AstroNova's Quicklabel® Unveils the New QL-800 Next Generation Colour Label Printer!

Powerful Digital Visualisation Engine Produces Customised Labels in Brilliant Colour!!

Businesses with on-site labelling requirements can now have a state-of-the-art label printing solution from QuickLabel®, a division of AstroNova, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOT). Superior to traditional printing methods, the new QL-800 colour label printer’s technology produces wide format vivid colour labels at higher speed and higher resolution than previous printers, delivering the power and quality of a commercial printing press right from a desk or tabletop. It is the fastest, most versatile digital colour label printer available for on-site label production.

The QL-800 is a powerful, digital colour label printer that saves time, money, and inventory space, printing brilliant high-resolution (up to 1600 dpi) colour labels, it is perfect for the most exacting packaging requirements.  AstroNova's  DVT (Data Visualization Technology) inkjet expertise offers businesses the flexibility to print an array of both narrow and wide format labels on demand.

Developed by AstroNova's engineering team, the QL-800 is designed to print labels in short-run or long-run batches for industrial, commercial, warehouse, and manufacturing/distribution applications. With a print speed of up to 304.8mm per second, the printer supports labels from 50.8mm to 210.82mm in width and up to 762mm in length.

Including the user-friendly QuickLabel^® Omni Software program suite for label creation and print management for professional-looking label designs. The QL-800 represents a fully re-engineered printing system where both the hardware and the software have been designed for ease of operation.

QuickLabel are committed to ensuring their printers, inks, labels, and accessories consistently deliver outstanding visual results and value to customers, allowing them to print the labels they want when and where they need them. 

For further information in Australia & New Zealand on the Quicklabel QL-800, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For outside this area, contact Quicklabel directly on sales@quicklabel.com

R8 EXTERNAL CALIBRATION REFERENCE SIGNAL INPUT

You may have asked yourself,"What is the amplifier status before starting this measurement? Is the measured value correct?" Maybe you just wanted to check the signal level on the analogue input by unplugging the connector and plugging in another one with a known result. DEWESoft have made this task much easier! From now on, you can compare your measured value with a known signal with one click of a button in the DEWESoft® program. As the new Sirius-R8 can be equipped with calibration BNC reference input on the backside of the 19’’ rack, you are now only one click away from seeing the reference signal on your screen.

This feature is already available to be used with HD-STGS an HD-LV modules in rack configuration, but soon we plan to add this on demand to all amplifiers in our product line.

For further information on the DEWESoft R8 External Calibration Reference Signal Input in Australia & New Zealand, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For further information outside this area, contact DEWESoft directly on sales@dewesoft.com

Low level Ethercat filter driver for Dewesoft

DEWESoft are proud to announce the release of their new EthercatDAQ driver for our KRYPTON and SIRIUSe instruments. This driver replaces the WinPcap driver that was previously bundled with DEWESoft®.

ABOUT

EtherCAT stands for “Ethernet for Control and Automation” and it was initially designed for real-time control applications. Due to its synchronization technology (Distributed Clocks) and relatively high bandwidth (100 Mbit/s) it can also be used for data acquisition, but there were some additional features to be developed by DEWESoft® to really make it practical for the test and measurement industry.

The new driver presents a major improvement over the old WinPcap driver, because it works on a much lower architectural level, filtering out only specific data and forwarding it to DEWESoft®. This allows DEWESoft® to avoid searching through loads of data coming to the Ethernet port in order to find the correct data packets. This results in significant performance improvement. 

When used with DEWESoft® SP8 or newer and corresponding firmware it also supports data packet re-transmission, which greatly improves reliability and also adds a punch to performance. Data packet re-transmission functionality prevents data from being lost by re-sending the messages that were lost or damaged, improves reliability at higher sample rates, boosting performance. This also means that longer cables will present less of a limitation in regards to the sample rate.

• No real-time hardware is required for the master. You can plug KRYPTON and SIRIUSe devices to any laptop running Dewesoft® X. To avoid the need for a real-time master, DEWESoft® devices use a local data buffer where at least half a second of data samples are stored. Utilising Distributed Clocks for synchronization, the acquisition is very much independent of the master. The master only has to send EtherCAT frames frequently enough to collect the data from the local buffers before they overrun.
• Samples are acquired equidistantly to a high precision. Even if the master has a large jitter, the samples are always taken equidistantly in time, since the AD converters are synchronized with Distributed Clocks, not with the frames coming from the master.
• No samples can be lost.Without a local data buffer, samples are lost if the message from the master gets lost along the way or if master is late due to jitter that can be caused by EMI, for example. Local data buffers ensure that samples lost in the bus can be transmitted again on request by the master. A lost sample can make a measurement useless which is very expensive in crash testing, for example.

