DWUTKA at marlow.com
DWUTKA at marlow.com
Sat Feb 26 00:18:35 CST 2005
Hmmm, I guess I was going off of custom software, to run test machines.....guess I'll have to look for that market. This is all just conjecture anyways...... Drew -----Original Message----- From: MartyConnelly [mailto:martyconnelly at shaw.ca] Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 8:26 PM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: Re: [AccessD] Web based Data Acquisition Application. Did you look at the whole LabView package from NI ( It's kind of an Industry standard ) that hooks to oracle msSql and access They do things like Pareto analysis of the acquired data. The other biggie competitor is MatLab http://www.mathworks.com/products/ http://www.mathworks.com/products/daq/index.html DWUTKA at marlow.com wrote: >I took a look at the 'data acquisition' device, and that is not what I >built. That is something designed to 'trap' data. I developed something >that is designed to 'store' data. The database is close to a true >relational database as I could make it (which immediately puts it out of the >hands of engineers to just query it on their own! <grin>, one of the reasons >I have to build a custom reporting system). It also doesn't plug into >anything. It's a .dll, that a test equipment engineer can use, instead of >fuddling through ADO, and designing a good database, there is a web >interface to create a 'program' (which would equate more to a table, to us, >I guess, but it isn't really creating tables.....), which can then be used >by their software, to store data for that program. > >For example, the CMM machine I mentioned may record height (yep, it does >height), width, length, etc. So that would be a 'program' in my system. >Here's some sample VB (which is actually something the admin web interface >will create for you) > >Dim DataAcq >Set DataAcq=CreateObject("FECMM.Program") >DataAcq.ID=1 >'Start of Loop >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 1")=0.147 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 2")=0.147 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 3")=0.035 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 4")=0.103 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 5")=0.057 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 6")=0.057 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 7")=0.006 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 8")=0.006 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Dim 9")=0.006 >DataAcq.SetFieldValue("Location")= >DataAcq.RecordFields >'End of loop >DataAcq.DisplayReport >Set DataAcq=Nothing > >It has 10 fields. Dim 1 through Dim 10, and location. When the >FECMM.Program object is initialized, and data is put into it, it >automatically creates a batchID, which is attached to each Item (items are >recorded with the RecordFields function, and the batch ID's are used to >group a 'run' with the test equipment). The DisplayReport function displays >a web page on the test machine with the data from that run. Setting the ID >value of the object determines it's parameters (such as how many fields, and >what the fields are.....which is customizable from the admin web gui.) > >Does this clear things up a bit. Not a test equipment system, but a data >storage system, for the relational db challenged developers out there. ><grin> > >Drew > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: MartyConnelly [mailto:martyconnelly at shaw.ca] >Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 7:05 PM >To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving >Subject: Re: [AccessD] Web based Data Acquisition Application. > > >You have been beaten to it by about 50 years. I have used some of their >products (National Instruments) 20 years ago. >But they may not cover visual inspection images for data acquisition, I >have seen some specialized systems to inspect welds with Xrays. >These are probably the biggest guys in US. >http://www.ni.com/ >I haven't looked through their site recently, guess the switched to dotNet > >DWUTKA at marlow.com wrote: > > > >>Okay, this isn't a technical question, it's more like a marketing one. My >>company is a manufacturing company, which has several 'test machines' which >>are basically computers hooked up (through engineering cards) to test >>equipment. Most of these systems have custom built 'test software'. I've >>been here for five years, and I have yet to find the software engineer who >>actually knows his left from his right in a database. The databases they >>are dumping data into are horribly designed. For example, we have a few >> >> >'EZ > > >>Testers', which dump their data into one database, in fact, ONE TABLE in >>that database. This table has over a hundred fields. Each product that is >>tested, and each test, use only certain fields, so there is a lot of wasted >>space, and even worse, the searching of this database is a virtual >>nightmare. A few years ago, we bought a CMM machine, it's a visual >>inspection machine (pretty slick, measures things with a digital camera). >>It came with it's own program, which has a GUI that 'writes' QVScript >> >> >(which > > >>is essentially VB Script, just with it's own object model, and a few other >>quirks. It has no default data capture system (other then to the screen), >>so I was asked to capture the data. I wrote a very specialized .dll, that >>QVBasic could use to dump it's data into an Access database. Worked fine. >>They only needed two types of 'data dumps', so I wrote two versions of the >>.dll. Quick, fast, took me no more then an hour or two to whip up the >>.dll's. >> >>Now a few months ago, we bought a second CMM. This one was going to test a >>lot more then 2 different things, so it needed to be flexible. I also >>figured that since this was going to be my second 'test machine' database, >> >> >I > > >>figured I might as well prepare for the future, and create a completely >>generic data acquisition system. Which I did, sort of. I have the data >>acquisition part done, but haven't completed the reporting capability. In >> >> >a > > >>month or so, I will finally be able to start actually developing again >>(right now, I'm too busy being a Network Admin, and PC tech! LOL). My >> >> >first > > >>project is going to be to finish the data acquisition program. So here's >> >> >my > > >>question. Does anyone know if this kind of thing would have a market for >>it, and if so, are their competing products, and what do they cost? >> >>Drew >> >> >> >> > > > -- Marty Connelly Victoria, B.C. Canada -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com