|
Wow! It seems to me that this year
has flown by more rapidly than most. From all of us at Viewpoint Systems,
I would like to wish you all happy holidays and a splendid new year. Viewpoint was asked to assist with
the automation of a machine to control a flow
battery. This technology
is another means of storing and discharging energy gathered from intermittent
sources such as wind turbines and solar arrays. Some people think this
is a very cost-effective method of electrical power storage. We are using the NI 9148 Ethernet Expansion
Chassis to allow FPGA-based control of the machine while allowing the
Ethernet-connected PC to provide the operations interface, data logging,
and overall staging of the machine activities. While this might traditionally
be a PLC application, the use of the 8-slot NI 9148 provides the entire
required signal I/O conditioning and hard PLC-like control and safety
monitoring in a small form-factor coupled with all the benefits of a
full-scale PC for the rest. Origami has been around for centuries.
But, in the past couple decades, mathematic theorems have been applied
to folding flat surfaces with astounding results. Origami folding patterns
can be created algorithmically. Art and math combined is a beautiful
thing. Plus, applications such as airbags have benefited from this work.
Check out this TED
Talk by Robert Lang
who originated much of the latest efforts. We’ve recently upgraded our training
facility to a new location in our building. It’s more spacious and,
we think, more comfortable. Now is a good time to think about continuing
your LabVIEW training in 2011. In addition to our scheduled classes,
we keep a waiting list of those who are interested in specialty classes
such as Machine Vision and will hold such classes when there is sufficient
interest. Thanks for reading!
Jim Campbell |
 Simulating the Product
|
|
I run out of fingers when I count the number of times we have had to simulate a product or automated machine for which we are about to connect to a test system. Maybe the product is not completely designed yet or prototype units are scarce. Maybe the product is so expensive that you are NOT going to debug the test system with a real product. Maybe you are replacing an obsolete tester already integrated with a production line and you must limit the production downtime when you replace the old tester. In these cases, the only way to move forward is simulating the product (or machine). Does this work? Is it worth the extra effort? Here are some tips to help answer those questions and to promote success. Read on... |
|
The Mother of All Demos |
|
Computer scientist Douglas Engelbart inspired the modernization of personal computers with a product demonstration thatwas so revolutionary we are living his vision today. The main event of the presentation on Dec. 9, 1968 was the debut of the now commonplace computer mouse. As if fundamentally transforming user interaction was not enough, in the 90 minutes of his presentation, Engelbart also delivered “what you see is what you get” editing, videoconferencing, the use windows, concepts of version control, and the World Wide Web keystone: hyperlinks. However, while launching all of these cherished techniques and technologies, Engelbart also pioneered a procedure that has grown to become a curse of corporate America. While he displayed a set of computer-generated slides, complete with bullet lists, Engelbart read aloud every word onscreen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos |
Happy Holidays
|
|
