Temperature Data Acquisition

The temperature data acquisition process is a data collection process.

Prerequisite

This process is designed to be used with an MTS Model 409.80 or 409.82 Temperature Controller with the RS-232 interface option (p/n 475319-01). A serial port must be specified with the hardware configuration mode of the TestStar software installation program.

How it works

It acquires temperature and data from any additional channels at set timed intervals. Data is acquired until a data buffer is full. A bufferÆs size and type determine how data is recorded. The temperature data acquisition process is similar to the data acquisition process. The differences are:

It acquires temperature data from the RS-232 interface.

It acquires data at a slower rate (every 2 seconds minimum).

The temperature data acquisition process communicates with an MTS Series 409 Temperature Controller via RS-232 commands. Communication is accomplished through one of the serial communication ports of the workstation computer and connector J2 of the temperature controller.

More Information

The Data Acquisition Design  window defines the following:

Sequences the process in a test template.

Assigns the master channel and selects any slave channels.

Selects the type of data to acquire.

Selects the type of buffer .

The Data Acquisition Parameters  window selects units appropriate for the data type and assigns the size of the buffer for the master channel. It also assigns units to each of the slave channels.

You can find detailed information about this process in Chapter 6 of the 790.10 TestWare-SX Application Manual.


Temperature Data Acquisition Design Window

This window names the process and specifies how the process starts and stops. The information in this window is saved with the test template.

Label

Names the process. Type the name you want to call the process in the entry field.

Buffer Type

Specifies how data is temporarily stored until the data is saved to disk.

Start Trigger

Specifies the beginning of the process. Press the list icon and select a trigger.

End Trigger

Specifies the end of the process. Press the list icon and select a trigger.

Additional Channels

Selects additional input signals for data acquisition. Highlight any input signal to select it. You can acquire data from as many channels as you wish.

More Information

You can find detailed information about this process in Chapter 6 of the 790.10 TestWare-SX Application Manual.

Double-click How it Works  for an overview of the process.

After you complete this window, you can double-click the name of this process in the Edit Template window to display the Temperature Data Acquisition Parameters  window. This allows you to assign parameters to the default procedure.


Temperature Data Acquisition Parameters

You must establish a temperature data acquisition process with the Temperature Data Acquisition Design  window before you can use this window. The information in this window is saved with the test procedure.

Data Header

Labels the data in the data file.

Time Increment

Specifies how often data is acquired for all of the selected channels.

Buffer Size

Specifies the number of data elements the buffer can store. A data element represents one data sample of the temperature channel and each additional input signal channel.

The default buffer size is 1024. You can set the data buffer to record 1 to 16,000 data elements. Buffer sizes below 64 cause extra traffic on the communication lines between the computer and digital controller. Acquiring data at fast rates and saving that data can cause the computer to become sluggish (slow to respond to selections). Tests that acquire data at fast rates can benefit from larger buffer sizes.

Assign Report Units

This area of the window specifies the units for each master and slave channel. Select a channel, then select the units for that channel. Repeat this for each channel.

1	Highlight a channel in the Channel column. This causes the Units column to display the appropriate units for the dimension of the channel.

2	Highlight the units you want assigned to the channel data.

3	Repeat this procedure for each master and slave channel.

More Information

You can find detailed information about this process in Chapter 6 of the 790.10 TestWare-SX Application Manual.

Double-click How it Works  for an overview of the process.


Buffers

Each type of buffer offers different characteristics, you may define one data acquisition process to simply trigger another data acquisition process to acquire data.

Single buffer

Data is recorded to fill the buffer once, then stops the process and saves the data to disk. The size of the data buffer determines how much data to collect.

This selection acquires specific data in a test, and is useful for triggering other processes.

Continuous buffer

In this mode, data is continuously taken and automatically stored to disk. Storing continues until the end trigger requirement occurs or the step done process is encountered. The only limit to the total number of samples is the driveÆs storage capacity.

Continuous with trigger buffer

This buffer type functions the same as the continuous buffer except it issues a trigger each time the buffer if full. You specify the size of the buffer to determine when the trigger is issued. This process ends at the end of a step.

This selection is useful to trigger other processes at regular intervals while saving data.

Trigger only buffer

This buffer type functions the same as the continuous with trigger buffer except it does not save data. You specify the size of the buffer to determine when the trigger is issued. This process only ends at the end of a step.

This selection is useful to trigger other processes at regular intervals without saving data.

Circular buffer

A circular buffer continuously records data to the buffer. When the buffer is full, the data is loaded into the top again, overwriting the oldest data. This continues until there is an end trigger or the step ends and saves the data to disk.

This type of buffering is useful when the data just before some event (such as specimen failure) is crucial, but data is not required for the whole test.

Buffer Size

The default buffer size is 1024. You can set the data buffer to record 1 to 16,000 data elements. A data element includes the data from the master and slave channels along with a time stamp.

Buffer sizes below 64 cause extra traffic on the communication lines between the computer and digital controller. Acquiring data at fast rates and saving that data can cause the computer to become sluggish (slow to respond to selections). Tests that acquire data at fast rates can benefit from larger buffer sizes.