Using NI InsightCM Enterprise, companies can cost-effectively monitor both critical and ancillary rotating machinery, which helps them gain a more holistic view of their fleets and manage operational risk while maintaining profitability and production efficiency. The enterprise solution solves the data management, data analysis and systems management challenges that are common in Big Analog Data applications. Its inherent flexibility and open architecture make it an ideal choice for meeting evolving diagnostic program requirements.

Application for remotely analyzing raw time-series data and results, drawing comparisons and viewing historical trends with support for standard vibration plots.

NI InsightCM Enterprise acquires and analyzes sensory information, generates alarms and allows maintenance specialists to remotely diagnose machine faults. Ready-to-run condition monitoring systems based on the CompactRIO hardware platform can acquire from a wide range of sensors for improved fault diagnoses. This hardware and software solution simplifies the configuration of and measurements from thousands of sensors, so users can remotely monitor device health, configure channels and upgrade firmware on deployed systems.

This online condition monitoring solution is ideal for companies in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, power generation, mining, rail and industrial manufacturing, that need to optimize machine performance, maximize uptime, reduce maintenance costs, and increase safety.

Key benefits:

• Cost-effective: Lowers the instrumentation cost for monitoring both critical and other plant equipment at a fleet-wide scale
• Open: Offers open software architecture to access data and gain interoperability with third-party enterprise software packages, such as CMMSs, database historians and prognostics tools
• Easily scalable: Scales from one to hundreds of nodes per NI InsightCM Enterprise server and replicates one solution at multiple facilities
• Flexible: Incorporates CompactRIO to adapt to changing sensory needs while maintaining the user’s investment in the platform

NI
ni.com/insightcm

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The LabVIEW Electrical Power Suite adds several VIs for power calculations.

One of the first steps of solving an engineering challenge is to define the problem. When discussing energy, the potential challenges include reducing usage and environmental impact, improving grid uptime and efficiency, and protecting equipment. All of these call for the same approach: Measure it. Fix it.

Power is calculated from the measurements of voltage and current. So, if you want to know how much power it takes to run a cell phone charger, a residential air conditioning system, a manufacturing plant, or a neighborhood, you need to measure voltage and current. This article covers sensors and hardware for voltage and current measurements in AC systems as well as the calculations for power using NI LabVIEW software.

Waveform primer for AC voltages
Talking about voltage and current measurements can get a little confusing so here are some basics using voltage waveforms as an example. Waveforms can be expressed using a variety of descriptors:

• VPK—Voltage “peak” is a notation of the highest instantaneous potential measured over a waveform.
• VRMS—Voltage “RMS” is the root mean square of the waveform. Residential outlets around the world refer to the RMS measurement of the waveform. (120 VRMS or 240 VRMS)
• V (L-L), (L-N), or (L-E)—This notation is voltage specific as voltage is the potential between two points on a circuit. These letters denote the two points between which the measurement is taken—line to line, line to neutral, or line to earth. Going back to the residential example, because there is only one phase, the implied notation is line to neutral. For multiphase systems, typically three-phase, it is important to note when the measurement is indicating L-L or L-N in addition to which line (that is, A, B, C or 1, 2, 3).
• Cycle—A single portion of a repetitive waveform as measured from similar points (peak to peak, zero cross to zero cross, and so on)
•  RMS x 1.414 = Peak (for a pure sign wave)
• V_L-N x sqrt(3) = V_L-L

Read the rest of the report here.

National Instruments
www.ni.com

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Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, industrial innovation led to the formation of the field of electrical engineering, which was once cloistered in the field of physics.

Because NI tools are used in so many different industries and applications, the company is in a position to examine the latest trends in measurement, sensors, networks, test, and more—as they happen. The company has compiled what it learned in this report to help readers take advantage of the latest technological breakthroughs and stay ahead of the competition.

NI says it it is not just a supplier—it is a technology adviser. The company hopes this information helps readers be more productive and focused on what you were hired to do.

In a nutshell, the trends are:

The cyber-physical design challenge
Developing systems that continuously and dynamically interact with their environments through the coupling of distributed computational and physical components

Big analog data—the biggest big data
Connecting IT infrastructures and analytic tools, such as the cloud, with data acquisition systems to make faster decisions on test data RF/Wireless

The SDR-ification of RF instrumentation
Revolutionizing the wireless industry by integrating a range of technologies from software defined radio (SDR) into RF test equipment

Models of computation
Will change the way you think. In addition the the evolution of system-level design will allow integrating multiple programming approaches into a single environment to simplify complex distributed and real-time applications

Using mobile devices as remote UIS
Designing systems accessible at any time, from any place, from any device 

STEM Education
Making waves in technology education, and preparing students with cross-disciplinary approaches to engineering

For a more complete discussion of the trend, look here: http://www.ni.com/pdf/misc/us/14517_Trend_Watch_IA.pdf

NI
www.ni.com

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