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If you are building a data acquisition system with instruments from one or more vendors, you probably expect you will need to install one or more drivers. Such drivers are operating-system-specific, so you must choose the appropriate 32- or 64-bit versions for your Linux or Windows platform, which most data-acquisition instrument makers support. What they don’t tend to support, however, are drivers for mobile operating systems, so if you want to initiate a measurement sequence to examine some acquired data using your smartphone, you’re out of luck.

AMETEK Programmable Power is always committed to fostering a positive, welcoming, and encouraging work environment for all employees. We are especially proud and have enjoyed a few events that have been organized in the first half of 2022. Continue reading to get a taste of our events this year so far.

Sky-high energy prices will motivate consumers to seek out the most efficient appliances. You can attract these consumers’ attention by earning, for example, Energy Star certification in the United States. Whether or not you pursue such certifications, the United States, the European Union, and other jurisdictions require that you include a label on your white-goods product indicating its efficiency relative to competitive products. To substantiate your product's rating, you will need extensive data sets—representing voltage, current, temperature, humidity, and other parameters.

Automated test systems for aerospace/defense programs require instruments, programmable power supplies and loads, and high-density switching systems designed for reliability, performance, and flexibility. AMETEK Programmable Power and AMETEK VTI Instruments stand ready to assist the aerospace/defense community in implementing its core testing strategy. Previously, the industry had deployed a dedicated test station for each device under test (DUT). In contrast, the core testing strategy deploys one universal test station that can test various types of DUTs. The universal test station includes large switching systems that interconnect a superset of the instruments that can test all the target DUTs.

Operating expenditures can be substantial over the operating lifetime of a high-channel-count data acquisition (DAQ) system. Consider all the aspects that can contribute to operating costs, ranging from setup and wiring to expenses you can incur if a lengthy test needs to be redone because of a faulty sensor or a network crash. When choosing a DAQ system, carefully evaluate how you can significantly reduce such operating costs with a very slight increase in up-front capital expenditures—in short, nudge up CAPEX to slash OPEX.

When it comes to communications and cellular equipment, change is inevitable. Every month or so, new phones come out with new features and technology, making older models obsolete. Even the cell towers themselves are being regularly reconfigured to optimize networks.

You need better sensors. Why? Because a single bad sensor could cause your functional tests to fail, wasting millions of dollars if you are testing something like a missile or a jet engine in a one-shot destructive test. A failed test is not even the worst-case scenario. Imagine what is at stake if a bad sensor gives you a false positive, leading to your device failing out in the field – all of which could have been avoided by getting the right sensors.  

Functional tests are critical to product qualification, ensuring that your systems work like they are supposed to. That is why specifying better functional test equipment is key to creating better products. Without the right equipment to power your functional tests, you can’t guarantee the quality of your products, and your systems may fail unexpectedly out in the field. 

In order to create better products, you need better means of testing. From designing a new airplane engine to making updates to the defense grid, functional tests and black box testing ensure that any new products or updates meet your requirements.