Product Validation using LabVIEW RT & LabVIEW FPGA – An electromechanical actuator test stand
Automated testing reduces operator man hours and increases production throughput.
Client – A manufacturer of actuators in the mil-aero industry.
Challenge
New Product Introduction (in this case a new controller and new actuators) drove the need for a new automated electromechanical test stand.
Solution
New NI PXI-based electromechanical test equipment provided automated HIL testing, report generation, and SPC data generation. The sequencing of the test procedure, reporting, and verifiable results were managed with the StepWise test executive platform.
Benefits
- Automated testing reduces operator man hours and increases production throughput.
- Meets strict customer requirements regarding testing and data recording in a verifiable manner.
- Automated Test Report Generation.
- Collects data to support SPC (Statistical Process Control).
- Ability to interact with the internal state of the controller FPGA via the LVDS communication link.
System Overview
Viewpoint developed the software and selected NI data acquisition and control hardware for the test stand. There are several layers of software functionality.
| HOST LABVIEW SOFTWARE LAYER |
|---|
| Test sequencer |
| Test steps (e.g. Frequency Response, Step Response, Dynamic Stiffness, Fault Response, Power Consumption) |
| Test Report Generator |
| GUI |
| REAL-TIME (RT) LABVIEW SOFTWARE LAYER |
|---|
| Data acquisition |
| 1553 comms |
| Function generator |
| Error detection |
| ESTOP |
| LABVIEW FPGA SOFTWARE LAYER |
|---|
| Synch data from 3 sources (tester, UUT, external DAQ device) |
| Stream high-speed data to disk |
| Stream high-speed data to analog outputs for HIL test |
| Custom communication protocol used by UUT over LVDS lines |
| HARDWARE RECOMMENDED |
|---|
| NI PXIe |
| NI FlexRIO card with LVDS adapter module |
| Multiple NI R Series cards |
| High speed, high voltage, isolated analog input cards |
| INTERFACES / PROTOCOLS |
|---|
| MIL-STD 1553 bus |
| LVDS |
| Ethernet |
| Custom TCP/IP |
*- images are conceptual only, not actual