Automation Done Differently
After 30 years in automation, we started looking at the flexible standards problem from a different angle.
Metrology.NET has flexible UUTs, not standards.
No two standards are made exactly the same with the same accuracy, this means you can never have 100% interchangeability between two standards. Furthermore, uncertainty calculations are based on specific standards and the specific measurement technique.
Through years of writing automated calibration software, we discovered a UUT is 100% interchangeable with another UUT. For example, an oscilloscope and a Digital Volt Meter both measure volts DC, but they are set up very differently. Both devices can support a simple UUT (flexible driver interface) of reset, setup, and measure.
This design allows you to use the same Source Volts DC automated calibration process with exact uncertainty calculations for both an HP 34401A and Tektronix TDS3024A. All that is needed are three calls to a 100% interchangeable UUT driver (reset, setup, & measure).
So How Does It Work? Well, the answer is simpler than you would expect. Metrology.NET® has perfected the ability to add test-specific metadata to the UUT’s test points. We use this data to further define the specifics requirements of the test, such as the UUT’s specific settings.
Every test process in the system is designed to read the test point metadata during the measurement process. Specific information can define UUT setup and measurement instructions. For example, the DMM needs a Range command and the oscilloscope needs a Volts/Division, Offset, and Timebase setting. Because each test point is specific to a UUT, these specifics can be easily managed.
Example Driver – DMM:
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Section= Reset
*RST
*OPC?
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Section= Setup
CONF:VOLT:DC [Range]
SENS:VOLT:DC:NPLC 100
*OPC?
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Section= Measure
READ?
READ?
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Example Driver- Oscilloscope
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Section= Reset
FACTORY
*WAI
SEL:CH1 OFF
SEL:CH[Channel] ON
HOR:SCA 20e-3
MEASU:MEAS1:SOURCE1 CH[Channel]
MEASU:MEAS1:TYP MEAN
MEASU:MEAS1:STATE ON
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Section= Setup
CH[Channel]:IMP FIFT
CH[Channel]:SCA [VoltsPerDivison]
———————————
Section= Measure
MEASU:MEAS1:VAL?
MEASU:MEAS1:VAL?
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