Brake Hysteresis Test using CompactDAQ and LabVIEW

Brake Hystersis Test

Overview

Brake Hysteresis Test using CompactDAQ and LabVIEW. An automotive lab needed a program to perform brake testing. The system had to acquire data from multiple load cells, control solenoids, and activate load cell shunts. The software had to plot force and position on an XY graph. The customer also needed a real time numeric display of the measurements and save the data to a predefined excel template.

Solution

We used NI CompactDAQ data acquisition hardware to connect the sensors to the PC. CompactDAQ was chosen because it is a modular hardware platform that can accommodate various sensor types.

CompactDAQ

NI CompactDAQ

Brake Hystersis Block Diagram

Block Diagram

We developed a program that allowed the operator easily captured the data of interest. From the front panel the operator could start and stop a test, reset sensors, and manually actuate solenoid valves. The operator could also turn the visibility of a plotted data channel on or off.

The software populated the collected data into a customer defined excel template. The customer could choose the template to use from the advanced options in the software. Using a template, the customer could easily change how the data was processed and displayed.

Features

Main Screen

The main screen allowed the user to view the current data from the sensors and control the test. A Start and Stop button was provided to start and stop the test. Manual switches were included to actuate the solenoid valves. Buttons to reset the load cells were also included. A graph that plotted the acquired data vs time was provided to the user. Numeric indicators of the current sensor values were also displayed.

Start Dialog

The start dialog was displayed to the user every time the test was started. The user could enter test data for each test that was saved to the report.

Advanced Options

The advanced options screen allowed the user to specify test parameters and setup hardware.

Solenoid

The user could set up number of cycles and the on and off time for all the solenoids.

Analog Input

The Analog input section allowed the user to set up the sample rate, the hardware address, and the scaling for each channel. A summing feature was included that allowed the user to add 2 measured channels together.

Advanced_Options

Report

The software saved data as an excel report. The customer had an excel template and the software populated the data into the specified cells. Using this method the customer could change the report layout, edit macros, and adjust calculations.

Report

Results

Brake Hysteresis Test using CompactDAQ and LabVIEW allowed the customer to run the necessary tests. Using the modular CompactDAQ hardware the customer was able to use off the shelf hardware and could customize what sensors they needed to use. This made maintenance easy and kept hardware costs low.

The software was easy to use and allowed the user to perform the necessary testing. The ability to manage the excel template saved the customer from having to make a code change every time they wanted to display the test results differently.

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