Mouse Click Image for FAQ's
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| Q. What happens if I short the black and red leads on a sensor cable with alligator clips? | ||||||||||
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A. The 0.315 A panel mounted fuse will blow and need to be replaced. The power supply is also fused. |
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| Q. Can the coil current in the stepper be controlled? | ||||||||||
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A. Yes. The procedure for adjusting the coil current is in the instruction manual. |
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| Q. Why control the coil current? | ||||||||||
| A. Running a stepper at less than maximum current can be helpful in testing for maximum sensor torque requirements and sticky or misaligned sensor bearings. The standard stepper motor shipped has a Bipolar Maximum Current of 0.4A, however, the stepper controller can provide up to 2.5A Bipolar Maximum Current if a stepper with greater torque is needed for an application. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Is The Holding Torque For The Standard cirQED® Stepper Motor? | ||||||||||
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A. Approximately 5 oz-inch. |
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| Q. What's The Torque Constant For the Standard cirQED® Stepper Motor? | ||||||||||
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A. Approximately 13 oz-inch/Amp. |
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| Q. How do I change the microstepping setting? | ||||||||||
| A. Jumpers on the stepper controller allow setting selections from 400 to 3200 steps per revolution. The procedure is covered in the instruction manual. The enclosure cover must be removed to access the jumpers. The setting selected is entered on the Configure Test Parameters Screen. | ||||||||||
| Q. What If I Enter The Wrong Steps Setting On The Configure Test Parameters Screen? | ||||||||||
| A. Characteristics calculated will be in error, and this should normally be avoided. However, allowing other step settings to be entered on the configure test parameters screen offers advantages. Entering a smaller setting will result in sensor rotations of less than one full revolution. Entering a bigger setting will result in recording sensor outputs for multiple revolutions. | ||||||||||
| Q. Is the Heat Shield Really Necessary, the stepper doesn't seem to get very hot? | ||||||||||
| A. The surface temperature of the Standard stepper motor at a Bipolar current of 0.4 A per winding can reach 49-52 degrees C.(~120-125 degrees F), which feels hot. We recommend that you keep the shield installed during normal operation. | ||||||||||
| Q.Can the Sensor-Stepper Assembly Be Separated From The Enclosure? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, however, custom cables between the stepper and controller and a custom sensor cable would be needed for that kind of application. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are Sensor Clamps Available In Metric Sizes? | ||||||||||
| A. They can be provided in many other sizes, Metric or English. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are Other Types of Sensor Clamps Available? | ||||||||||
| A. Inserts for existing clamps and custom clamps can be selected or requested for a particular application. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are Other Types of Sensor Cables or Terminating Connectors Available? | ||||||||||
| A. Custom Cables can be requested for a particular application. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Are The Standard Sizes Available For Shaft Couplers? | ||||||||||
| A. 5 mm Dia. - 1/8" Dia., 5 mm Dia. - 3/16" Dia., and 5 mm Dia. - 1/4" Dia. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are Other Sizes Available For Shaft Couplers? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. Many other sizes are available. | ||||||||||
| Q. How Does One Know That The Instrument Is Powered On and Ready To Be Run From A PC? | ||||||||||
| A. A lighted Power Switch indicates a power on state. A lighted LED above the panel mounted USB connector indicates the Ready State. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Operating Systems Will cirQED® Software Run Under? | ||||||||||
| A. Windows 2000 and Windows XP. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Version of Microsoft Excel Is Needed? | ||||||||||
| A. Excel 2000 or later version. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Version of USB Is Needed and How Many Ports? | ||||||||||
| A. USB 2.0 and Two Free Ports or a Two Port USB Hub connected to one free USB port. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where Can I Find Engineering Specification For This Instrument? | ||||||||||
| A. On our website: www.thirdpartyresearch.com | ||||||||||
| Q. How Is The cirQED® COM Add-In DLL, Menu, And Other Program Features Installed Under Excel? | ||||||||||
| A. Automatically, via an Install Program on CD. | ||||||||||
