Project Portfolio Spotlight: The Cam Phaser Functional Test

Objective:

A Cam Phaser is a device for active rotational indexing of crank to cam in an automotive engine. Just-in-time delivery of up to 12,000 cam phasers per day from 6 functional test bays mandated a fast and reliable functional test system. Machine builder Comau Inc. selected Signal.X to create the software that would automate each test bay. Within each bay, twin test heads are driven by independent NI cRIO controllers. Each will operate six closed loop motion elements, capture and retain waveform data, compute metrics for Pass/Fail determination, synchronize the test sequence, and with Signal.X Trove, provide 100% archival, retrieval and reporting.

Key Functional Elements:

• Each test head is capable of independent and asynchronous operation
• Signal.X PAX Technology facilitates a distributed architecture between twin NI CompactRIO controllers and a PC host application
• Up to 2000 parts/day per station, running 24/7
• High-speed data acquisition and complex analysis online for pass/fail criteria
• Configurable test sequence, limit processing and discrete logic
• Signal.X Trove to archive, query and report data from all stands

To learn about other Signal.X projects, click here. If you have any questions about this or any other of our projects, or would like to learn how our projects’ applications can be customized to your needs, please contact us.