Overview​

Thanehall enhanced their existing National Instruments™ LabWindows /CVI™ test sequencer by expanding its functionality to meet customer requirements and transitioning it to National Instruments LabVIEW™. The upgraded system offered robust and flexible capabilities for automating and managing production test processes.

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Development Highlights

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Core Software Functionality​​​​​​

• The final solution was a core software framework capable of executing scripts from a structured test sequence file.

• The bespoke script language, designed for text-based test sequences, supported advanced programming constructs including:

  • Variables: For dynamic data management.​

  • Control Structures: If, While, and For loops for logical test flows.

  • Mathematical Functions: Enabling complex calculations within test sequences.

  • Device Commands: A comprehensive library of commands tailored for common and specialised test equipment.

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​Cost-Effective Testing​

• The text-based script system eliminated the need for costly software licenses, empowering the customer’s engineers to own, modify, and manage test sequences independently.

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​Test Reporting and Accessibility

• All test results were securely stored in the cloud, ensuring accessibility and scalability.

• The system provided flexible reporting options, including the ability to generate detailed reports in Excel and other widely-used formats, enabling easy analysis and sharing.

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Customer Benefits

• Enhanced Functionality: The transition to LabVIEW™ brought improved performance and greater flexibility in test process management.

• Empowered Engineering Teams: By using a text-based scripting approach, the customer’s engineers could efficiently create and manage their own test sequences without additional software costs.

• Streamlined Reporting: Cloud-based report storage and versatile output formats simplified data management and collaboration.

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Conclusion​

This project demonstrated Thanehall’s expertise in leveraging National Instruments™ tools to deliver a customised, cost-effective, and scalable production test solution. The system’s advanced scripting capabilities and seamless integration with diverse test equipment ensured high adaptability to customer requirements while reducing operational costs.

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