| Q. Is There An Uninstall for cirQED® Program? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. The Program Uninstalls under Windows Add and Remove Programs. The computer system is returned to its previous state. | ||||||||||
| Q. How Are Program Upgrades Obtained? | ||||||||||
| A. Program upgrade executables are either mailed to clients, emailed to clients, or downloaded from our website. An upgrade is installed by running the executable on the client's computer. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are The Workbooks Created For cirQED® Data Ordinary Excel Files? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, and they have xls extensions. The Workbooks are created for convenience, and clarify of information. Experimental Parameters and Data are conveniently stored in columns in fixed format, on a sheet labeled RAWDATA. Charts of Sensor Output (in volts or millivolts) versus Shaft Angular Displacment (in Steps or Degrees) have tab ID's which uniquely link them with a column of Data . Processed data is organized, displayed, and stored on the PROCESSED DATA sheet. | ||||||||||
| Q. Can I Change Displacement Units From Degrees To Steps On The Same Worksheet? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. Each time a change is made, a new Descriptive Column Label is created. This is done in part for clarity and is required when a user opts to create a chart for each measurement. | ||||||||||
| Q. Which Drop Down Menu Item Is Selected To Make Changes in Output Units and/or Displacement Units? | ||||||||||
| A. Configure Test Parameters. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Experimental Controls/Settings Can Be Accessed For Each cirQED®Menu Window? | ||||||||||
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| Q. Do The Configuration Changes I Make Take Place Immediately? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, if you press the OKAY (to change) or APPLY (change) buttons. If you do not press those buttons, no changes in configuration are recorded. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where Is Important cirQED® software operating information stored in the PC? | ||||||||||
| A. Information is stored in the c:\Programs\cirQED®\ directory, and in the registry. | ||||||||||
| Q. Is that cirQED® program information completely removed during an uninstall? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, a PC is restored to its original state. | ||||||||||
| Q. Can I Just Collect Representative Sensor Data? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. Choose "No Data Processing" in the DataProcess box. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are All Microsoft Excel Functions Accessible With cirQED® ? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. cirQED® Collects data directly in Excel and a user can employ all of its features. | ||||||||||
| Q. What's the range of Frequency Components that cirQED® version 2.0 can determine by FFT analysis? | ||||||||||
| A. The measurement range is ~1/120 Hz (0.5 RPM) to 12,500 Hz (750,000 RPM). | ||||||||||
| Q. What are the cirQED® version 2.0 options for doing FFT analysis? | ||||||||||
| A. FFT can be done automatically (checkbox for AutoFFT) or manually (menu option for Manual FFT). | ||||||||||
| Q. Why must the total number of FFT samples selected (FNUM) be a base two number (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096)? | ||||||||||
| A. cirQED® applies Excel's Analysis ToolPak Addin FFT Function, which sets that requirement. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where can I find more application information about discrete FFT (or DFT)? | ||||||||||
| A. Look on the Internet or in the Techniques section of this website. |
| Q. How Long Is The Cable Between The Enclosure and Computer?. | ||||||||
| A. Standard Length=6 feet. | ||||||||
| Q. Can That Cable Length Be Extended? | ||||||||
| A. Yes,it is possible to extend it to10 feet or more. | ||||||||
| Q. How Long Is The Cable Between the Rotary Sensor and the Enclosure? | ||||||||
| A. Standard Length = 36 inches. | ||||||||
| Q. Can That Cable Length Be Extended? | ||||||||
| A. Yes, it is possible to extend the cable to 10 feet or more?. | ||||||||
| Q. What Is Used To Align The Mounting Plate? | ||||||||
| A. A target bubble level works well and is provided. | ||||||||
| Q. What Needs To Be Changed To Switch Between Vertical and Horizontal Impact Operating Modes? | ||||||||
| A. Two things: The position of the Mounting Plate Support Arm the Impact Type must be changed. Consult the Manual for more details. | ||||||||
| Q. What's The Test Tape Use For? | ||||||||
| A. The test tape is used to check the IDRA® 3.0 System performance. | ||||||||
| Q. Can Other Ballistic Hammers Be Used? | ||||||||
| A. Yes. If one is only interested in parameters which are determined from angular displacements as a function of time, then it is not necessary to determine hammer characteristics. If impact forces, deformations, and STIFFNESS values are of interest, the hammer is then treated as a compound pendulum and certain physical properties determined for it (e.g. it's mass, center of gravity distance, and contact tip distance). The hammer characteristics are entered into the program and used to calculate accurate estimates of impact forces, material deformations on impact, and subsequently the calculation of STIFFNESS values. | ||||||||
