Automated Test System Resources
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White Papers
Testing Digital Imaging Subsystems with Emulation
Eric M2024-01-24T06:08:14-05:00Testing Digital Imaging Subsystems via Emulation This article discusses an emulation platform built from COTS-based hardware for testing digital imaging systems. For a comprehensive coverage of typical tests, the main [...]
Design Validation Testing with LabVIEW
Stuart McFarlane2023-09-05T12:41:58-04:00Design Validation Testing with LabVIEW What is it? How to do it well. Gotchas. What is design validation testing? How do you know which design is best? Let’s [...]
How to Diagnose Failing Custom Test Equipment
Stuart McFarlane2024-09-11T08:36:49-04:00How to Diagnose Failing Custom Test Equipment Process to diagnose failing custom test equipment Likely causes of failure Thoughts on getting started Scenario You’ve got a piece of custom [...]
Making Good Measurements for Automated Test
Stuart McFarlane2022-12-12T16:36:34-05:00Making Good Measurements for Automated Test There are many causes of test inaccuracies. Understanding that equipment measurement accuracy, repeatability, unit capabilities, test limits, and the specification, is the first step to limiting [...]
9 Considerations Before you Outsource your Custom Test Equipment Development
Stuart McFarlane2025-05-01T07:23:14-04:009 Considerations Before you Outsource your Custom Test Equipment Development Selecting the right supplier for your custom automated test system You likely either work in a manufacturing plant or [...]
Test Automation Best Practices
Stuart McFarlane2022-12-12T16:36:35-05:00Test Automation Best Practices Utilizing custom test equipment for automated hardware testing of low/medium-volume manufactured parts What not to automate | What to automate | When to automate We’ll go over [...]
Product Testing Methods – for industrial hardware products
James Campbell2024-11-13T16:44:39-05:00Product Testing Methods – for industrial hardware products This paper discusses testing methods for industrial components/systems/subsystems, which are often complex or mission-critical, and either electromechanical or electronic in nature, with low to [...]
Webinar: How Aerospace and Defense Manufacturers Can Make the Assembly and Test Process a Competitive Advantage
Stuart McFarlane2024-09-17T10:51:18-04:00Webinar: How Aerospace and Defense Manufacturers Can Make the Assembly and Test Process a Competitive Advantage Increase productivity for your assembly and test processes Reduce human error Increase traceability [...]
Automated Test Systems for Automated Hardware Test – who, what, where, when, why, how
Stuart McFarlane2025-02-25T07:05:51-05:00Automated Test Systems for Automated Hardware Test Who, what, where, when, why, how Questions we’ll answer: What is an automated test system? Why/when are they needed? How are they used? Where [...]
Hardware Product Testing Strategy – for complex or mission-critical parts & systems
Stuart McFarlane2025-05-01T07:25:41-04:00Hardware Product Testing Strategy – for complex or mission-critical parts & systems Some hardware products aren’t tested very rigorously or completely (e.g., a box of toothpicks or a bag of balloons) [...]
LabVIEW Test Systems – Custom Automated Test System Buyers Guide
Stuart McFarlane2025-05-01T07:31:00-04:00LabVIEW Test Systems – Custom Automated Test System Buyers Guide This guide is for manufacturers of industrial / complex products that need a custom LabVIEW-based automated test system, either for manufacturing [...]
Universal Test Equipment – An Argument against it
Larry Lewis2022-06-06T16:53:32-04:00Universal Test Equipment - An Argument against itConsidering custom universal test equipment for your automated test needs? Read this first. Takeaways that we’ll discuss in more depth:When does universal test equipment make [...]
Test Systems as Lean Manufacturing Enablers To Reduce Errors & Waste
Stuart McFarlane2024-11-13T16:27:46-05:00Improving Manufacturing Test Stations Using Automated Test Systems as Lean Manufacturing Enablers To Reduce Errors & Waste A misconception that many companies have are that lean metrics (e.g. cycle time, inventory, and [...]
Improving Manufacturing Test Stations to Support Production Volume Demand Increases – Automation & N-Up
Stuart McFarlane2022-12-12T16:36:32-05:00Improving Manufacturing Test Stations to Support Production Volume Demand Increases So, what do you do when your customers want more parts than you are producing and the test system is holding up production because it [...]
Smart Manufacturing Test Enhancements – Webinar
Stuart McFarlane2022-12-12T16:36:34-05:00Smart Manufacturing Test Enhancements Webinar Want to gain efficiency for your company by enhancing your test system? Testing of manufactured parts has become commonplace. Practically every manufactured product is tested these days. [...]
5 Keys to Upgrading Obsolete Manufacturing Test Systems
Stuart McFarlane2025-05-01T07:44:34-04:005 Keys to Upgrading Obsolete Manufacturing Test Systems When failure of an obsolete test system is imminent, proper test equipment design can be stressful. Here are some tips to maximize the success [...]
Custom Manufacturing Test Systems – How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck on a Budget
Stuart McFarlane2022-06-21T12:20:22-04:00Custom Manufacturing Test Systems – How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck on a Budget Engineers can find themselves caught between (1) their budget and (2) their desire to [...]
Custom Manufacturing Test Stations – Top 6 Gotchas
Larry Lewis2023-07-25T08:13:24-04:00Custom Manufacturing Test Stations - Top 6 Gotchas When developing and/or utilizing a manufacturing test station. There’re many things to keep in mind when developing and/or utilizing a manufacturing test station. Some things [...]
