Case studies / Programming and test stations
A family of compact benchtop stations that flash the firmware onto control boards, check them and print the label. One LabVIEW application runs them all, so a new product is a new recipe, not new software.
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Every control board for a household appliance needs its firmware loaded and its outputs checked before it goes into the product. Operators on the line are not engineers, the products change often, and a board that reaches the assembly line with a wrong program or a dead relay is expensive to find later.
The manufacturer needed stations that are simple to operate, safe, quick to change over, and able to keep a record of every board.
We built a family of small stations for a home appliance manufacturer. They share the same LabVIEW application, the same screens, the same user levels and the same recipe format. Only the fixture and the instruments differ.
We designed everything ourselves: the mechanics and fixtures, the electronics, the safety circuit and the software. The stations run on the customer’s own standard Windows image and start by themselves when the computer is switched on.
A hinged fixture with spring-loaded contact pins holds the board. The operator closes the lever, and the station flashes the program and, when needed, sets the parameters.
Two boards are programmed at the same time, each through its own programmer and cable. Relay modules switch the connections, and the screen shows both sockets separately.
A functional tester for appliance control boards. It switches every relay, measures the electrical power and simulates the door and the water tank, behind a proper safety circuit.
The third picture is a rendering. We will replace it with a photograph.
Nothing works without a login. The operator picks a name on the touchscreen and types the password on the on-screen keyboard.
One tap opens the screen for that family, with the instructions for the operator and the state of the station.
Where a 2D reader is switched on, the operator first scans the label on the product. The test starts by itself as soon as the board is inserted and the fixture is locked, or on a start button for the cable version.
The result window is blue while the board is being programmed or tested, green for a good board and red for a bad one. A detailed log is written below it.
A good board gets a label from the printer. Every result is written to a results file, and the daily counters of good and bad boards are always on the screen.
The relay and power station is the functional tester of the family. The screen lists every relay on the board by its function, such as the oven fan, the door lock, the steam generator or a heater, and shows which relays are on right now.
During the test the station switches the relays one by one, according to the recipe. Relays that have not been checked yet are orange, and relays that have worked are green, so the operator can follow the test at a glance.
A power meter in the station shows the electrical power live. The operator, or the recipe, can also close the door switch and simulate an empty water tank, because the station supplies both signals that the product would normally give.
The board under test is connected to the mains, so the safety circuit is part of the design. A safety relay supplies the board, and the emergency stop button switches it off. It is started again with the reset button.
The supply to the board is also guarded by further conditions: the lock handle must be closed, the glass cover must be present, the board must sit in the fixture, and the software must allow it. The whole station is protected by a 10 A fuse.
Two user levels share the same screens. The operator can only run the test. The administrator can also edit recipes, manage users and change the settings of the station.
Recipes can be edited on the touchscreen or imported from a CSV file, and exported again as a backup or to prepare them on another computer. A full export of recipes and settings is also possible, and the user list simply moves with a copy of its file.
The administrator sets the serial ports of the programmers, the multifunction card, the 2D reader and the label printer, the location of the results file, the automatic logout time and the CSV format. Each station also has a diagnostics screen.
Users are added with a name, a card number, a password and a level. A user can be deleted or given a new password with a long press or a right click.
Each station has a mini PC, a 21.5 inch touchscreen, our multifunction card for the signals, a 2D reader and a thermal label printer. The programming stations add an industrial flash programmer, or two of them, and the test station adds a power meter and the safety relay.
They are small enough for any workbench: about 40 × 50 cm, between 65 and 80 cm high, and from 8 to 20 kg.
The mechanics need very little care: the bearings are sealed, and only the linear guide is checked and greased now and then. The contact pins are standard parts that can be replaced in a minute, and the cables and connectors are inspected regularly.
The dual-socket station has no moving parts at all.
Log in, choose, insert. The colour of the result window says everything.
A new product needs a new recipe and a fixture, not new software.
Results, counters and labels for each board, with the product, the time and the operator.
Emergency stop, safety relay and several supply conditions protect the people at the station.
The administrator manages recipes, users and settings without us.
Programming, dual programming and functional test in one software and one look.
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