| Q. Is The Internal A/D Interface on A PC Card? | ||||||||
| A. No, A/D and digital I/O are on a USB interface. | ||||||||
| Q. What Does the A/D Interface Do? | ||||||||
| A. It does accurate 12 bit A/D Conversions on the analog outputs of the rotary transducer. | ||||||||
| Q. Does IDRA® Version 3.0 Have A PC Card like IDRA® Version 2.0 ? | ||||||||
| A. No. Version 3.0. uses USB technology for that function. | ||||||||
| Q. What Advantages Are Offered With USB Technology? | ||||||||
| A. Significantly Lower cost for equivalent function and much less restrictive cabling. | ||||||||
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Q. Why Do RVDT Transducer Systems Cost Much More Than Angular HallPots®'s? |
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| A. The RVDT transducers require a very expensive External Ampifier. | ||||||||
| Q. How Does Performance In Ballistometry With The Two Types of Transducers Generally Compare? | ||||||||
| A. Our in-house studies generally show equivalent performance of IDRA® Ballistometers with RVDT's and Custom HallPot® transducers on performance test materials, when differences in bearing friction and lubricant viscosity are minimized. The Downloads section of this website includes Excel files showing data collected in a study using each sensor type on the same human subject. In this particular study, differences in performance, i.e., fewer total peaks observed for the HallPot® sensor were attributed to greater bearing friction. | ||||||||
| Q. What Is The Contact Angle and Why Is It Important? | ||||||||
| A. IDRA® actually records the angle at which a test surface is positioned for hammer contact, just prior to arming and hammer release, i.e., the Contact Angle. The ballistic response at steadystate then provides a simple test of surface movement.and if unacceptable a warning is issued to discard the results and repeat the measurement. Allowing the ballistic Contact Angle to vary somewhat from measurement to measurement expedites data collection. Diagnostic parameters are actually calculated with reference to the final steady-state baseline value. | ||||||||
| Q. How Fast Can The 12 bit Analogs of Angular Displacement Be Recorded, How Long Can Data Be Acquired, and How Many Measurement Runs Can Be Done For Each Excel Sheet? | ||||||||
| A. The maximum possible data collection rate for IDRA® 3.0 is 50,000 sps. An adequate speed and record time for measurements on skin are generally 5,000 sps and 1.5 seconds. The product of the Sampling Rate (12 bit Analog samples per sec) times the Collection Time(sec) Can't Exceed the maximum number of rows permitted in an Excel worksheet: 65,000 for Excel versions prior to 2007, or 1,048,576 for Excel version 2007....IDRA® Program traps any user errors in setting these parameters. For each data acquisition run, the angular displacement with time is recorded and stored in a single Excel column on the RawData Worksheet....processed data is stored the ProcessedData Worksheet. The maximum run time is determined by the maximum rows in an Excel Worksheet. Since columns B through IV (256 columns) make up of an Excel workbook for versions prior to 2007, a maximum of 256 measurement runs can be stored in a single Excel worksheet under Excel versions prior to 2007. Microsoft Excel 2007 worksheets have 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, so, Excel 2007 permits data collection times per run 16 times longer and extends the maximum number of data acquisition runs for an Excel workbook 64 times more than is permitted with earlier Excel versions. | ||||||||
| Q. What Experimental Controls/Settings Can Be Accessed For Each IDRA Menu Window? | ||||||||
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| Q. Do The Configuration Changes I Make Take Place Immediately? | ||||||||
| A. Yes, if you press the OKAY (to change) or APPLY CHANGES buttons. If you do not press those buttons, no changes in configuration are recorded. | ||||||||
| Q. Where Is Important IDRA® 3.0 software operating information stored in the PC? | ||||||||
| A. In c:\program files\idra, c:program files\idra\Idra_par, c:program files\dira\Idrahelpmenu, and system directories. | ||||||||
| Q. What Operating Systems Will IDRA® 3.0 Software Run Under? | ||||||||
| A. Version 3.0 will run under Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 | ||||||||
| Q. What Version of Microsoft Excel Is Needed? | ||||||||
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A. Microsoft Excel 2000 or later version. |
| Q. What standard shapes for the pressure bladders are available with a tparty8 system? | ||||||||||
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A. Pressure bladders can be custom-made in a variety of shapes, however, the standard shape is essentially a "flattened" cylinder. |
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| Q. What standard sizes of the pressure bladders are available from Third-Party Research & Development? | ||||||||||
