Modal Analysis of Printed Circuit Board using EDM Modal

In this case, the modal characteristics of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is acquired by performing experimental modal analysis. A hammer impact test is carried out with a single teardrop uni-axial accelerometer to study the modal behavior. The roving excitation method helps users completely avoid the mass loading effect that might be introduced with a roving response procedure. Since the PCB is lightweight, the selected hammer and sensor were chosen because they weigh considerably lesser than the board itself. To excite the higher frequency modes, a hard tip is chosen. The hammer impact test module of the EDM Modal suite assists in executing this test.

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Dual Excitation Shaker Push-push Testing

Dual excitation shaker systems are commonly used to test long or heavy devices under test (DUT). When the device under test is very long or too heavy, a single shaker cannot perform the test because of oversized dimensions or a large driving force. Thus a dual excitation shaker system is arranged as the solution. Users can fix the longer sized or heavy DUT horizontally or vertically on top of a dual excitation shaker system. Common arrangements are horizontal push-push, push-pull, and vertical.

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Spider LabVIEW Utility

LabVIEW is a visual programming workbench provided by National Instruments. It is used in a variety of applications for distributed testing, measurement, and control systems. When combined with powerful data acquisition systems like Crystal Instruments Spider systems, it can accept a wide range of inputs from a wide range of sensors to perform real time spectral processing. This combination also enables the deployment of large scale custom industrial and production systems.

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Distribution Agreement with THP Systems for the UK & Ireland

Crystal Instruments (CI) is proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with THP Systems located in Letchworth, UK. for the distribution of our products in the UK & Ireland.

THP Systems has been providing high technology solutions in the Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Education, Electronics, Ground Transportation, Health & Safety, Industrial, Noise Leakage Detection, Package Testing, Renewable Energy and Vibration Testing markets.

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Understanding the Frequency Signature of a Head Expander

Head expanders are commonly used for vertical environmental testing. The purpose of the head expander is to extend the surface area of the shaker top to accommodate units under test (UUTs) with large dimensions for mounting and testing. One of the key parameters is the working frequency range associated with each head expander. The upper frequency is often used instead of the first resonance frequency of the head expander in vibration control tests.

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Off Route Measurements on CoCo-70X

Off Route measurements are linked to machines in the database using a system called Job Management. When taking Off Route data, the measurements are stored under jobs and each job is assigned to a machine. The job-machine relationship is maintained after syncing the CoCo with VDS, so Off Route measurements are automatically associated with the correct machines.

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NASA Awards Crystal Instruments Corporation with GRS System Contract for Super Sonic Boom Project

On August 26, 2020, NASA selected Crystal Instruments to provide data acquisition equipment for the measurement of low frequency sonic boom events generated by one of their newest and most advanced aircraft, the X-59. The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is a research plane designed to study the effects of sonic boom events for companies developing supersonic aircraft for commercial travel.

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Load Cell Support and Ratiometric Sensors

A new and powerful addition to Crystal Instruments EDM software is enhanced support for load cells and other ratiometric sensors. The sensitivities of these sensors are dependent on the supplied excitation voltage, so it is crucial to provide precise excitation. Crystal Instruments’ latest software release of EDM 9.0 provides an effortless process to configure and setup load cells and other ratiometric sensors.

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Earthquake Testing on a Three-Axis Shaker System

Earthquake testing is a crucial process that is used to determine the seismic performance of a structure. The utilization of a physical testing method helps users better understand the complexity involved in earthquake forces. A shaker table is typically used to execute a physical method of testing. The results from earthquake testing are used to optimize the design and material properties of the unit under test.

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