Complete DAQ solutions in one box

An exclusive interview with a technical leader.

Larry Maloney, Contributing Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2011 12:00:00 AM

David N. Kortick Senior Manager Product Development Astro-Med West Warwick, RI David Kortick became senior manager of product development for Astro-Med’s Test and Measurement products in 2002 and has over 18 years’ experience in the test field. He joined Astro-Med in 1992 as a software engineer and has also served as an application engineer and product manager. His responsibilities include design and development of data-acquisition and recording systems used throughout the world. Kortick also has been involved in the design of medical research instrumentation and clinical medical products. He holds a BSEE from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA from Bryant University. Contributing editor Larry Maloney conducted a phone interview with David Kortick on new features and applications for data acquisition. David Kortick answers more questions on new data-acquisition technology in the continuation of this interview. To read past “Viewpoint” columns, go to www.tmworld.com/viewpoint.

Q: What key features do test engineers want in data-acquisition systems?
A: Test engineers want to quickly collect data, find the areas of interest, and analyze the data to solve the problems at hand. They want data-acquisition systems that allow them to quickly connect to their signals, with as many channels as needed, and to view data in real time. In addition, the equipment should offer a variety of sample rates as well as desired interfaces such as Ethernet or USB to get the data to a PC if necessary.

Systems need to capture a large amount of data yet allow the engineer to find important data fast. In many applications, engineers also want to mix other signals with analog inputs for cross-correlation with video, GPS information, or digital data buses. Finally, portability is very important. Data-acquisition products that can combine all these benefits in one box are very popular.

Q: How do Astro-Med’s latest products measure up to those demands?
A: Our new TMX high-speed data-acquisition system offers modular signal conditioning with expansion up to 96 channels to handle different types of input, such as various voltages, thermocouples, or DC bridges. It offers multiple sample rates for both high-speed and low-speed signals. You don’t need to take thermocouple data at high speeds, but you might want to know temperature behavior during changes in a high-speed signal. The TMX provides digital filtering with customizable parameters, as well as real-time monitoring of signals on its flat-panel display. A QuickLook feature lets you quickly sift through several gigabytes of data, and a LookBack feature lets you analyze a single day’s data from data gathered over weeks or months. This portable instrument links to a variety of interfaces and provides both low- and high-speed video acquisition.

Q: What applications are responsible for your biggest customer volume?
A: Aerospace accounts for a very large part of our business. Applications range from telemetry recording to satellite ground testing, including environmental and battery testing. But industrial applications are very strong as well, including processing operations for paper, aluminum, and steel. Also important are power generation and power backup for such applications as data centers. Engineers in the automotive and transportation sectors are also key customers.

Q: Can you describe a typical cutting-edge data-acquisition application in one of those major industries?
A: An aircraft manufacturer is using our TMX system in its advanced design group. The engineers who are designing a new landing-gear system need to record analog data from several sensors along with precisely synchronized video of the gear being raised and lowered. They need to do repeated testing of this system to ensure it works properly and that there is no side-to-side tracking with the landing gear. The ability to take sensor data, synchronize with video, and acquire data for long periods of time is essential.

Q: What will be the impact of new interfaces, such as SuperSpeed USB?
A: PC technology advances almost always play a role in the data-acquisition realm. I believe that USB was a disruptive technology for data-acquisition systems, since it offered a fast and inexpensive means to communicate with the PC. USB 3.0, or SuperSpeed USB, provides a remarkable data rate of 4.8 Gbps—10 times the rate of its predecessor—which will be a big benefit in handling large amounts of data. So, SuperSpeed USB holds the potential to significantly enhance the capabilities of data-acquisition systems. But we are also investigating technologies such as the Thunderbolt interface, which is about twice as fast as SuperSpeed USB. T&MW

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David Kortick answers more questions on new data-acquisition technology in the  continuation of this interview.