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A. Two standard sizes of bladders are available (0.5 inch dia x ~0.125 inch thick) and (0.75 " dia. x ~0.125" thick). Customers must specify the bladder size(s) when ordering a system. |
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| Q. What is the bladder material? | ||||||||||
| A. Neoprene rubber. | ||||||||||
| Q. Does Neoprene sometimes cause allergic reactions on skin, like Latex? | ||||||||||
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A. Neoprene is generally considered to be a skin-safe material and is often found with many products that come in direct contact with human skin , e.g., medical braces, protective gloves, elastic fabrics, colostomy bags, and wetsuits. However, it is possible for a person to be allergic to neoprene and experience a form of contact dermatitis, although, signs reportedly appear when Neoprene rubber is in intimate contact with the skin (e.g. as bandages) over relatively long periods of time. If any signs of an allergic reaction are observed while using the Neoprene bladders, stop use and consult a physician. 3M Medical Tape can be used as an interface between the skin and bladder to eliminate direct contact, if required. |
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| Q. What's the purpose of the rubber stem on a bladder? | ||||||||||
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A. The stem allows connection of transmission tubing to the bladder and also serves as a place for tape attachment with measurements on human skin.. |
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| Q. What does the transmission tubing do? | ||||||||||
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A. It transmits the pressure from a bladder to a solid-state pressure sensor located in the instrument enclosure. |
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| Q. What is the transmission tubing material and is it skin-safe? | ||||||||||
| A. Small diameter Medical grade Tygon® tubing. Tygon® Microbore tubing is skin-safe material that is non-toxic, non-pyrogenic and biocompatible. | ||||||||||
| Q. What is the standard length for transmission tubing? | ||||||||||
| A. The standard length is 30 inches. | ||||||||||
| Q. There is no pressure relief valve, so, how is the initial bladder pressure adjusted or zero'd in a bladder system? | ||||||||||
| A. The initial pressure in a bladder system is generally adjusted by pinching the end of the transmission tubing slightly before pushing it onto the stem of a solid-state sensor...the recommended initial pressure for an installed bladder sensor is +1-5 mmHg, although readings are corrected for any initial pressure. Pressing the ZERO THE BLADDERS button on the Collect Data window records & subtracts the initial bladder pressure for each channel, providing corrections for subsequent pressure measurements. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are the pressure measurements temperature sensitive? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, the pressure in a bladder system increases about 1.0 mmHg per degree C. | ||||||||||
| Q. How can this temperature effect be reduced or eliminated? | ||||||||||
| A. Making measurements under isothermal conditions or zeroing the initial bladder pressure at the same temperature at which pressure measurements are carried out can virtually eliminate temperature effects. The bladder system is not temperature compensated, however, tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer permits zeroing the intial pressure in each bladder after they have reached the temperature of a test surface. Sufficient time must be allowed for the bladder systems to reach thermal equilibrium/steadystate prior to subjecting them to an external pressure. Look in the Techniques section of this website for more information. | ||||||||||
| Q. How are the bladders attached to skin for measurements with tight-fitting clothing (e.g. brassieres)? | ||||||||||
| A. With 3M micropore surgical tape (1" to 2" wide). The tape is positioned across a bladder stem and transmission tube...not directly over a bladder. | ||||||||||
| Q. How should the bladders be clearned and sanitized? | ||||||||||
| A. Antiseptic hand cleaners (e.g. Purell) that contain ethyl alcohol may be used to sanitize and clean the bladders and will not harm them. | ||||||||||
| Q. What ambient temperature is recommended for tparty8™ pressure studies with brassieres, nylons, or other tight-fitting clothing? | ||||||||||
| A. The Tygon® transmission tubing becomes less pliable (stiffens) at low temperatures. We recommend carrying out measurements at ambient temperatures above 60 degrees C. | ||||||||||
| Q.Can a tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer be connected directly to a PC USB 2.0 port? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, but it should not be connected directly to a PC!. The tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer receives power via the USB connection and needs to be connected to a powered hub...the hub is connected to and controlled by a PC. The Belkin F5U234 (rev 3) High Speed USB 4 port hub is a suitable choice for a powered hub.. | ||||||||||