Those additional features form the EtherCAT DAQ profile which is used by KRYPTON and SIRIUSe devices when connected to DEWESoft® X. 3rd party EtherCAT masters do not support this so called ‘buffered’ mode of operation, since they are designed for control and automation, not for data acquisition.

KRYPTON and SIRIUSe devices can also operate in a standard EtherCAT mode (“unbuffered” mode) and are therefore compatible with any EtherCAT master. In this so called ‘unbuffered’ or just ‘standard EtherCAT’ mode the devices simply pass the latest acquired sample to the bus where it is up to the master to collect it.

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOW THE COMPATIBILITY COMBINATIONS:

		EtherCAT (standard) “unbuffered”	EtherCAT DAQ “buffered”
master	DEWESoft® X	No	Yes
	3rd party EtherCAT master	Yes	No
slave	KRYPTON, SIRIUSe	Yes	Yes
	3rd party EtherCAT slaves	Yes	No

DEWESoft® SIRIUS instruments in the form of the R8 rack are also capable of operations in Dual mode. This includes acquiring data with DEWESoft® X running in the SBOX in the R8 and in parallel feeding the latest samples in real-time to a 3rd party EtherCAT master. This is possible because in this case SIRIUS racks interface to the SBOX over USB, not over EtherCAT DAQ profile. At the same time, the racks interface to the 3rd party master (operating from a real-time hardware) over a standard EtherCAT.

ETHERCAT DAQ PROFILE

STANDARD ETHERCAT

For further information on the DEWESoft EtherCAT Filter Driver in Australia & New Zealand, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For further information outside this area, contact DEWESoft directly on sales@dewesoft.com

WindPower Testing

Wind power plants generate clean electricity and are indispensable for the sustainable energy mix of the future. DEWESoft® provides perfect measurement systems for wind power industry which allows power analysis, power quality analysis and analysis of the behaviour at faults at the same time. Below you can find some screenshots that show different measurement applications.

POWER ANALYSIS / POWER QUALITY

POWER PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ACCORDING TO IEC61400-12 WITH REPORT GENERATION

POWER QUALITY REPORTS ACCORDING TO IEC61400-21, FGW-TR3, BDEW, VDE AR4105 VIA MATLAB, EXCEL, PYTHON, ETC.

BEHAVIOUR AT FAULTS (LVRT)

For further information in Australia & New Zealand on Wind Power Testing, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For outside this area, please contact DEWESoft Directly on sales@dewesoft.com

Lane Change Application

This application note shows how DEWESoft® products provide an effective and flexible solution for a quick validation and measurement of ISO Lane-change test (ISO 3888). The mobile measurement instruments and the easy-to-setup software are used for checking and visualisation of measured parameters to guide the driver through the measurement and check the results online.

INTRODUCTION

Our client, a car manufacturer in Italy, asked us for help with shortening the time of testing and improving the quality of results for dynamic vehicle maneuvers. This includes online check of results and gives direct feedback to driver whether the test was successful or they have to repeat it.

This includes the double lane-change maneuver, which is used worldwide to evaluate handling and safety of vehicles and their key components. Although various parameters are being checked by the testing engineer, for the driver it is crucial to be able to check the test results online and see whether the vehicle passed or failed the test.

A test with a pure GNSS device and combination of GNSS with AHRS has been performed, to compare results.

MEASUREMENT SETUP

USED EQUIPMENT

DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

• DEWE-43

SENSORS AND TRANSDUCERS

• DS-IMU2 (inertial measurement unit) with RTK 1 cm accuracy
• DS-RTK-BASE (GPS based unit) to provide RTK accuracy for vehicle

USED SOFTWARE

DEWESOFT® X2

• Polygon
• Special Lane change setup

PHOTO OF SETUP

POLYGON SETUP

Polygon objects (fixed and moving cones) were set up according to the ISO 3888 standard. The advantage of using moving cones is that the driver can quickly change the car and enter the vehicle's length/width. With those parameter, the configuration of maneuver is changed according to the standard (width of the track, etc).

Several additional calculations have been added to evaluate different parameters (e.g. velocity, roll) versus distance on the track, which is shown in the results.

Having certain lines as the Start and Stop trigger, it is possible to reduce file size and capture only points of interest.

ANALYSIS

The measurement screen combined with analysis for online checking. The display below is included in a Lane Change setup. It includes online validation of the data so the driver has direct feedback as to whether test has been passed or failed. This data is located on top left side of the screen. The 2D display shows a graph of velocity during the track run (Velocity/PosX on the track). It is possible to display a graph of PosY/PosX at the same time to see the lane change maneuver.

In addition, measured the vehicle CAN to understand RPM, steering angle and other vital analysis parameters.

