Test + measurement • test equipment

There are times when budget-priced instrumentation, or rented/leased instruments, will handle the job while going easy on the wallet. Amanda Wilson Back in the 1980s, car makers typically used a light vehicle platform for more than eight years before they saw a need to design and develop a new one. This sort of extended product…

AW-Lake introduces a new series of Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meters that fasten on the outside of vertical or horizontal pipes ranging in size from ½ in. through 48 in. Housed in a water and dust-tight NEMA 4X polycarbonate enclosure, the Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meters are compatible with a range of metal and plastic pipe materials…

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division today launched PC-DMIS 2020 R1, the latest edition of the world’s most popular measurement software. PC-DMIS 2020 R1 brings new features, capabilities and enhanced user experience to portable measuring arm operators and those who scan and create point cloud data. The new feature ‘Guided Portable Execution’ streamlines the creation and execution…

New techniques let engineers examine high-speed data traffic without garbling signals. Darshan Mehta, Tektronix Inc. The only way advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), smart safety systems, and autonomous vehicle functions can be practical is through use of reliable in-vehicle networking and high-bandwidth connections. Cars can now contain as many as 100 electronic control modules (ECUs) monitoring…

Those attending the 17th Automotive Testing Expo in Novi, Mich. got a chance to see the latest developments in NVH measurement technology, powertrain development systems, autonomous vehicle design platforms, and numerous other areas. We toured the floor to see what hot topics garnered attention this year. Here are a few of the more interesting demonstrations…

TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG now sells TMCM-0013-xA current sense boards — a lab tool designed to simplify the measurement and visualization of two-phase motor currents, Suited for small electric motors such as stepper motors, BLDC motors, or DC motors, the easy-to-use boards can be connected to typical lab oscilloscopes replacing expensive current…

PCB Piezotronics has released their smallest ICP triaxial shock accelerometers—Models 356A04 and 356A05. Developed for electronic drop testing at accelerations up to 5,000 and 20,000 g’s respectively, these models leverage the sensitivity and overload shock resistance of the teardrop models in a triaxial package. Models 356A04 and 356A05 are suitable for measuring shock and vibration…

SAKOR Technologies Inc., has announced that it has developed a series of dynamometer systems suitable for customers required to test and verify the level of efficiency of electric motors in accordance with a variety of national and international standards, including IEC 60034-2-1; IEEE 112B; and Canadian standard C390-93. The SAKOR units can be used test…

SAKOR Technologies Inc. has developed a series of dynamometer systems ideal for testing and verifying the level of efficiency of electric motors in accordance with a variety of national and international standards, including IEC 60034-2-1; IEEE 112B; and Canadian standard C390-93. The SAKOR units can be used to test from two to eight pole motors…

Most of us are familiar with the practice of checking the use-by dates on food packaging labels. It turns out that many customers throw away the food by those dates, even though in many cases the food is still safe to eat. Researchers at Imperial College in London hope to change that practice. They have…

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Alex Beehler doesn’t need proof of threats to military and government installations. He is reminded every day. His office sits next to the point of impact where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon nearly 18 years ago during the…

More than a dozen chemical blends could serve as alternative refrigerants that won’t heat the atmosphere as much as today’s refrigerants do, or catch fire, according to a new computational study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST study identified the 22 “best” nonflammable or marginally flammable blends with lower global warming…

Researchers of the Schliesser Lab at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, have pushed the precision of force and position measurements into a new regime. Their experiment is the first to surpass the so-called “Standard Quantum Limit”, or SQL, which arises in the most common (and successful) optical techniques for ultra-precise position measurements. For…

The DPG210 features a large LCD screen, with 5 digit 17mm primary display. It can display both the current pressure and local temperature, and also maximum or minimum pressures from the reference data. Powerful functions include 10 common pressure units, adjustable acquisition rate, and flexible power supplies by battery or USB connection. “This pressure gauge provides both our…

Countless people die every year in road accidents. To improve the safety of vehicle occupants, it has been customary for decades to carry out crash-tests using dummies. These crash-test dummies are increasingly getting virtual support in the form of computer models that simulate the defensive behavior of humans before a collision. Researchers at the Fraunhofer…

With a team effort, the first ever large-scale aircraft powered by variable buoyancy propulsion was developed and flown. Dubbed the Phoenix, it is designed to repeatedly transition from being lighter than air to being heavier than air so thrust is generated to propel the craft. The team includes a partnership of universities and companies, and…

Earthquakes are a defining force of nature in areas like San Francisco, where it is often a question of when, not if, another will strike. Residents not only have to deal with billions in property damage loss, but also the emotional toll of losing a home with the uncertainty of when, if ever, they can…

Now in the skies over Eggemoen Technology Park in Norway is Equator Aircraft’s P2 Xcursion prototype aircraft. The hybrid, electric, and automated craft is said to contribute to the sustainable future of the air. Previously, the airplane flew in June 2018 at low-altitudes, but on March 30, the craft went on its first full flight…

How does it work? That was the question few people asked about the mythical supertechnology supposedly at the core of Theranos — a Silicon-Valley unicorn overvalued by some $9 billion during a 2013-2014 hype height. Not that it would’ve mattered anyway, as the fictional heart of secretive Theranos changed continuously over its 12 short years.…

Spain’s PLD Space, supported by ESA, has demonstrated the technologies for a reusable first stage of their orbital microlauncher, Miura 5. Miura 5 (formerly Arion 2) is aimed to provide dedicated launches for small satellites of up to 300 kg to low Earth orbit, in 2021. It weighs 14 t at liftoff, and is powered by…

SABRE, an air-breathing rocket engine, as successfully passed the first phase of its high-temperature testing, making it one step closer to being in the air. Precooler technology will enable a variety of high-speed flight and advanced propulsion systems. Created by Reaction Engines, the precooler heat exchanger passed with flying colors as the first phase consisted…

Modeling the Total Cost of Ownership of an Automated Test System Most organizations do not consider production test a top priority, but it is a necessity to prevent major quality issues in the products that represent the company brand in the hands of customers. The costs, however, can be significant and are often greatly misunderstood.…

As around 40 police officers watch her progress on a large screen, officer Chanika Sookreang’s digital double goes from body to body in the ruined city, photographing tattoos, faces—anything that can later be used to establish who the victim was. “VR is good as it allows us to be trained before we go to the actual scene,”…

In 2011, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake all but decimated the Pacific Coast of Tohoku, Japan, including the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. A catastrophic meltdown ensued. Many tons of nuclear fuel, boiled down to a radioactive lava, corroded the steel surrounding the facility’s three reactors. Today, the cleanup effort is still projected…

In early April, nine qualified teams will attempt to remotely navigate the dark and dirty corridors of Edgar Experimental Mine in Idaho Springs, Colorado, in preparation for the Circuits Stage of the DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge later this year. The SubT Integration Exercise, known as STIX, offers teams an opportunity to try out their technologies,…