Acquired Data Solutions Uses FlexMotion and LabVIEW to Build Unmanned Test Station for Aircraft Components Testing

Author(s):
Ellen Byington - Acquired Data Solutions

Industry:
Aerospace/Avionics

Products:
Motion Control, LabVIEW

The Challenge:
Automating safe and reliable high-pressure, high-temperature, and high-load motion test procedures for aircraft components.

The Solution:
Developing a rugged, safe, and automated LabVIEW-based data acquisition system that incorporates National Instruments FlexMotion hardware and a programmable logic controller (PLC).

Introduction
Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences (formerly EG&G Pressure Sciences, Inc.) builds components for aircraft manufacturers such as McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and General Electric. In the past, Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences performed threshold tests on the components using manual test stations.

These tests took a long time to run and required constant supervision. Safety, accuracy, repeatability, and customer satisfaction motivated the company to seek an automated approach to performing the tests. Using LabVIEW, FlexMotion, and the SQL Toolkit, ADS designed an unmanned test station for data acquisition that centered on a PLC. With this system, the operator can monitor the data and present customers with easy-to-read reports. Also, technicians have the ability to remotely run their pressure tests from the laboratory, their desks, or anywhere outside the containment enclosure.

Building theAcquisition System
An incident during a typical high-pressure test prompted Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences to build a containment enclosure around the test stations. Although an enclosure increases safety, it also makes the technician’s job of continuously monitoring and adjusting the mechanical components within the station (mechanical relays, pressure, temperature, and more) increasingly difficult. In addition to safety concerns, Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences wanted to improve the accuracy of the tests and provide clients with reliable, easy-to-read reports. We tightened tolerances using automatic data collection instead of manually reading from gauges. Also, handwritten reports were no longer acceptable to many of Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences’ customers.

Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences hired ADS to provide direction and assistance in developing a data acquisition (DAQ) system that could automatically operate outside the test station enclosure. To meet the need for an unmanned test station, we designed a system that centered on a PLC. A PLC has a low failure rate in industrial applications and can control several critical functions such as collecting sensor data and controlling relays to open and close pressure valves. Using National Instruments LabVIEW software, we wrote an application to remotely monitor data collection from the PLC in real-time through an RS-232 serial protocol. The application also permits technicians to enter manual inputs that are not gathered by the PLC. In case of a system failure, the application shuts down the test and puts the system into a safe mode. Upon failure, the application dials a beeper that contacts an off-duty technician.

Part of Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences’ test procedures required moving fixtures in high-pressure and high-temperature cycles. We incorporated a FlexMotion board with an AC servo motor. This high-performance board generates enough current to produce the high force required for precisely moving the fixtures. With the flexibility of this board to change the feedback loop, it is easy to switch testing modes between distance and pressure. You can make these changes from software on-the-fly without changing any hardware and cables. We used National Instruments SQL Toolkit to pass sensor data to a Microsoft Access table for further analysis and report generation. We can now easily transfer the data in the table to other Microsoft Office products such as Excel and Word.

Benefits of the System
This integrated approach provided a turnkey solution that met the requirements set forth by Perkin Elmer Fluid Sciences, Inc. The system is secure and self-contained, and the operator can monitor the data. It also presents the customers with easy-to-read reports. Technicians now have the ability to remotely run their pressure tests from the laboratory, their desks, or anywhere outside the containment enclosure.

For more information, contact:

Ellen Byington

Senior Manager

Acquired Data Solutions, Inc.,

1225 Martha Custis Drive, C-1

Alexandria, VA 22302

tel (703) 379-5303

fax (703) 379-5307

e-mail ebyington@acquiredata.com

www.acquiredata.com

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