| Q. How Does One Know That the tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer Is Powered On and Ready To Be Run? | ||||||||||
| A. An LED on the tparty8™ enclosure indicates a power on/ready state. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Operating Systems Will tparty8™ Software Run Under? | ||||||||||
| A. Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Version of Microsoft Excel Is Needed? | ||||||||||
| A. Excel 2000 or later version. tparty8™ autocharting feature runs fastest under Excel versions prior to 2007. Autocharting speed under Excel 2007 is acceptable if service pack 2 is installed (SP2). | ||||||||||
| Q. Do Microsoft Updates Affect tparty8™ Performance? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. It is strongly recommended that all current Microsoft Products Updates (for Office and the Operating System) be installed, before installing and running tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where Can I Find Engineering Specifications For This Instrument? | ||||||||||
| A. On our website: www.thirdpartyresearch.com. Look under the PRODUCTS tab. | ||||||||||
| Q. How Is The tparty8™ COM Add-In DLL, Menu, And Other Program Features Installed Under Excel? | ||||||||||
| A. Automatically, via an Install Program on CD. | ||||||||||
| Q. Is There An Uninstall for tparty8™ Program? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. The Program Uninstalls under Windows Add and Remove Programs. The computer system is returned to its previous state. | ||||||||||
| Q. How Are Program Upgrades Obtained? | ||||||||||
| A. Program upgrade executables are either mailed to clients, emailed to clients, or downloaded from our website. An upgrade is installed by running the executable on the client's computer. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are The Workbooks Created For tparty8™ Data Ordinary Excel Files? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, and they have xls or xlsx extensions. The Workbooks are created for convenience, and to clarify recorded and processed information. Experimental Parameters and Data are conveniently stored in columns in fixed format, on a sheet labeled RAWDATA. Charts of Sensor Output (in volts, mmHg, or psig) versus Time (in seconds) have tab ID's which uniquely link them with a column of Data . Processed data is organized, displayed, and stored on the PROCESSED DATA sheet. Manual FFT processing is done on the FFT sheet. | ||||||||||
| Q. Can I Change Experiment Times On The Same Worksheet? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. Each time a change is made, a new Descriptive Column Label is created. This is done in part for clarity and is required when a user opts to create a chart for each measurement. | ||||||||||
| Q. Which Drop Down Menu Item Is Selected To Make Changes in Sensor Output Units? | ||||||||||
| A. Configure Test Parameters. | ||||||||||
| Q. What Experimental Controls/Settings Can Be Accessed For Each tparty8™ Menu Window? | ||||||||||
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| Q. Do The Configuration Changes I Make Take Place Immediately? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, if you press the OKAY (to change) or APPLY (change) buttons. If you do not press those buttons, no changes in configuration are recorded. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where Is Important tparty8™ software operating information stored in the PC? | ||||||||||
| A. Information is stored in the c:\Program Files\tparty\ directory, and in the registry. | ||||||||||
| Q. Is that tparty8™ program information completely removed during an uninstall? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, a PC is restored to its original state. | ||||||||||
| Q. Can I Just Collect Representative Pressure Data? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes, Graphing and FFT processing are Optional. However, some statistical processing is automatically done on RawData and appears on the ProcessedData sheet. | ||||||||||
| Q. Are All Microsoft Excel Functions Accessible With the tparty8™ Pressure Analyzer? | ||||||||||
| A. Yes. tparty8™ Collects data directly in Excel and a user can employ all of its powerful math functions and other features. | ||||||||||
| Q. What's the range of Frequency Components that tparty8™ version 2.0 can determine by FFT analysis? | ||||||||||
| A. The measurement range is very wide: less than 1 Hz to about 3200 Hz. | ||||||||||
| Q. What are the tparty8™ version 2.0 options for doing FFT analysis? | ||||||||||
| A. FFT can be done manually on one or all of the selected channels of raw data....one channel at a time. | ||||||||||
| Q. Why must the total number of FFT samples selected (FNUM) be a base two number (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096)? | ||||||||||
| A. tparty8™ applies Excel's Analysis ToolPak Addin FFT Function, which sets that requirement. | ||||||||||
| Q. Where can I find more application information about discrete FFT (or DFT)? | ||||||||||
| A. Look on the Internet or in the Techniques section of this website. |