In the natural gas pipeline industry, testing compressor efficiency is essential. With the data collected from this testing, engineers can determine how engines at various sites need to be adjusted to maximize efficiency.
When developing automated test equipment (ATE), there is a lot to think about. Not only do you need to develop a system that has the required test functionality, but you need to protect your investment by ensuring your system is designed for longevity and is highly reliable. No one wants to spend precious capital and time on a system that does not give you the results you were expecting or does not last more than a couple of years.
When it comes to high-channel-count systems, configuration management needs to be approached at a high level across the whole architecture of the system. The need for a user-friendly and organized configuration management interface is just as important as developing the software to run the tests and view results.
Often, the act of performing a measurement on a signal can alter the signal. For example, your measurement instrument could cause extra current to flow between the device under test (DUT) and measurement tool, resulting in a signal that is slightly different than the original output.
When it comes to high-channel-count test systems, maintaining the system and data collected can be extremely difficult if you do not have the right tools to simplify and manage the process. Organizations often try to cut corners because it can take just as much time and resources to develop the right management tools as it takes to develop the actual test applications.
