Integrated measurement software offers multiple measurements on one software platform, accelerating development

Yokogawa Test & Measurement has introduced an integrated software platform that synchronises the data from several test instruments on the same screen, giving developers a clearer picture of the timing of control signals and switching events and how products being tested react to them.

The Yokogawa IS8000 Integrated Measurement software platform solves the challenge of developing sophisticated products such as motor inverters, which often need several instruments to capture all the test data.

Oscilloscopes offer high sample speed and in-depth views of waveforms, Yokogawa’s ScopeCorder can display many types of signals in high resolution, while power analysers offer unrivalled accuracy in power measurements. However, operating these multiple instruments can be difficult due to the different user interfaces and the need to correlate the timing of the various input signals.

The IS8000 software platform meets this challenge by tightly integrating the timing, control, and data collection from several instruments using an IEEE1588 PTP protocol, USB or Ethernet, creating a comprehensive measurement suite.

Allowing instruments to work together as a whole ensures coherent measurements during product development, making it easier to debug and analyze data by viewing all measurements on a single display. It also allows data to be shared easily throughout an organization.

Using the IS8000 leads to greater efficiency, as it ensures less time is spent developing test methods and more time devoted to gathering actual test data.

The software provides scalability, offering optional software packages to achieve more in-depth data analysis as users’ needs evolve.

Example uses for the IS8000 include the testing of motors and inverters for products such as vehicles, elevators, air conditioners and power generating equipment.

To capture rapidly changing waveforms, IS8000 can work with Yokogawa’s DL950 ScopeCorder to store up to eight channels of data in real time on a PC at a sampling rate of up to 10 MS/s, through the 10 Gigabit Ethernet. This means that longer recording times are now possible for high-speed, multi-channel inputs such as gate signals and switching waveforms of multi-phase inverters.

IS8000 can be used to remotely operate Yokogawa’s high-precision power analyser, high-speed recorder and oscilloscope, which can all be monitored and configured from the software. Additionally, third-party high-speed cameras can also be controlled, making it easier to operate and manage various instruments for measuring power, physical phenomena, video, and control signals.

The software allows users to run up to 16 independent FFT processes for calculation of frequency and integrated value and filter processing. Customised reports are easy to generate simply by dragging and dropping measurement data and waveforms onto the report sheet.

            An IS8011/IS8012 software package is available, allowing harmonic and flicker tests to be performed in accordance with IEC61000-3-2, 3-3, 3-11 and 3-12 standards using the WT5000 precision power analyzer. Users can easily set the conditions and output the test report without any specialized knowledge.

Although a power analyser can analyse the power efficiency, it is optimized for accuracy of power reading rather than capturing the detail of waveforms. The ScopeCorder can capture the switching waveform with high-speed sampling and high resolution, but this requires correlating the data between the ScopeCorder and the power analyser. The IS8000 simultaneously provides both the precise power analysis and the accurate waveform.

Another application is motion analysis using video and sensor signals of processes and events such as combustion, cutting and vibration. Some mechanical motions are controlled by or closely related to electrical signals and both video images and signal waveforms may be needed to adjust all machine parameters.

High speed camera and DAQ systems share the trigger signal only, meaning that video image and waveform data are captured individually. The IS8000 synchronizes with each instrument at any point in time, allowing physical events to be matched exactly to waveform timings.

IS8000 is available through an annual license, which gives users the latest version of the software for the duration of their subscription. Alternatively, users can opt for a perpetual license. This is a one-time purchase that can be used indefinitely, allowing users to upgrade for up to five years for major software revisions free of charge following purchase.

“Using IS8000, developers will find it much easier to bring together a host of measurements from different instruments”, says Terry Marrinan, Yokogawa Test & Measurement’s Vice President for Europe & South East Asia. “Corelating the timing of waveform displays from a number of sources gives a far more accurate picture of the behaviour of complex systems and will make development of new products much quicker and easier.”