CONCLUSION

The measurement with DS-IMU2 with 1 cm RTK upgrade has shown a very accurate position (centimeter level) and 3-axis velocity results. Going beyond its practical usage as a standard regulation, this measurement has applications also for research and development, where additional parameters as Roll, Angular velocity in Z-axis and Ay for evaluation of vehicle handling are needed.

For further information on this application in Australia & New Zealand, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For outside this area, please contact DEWESoft on sales@dewesoft.com

After teaching the drivers and performing several tests, with different cars and times of testing, overall measurement time required has been reduced by at least 30%, which is a great improvement.

Vibro-kit for simulating rotating machinery

A compact tool for simulating rotating machinery measurements.

The new VIBRO-KIT is designed for simulating rotating machinery measurements. It has application to educational settings, such as schools and university laboratories, providing a playground for countless experiments.

Made of solid aluminium, as are most of our instruments, it consists of small electric motor, a bearing, two optical strip-tape angle sensors, two encoders and a spring on one side. The RPM can be controlled manually with a turn knob, and you can even define ramps, cycles, etc. with the built-in display. Furthermore, an external analogue voltage (or even PWM signal) can be used to control the RPM.

FUNCTIONALITY:

• Manual RPM control (turn knob, display)
• Definable ramps (runup, coastdown, hold time and multiple cycles)
• RPM control by external voltage (e.g. step curve)
• External PWM input
• Different angle sensors (2 optical strip tape, 2 Encoders)

As with all DEWESoft® interfaces, the software automatically is selected based upon which application is being used. Place an accelerometre in various positions and measure the vibration level, display the result in the FFT Analyser and check Global Level, RMS, and Peak-Peak. The powerful cursors allow you to easily determine the max amplitudes as well as the harmonics and sideband modulations. Vary the RPM and display the time history data in the 3D FFT waterfall graph.

To separate engine-based harmonics (orders) from structural resonances, use the Order tracking module and perform a runup or coastdown through the whole RPM range. Extract single orders and see their contribution to the overall vibration level.

Some frequencies might arise from faulty bearings. You may wonder, are they still healthy? Simply place the bearing markers in the spectrum.

If the first order is too high, use the Balancing module to improve the result. Screws can be mounted on the discs (there are 20 positions around the circle) to correct it. The step-by-step procedure guides you through the process.

If you are interested in angle-based measurements, use one of the angle-sensors as a base, and calculate the rotational vibrations. The spring will create heavy torsional vibrations, which can be analysed up to very high precision at high RPM with our Supercounters hardware.

With the mathematics and analogue out functionality for steering RPM, the combinations grow almost endlessly to simulate practical application in the lab.

APPLICATIONS:

• Vibration measurement
• FFT waterfall
• Order tracking
• Bearing fault detection
• Torsional vibration
• Rotational vibration
• Balancing
• Angle-based measurements

For further information on the DEWESoft Vibrokit in Australia & New Zealand, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For outside this area, please contact DEWESoft directly on sales@dewesoft.com

New Mechanically Stronger R8 Data Acquisition System

The R8 instruments are typically used in high channel count applications, offering a compact solution for combining up to 64 SIRIUS Dual Core channels (or 128 HD channels) and the SBOX in a single chassis. Individual SIRIUS slices are removable and offer configuration freedom for future projects.

The R8 product line was recently upgraded with the following notable features:

• Flexible SIRIUS amplifiers, interfacing to virtually any kind of signal (quarter, half or full bridge strain gauges, accelerometers, pressure sensors, potentiometers, high voltage sources etc.).
• 
  
• Low input-to-EtherCAT bus delay (< 100 us) when accessed by a third party EtherCAT master through the back panel EtherCAT port, with the minimum cycle time of 200 us. Even lower delay and cycle times are possible – please contact DEWESoft® support when this is required.
• 
  
• A possibility of running the SIRIUSre slices in dual mode: full data rate over USB to Dewesoft® (not real-time, for analysis purposes) – and real-time data (for control purposes) to third party master through the backside EtherCAT port in parallel at the same time.

• Standalone mounting (more for just SIRIUS Slices)	Accel	Vel in/s pk	Disp in pp (ref)	Disp in pp (est)
  Test 1	3.08 grms	45.75	1.544	1.40
  Test 2	6.78 grms	7.30	0.05	0.04
  Test 3	4.89 grms	61.61	1.57	1.37
  Test 4	4.89 grms	61.61	1.57	1.37

  TESTING IN ALL THREE PERPENDICULAR AXIS 10 MIN EACH

  EUT	Test level	Result
  R8R	10 min in each direction	PASS, in-house test

  Direction	Observation	Result
  x-axis	No influence on measurement results.	PASS
  y-axis	No influence on measurement results.	PASS
  z-axis	No influence on measurement results.	PASS

For further information in Australia & New Zealand, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au

For outside this area, please contact DEWESoft directly sales@dewesoft.com