Reduce Production Costs Report – Integrating Test and Business Systems and Embracing Electronic Records
Stuart McFarlane2024-11-13T16:30:04-05:00Reduce Manufacturing Costs Report Integrating Test and Business Systems and Embracing Electronic Records for manufacturing cost reduction Many companies produce a wide range of parts in small quantities. This high-mix, low-volume manufacturing is [...]
Building a Business Case for Automated Manufacturing Test
Stuart McFarlane2022-12-12T16:36:30-05:00Building a Business Case for Automated Manufacturing Test Not sure if it’s worth the cost to build an automated test system (ATS) for your manufacturing department? This white paper reviews the cost drivers [...]
Case Studies
Manufacturing Test System – Aircraft turbine blade quality inspection
Manufacturing Test System – Aircraft turbine blade quality inspection Improving quality by detecting blocked holes in aircraft turbine blades with an automated test system Client - Large aerospace company [...]
Enhancing an existing test system for ease of maintenance
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 [...]
Updating an obsolete LabVIEW-based system for measuring solar irradiance
Updating an obsolete LabVIEW-based system for measuring solar irradiance Maintaining continuity between old and new systems was important for correlation with nearly 40 years of historical data Client - California State University [...]
Automated production test of EO/IR imaging subsystem
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 [...]
Automated Measurement System – Verifying Flow Rate Performance in a Medical Device
Automated Measurement System - Verifying Flow Rate Performance in a Medical Device Assessing quality and managing traceability of a medical device Automation increases throughput by testing multiple units independently Client [...]
Custom Automated Test System – Quantifying Energy and Durability Performance for Refrigeration
Custom Automated Test System - Quantifying Energy and Durability Performance for Refrigeration Automation reduces manual labor while improving traceability Assessing performance for improved energy ratings and longevity Client - Zero [...]
Custom Automated Test System – Characterization of Heat Transfer System Thermal Performance
Custom Automated Test System - Characterization of Heat Transfer System Thermal Performance R&D testing required flexibility in control schemes and measurement I/O Client - ATSI, a large-scale System Engineering Provider [...]
Replacing Wire-wrap Boards with Software, FPGAs, and Custom Signal Conditioning
Replacing Wire-wrap Boards with Software, FPGAs, and Custom Signal ConditioningElectronic components of fielded systems were aging outReverse engineering effort converted wire wrap boards to FPGA-based I/O Client - Amentum - A supplier for [...]
Enhanced Portable Data Acquisition and Data Storage System
Enhanced Portable Data Acquisition and Data Storage System Using a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) provides a high level of synchronization and determinism for acquired data. Client Tier 1 Automotive Design [...]
Pump Test Station – Increasing throughput
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 [...]
Pump Test Station
Pump Test Station Client - Industrial pump manufacturer Standardizing on testing technique & reporting Reducing the number of pumps in the production queue Challenge Pump manufacturers typically test [...]
Industrial Monitoring for a Harsh Environment
Industrial Monitoring for a Harsh Environment Developing an industrial monitoring system for ultrasound-based sensing in a harsh environment Client - Energy Research Lab Challenge Our client was experiencing [...]
Articles
Migrating NI Compact FieldPoint to cDAQ or cRIO
Migrating NI Compact FieldPoint to cDAQ or cRIO March 2018 Are you currently using a Compact FieldPoint (cFP) device and want to know what you should be thinking about to transition to a CompactRIO [...]
Custom Automated Test Equipment Design Requirements – What’s most important to get right
Custom Automated Test Equipment Design Requirements: What’s most important to get right and what you don’t need to worry as much about Specifying design requirements for custom test equipment can be a bit [...]
Commissioning Custom Test Equipment
Commissioning Custom Test Equipment Steps to take and Gotchas to avoid Main to do items before starting commissioning Commissioning process steps Gotchas and tips to mitigate risk for each step [...]
What should I keep in mind when I’m launching a new product and considering a custom manufacturing test system?
What should I keep in mind when I'm launching a new product and considering a custom manufacturing test system? I need solid traceability. What are some ways to accomplish this? [...]
LabVIEW hardware interfacing and integration
LabVIEW hardware interfacing and integration With NI hardware or non-NI hardware LabVIEW is a dominant development platform for all types of automated measurements and control. Developers of automated systems, such as test [...]
NI Hardware Compatibility – Real-world Tips and Lessons Learned
NI Hardware Compatibility – Real-world Tips and Lessons Learned Insights and opinions from an integrator that’s been working with NI hardware since 1993 Article published: April 2025 Having worked with National Instruments hardware [...]
What is LabVIEW? – A developer’s perspective
What is LabVIEW? – A developer’s perspective Most common misunderstanding about LabVIEW What LabVIEW is best-suited for What you can do with LabVIEW What you can’t do with LabVIEW [...]
Hardware Testing Process – How to test products during production
Hardware Testing Process – How to test products during production A typical hardware testing process Before testing a piece of hardware, the test engineer should be clear on the purpose of the [...]
Shift Registers in LabVIEW
Shift Registers in LabVIEW Gotchas | Main Use Cases | How to implement Why/when do I need a shift register in LabVIEW? In LabVIEW, a shift register is used [...]
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