upgrade

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

FAM Overview

Pump Test Station Used Across Multiple Locations Worldwide

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Custom Test System Using NI PXI for Electrical Test

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Manufacturing Inspection System Uses Machine Vision to verify assembly and labeling

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Automated Manufacturing Test System for Electronic Medical Devices

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Automated Manufacturing Test Systems for Medical Diagnostic Equipment

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

V&V Effort

Creating an N-Up Tester to handle increased production volume demands

Client

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

System Overview

Increasing Test System Automation for Existing Tester to handle Production Volume Demand Increase

Client

Challenge

Solution

Benefits

Custom Manufacturing Test Systems | Custom Production Test Equipment | LabVIEW-based