Tips for Evaluating a Colour Label Printer

Are you thinking of printing your own labels in-house?   

 

Before spending the time and money to purchase your colour label printer take a quick read of the White Paper written by our supplier QuickLabel Systems titled

"7 Tips for Evaluating a Colour Label Printer".

These 7 Tips will help you to evaluate any colour label printer in the market.  Click either the picture or Link to White Paper Here to download your copy.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at

Metromatics +61 7 3868 4255 / sales@metromatics.com.au

How to Cable test using the Huntron Tracker Model 30 & Scanner

This was an informative application on how to go about testing terminated & un-terminated  cables using the Huntron Instruments Tracker Model 30 & Scanner

The Huntron Tracker Model 30 and Scanner is an effective cable testing system as the testing technique can effectively find construction issues with cables.  It also has the unique ability to test a cable single ended which is a blessing if they are attached to electronic equipment situated a large distance away.  Comparative testing solutions require connection to both ends of the cable.  It can test terminated cables and un-terminated cables

The Testing Technique

The Huntron Tracker Model 30 with Scanner uses the Huntron Workstation software for test development and execution.  The pins of the Scanner are used to route the Tracker Model 30 signal to each of the pins of the cable.  The Tracker Model 30 signal consists of a current limited sine wave that is applied across all devices.  The Tracker Model 30 monitors change made to the sine wave by the device.  The source and result sine waves are used to create voltage versus current waveforms called analogue signatures.  Analogue signatures are stored for each cable pin on a good cable.  These signatures are compared to signatures from pins on suspect cables.

Terminated Cables
The Huntron cable testing combination can test cables with electronic components at the other end of the cable.  The components can be shorts, resistance, lights, non powered circuit cards etc.

Examples of terminated cables include

• Cable harnesses in a vehicle with a sensor/lights at the other end
• Adaptor cables with electronics
• Cables with terminating resistors

When testing terminated cables, the non terminated end of the cable is connected to the tester.  The tester compares the signatures of the pins of the cable to a known good sample.  It may be necessary to make common connections to the UUT on the other end of the cable.

Un-Terminated Cables
The Huntron cable testing combination can compare cables when both ends of the cable are available at the tester.  If only one end of the cable is available at the tester testing is limited to pin to pin shorts.

Examples of un-terminated cable:

• Computer Cables
• Wiring Harnesses

When testing un-terminated cables and both ends are available, it is necessary to add bussed terminating resistors to each pin at the other end of the cables.  The bussed node of the terminating  resistors is connected to Common on the tracker Model 30.  A typical value for the bussed terminating resistors is 50 ohm.  Other values may be used on the construction of the cable and types of failures expected.  Varying the resistance value from pin to pin allows check for miss-wired cables.  LED's can be connected between the cable and the terminating resistors.  Combined with selecting the correct test range, this allows for visual verification of continuity of each wire in the cable.  Shorting all the pins of the other end of the cable can allow for seeing variations in the cables wires down to 1 ohm or lower.

Logging Safety - Wheeled Forestry Harvester Application

This was an interesting application article released by our supplier Acromag on one of the most dangerous occupations - Logging - and how with the use of the Acromag's I/O Server Industrial PC they are increasing the safety of the Loggers and protecting the expensive equipment used in this challenging environment.

The I/O Server is mounted externally to a lumber harvester in an enclosure that is subjected to extended summer and winter temperatures. A variety of sensors are connected to the I/O Server which processes the data to ensure safe operation. USB ports support WiFi and GPS devices that enable a supervisor to remotely monitor and update the industrial PC’s data from a laptop and track the vehicle’s location. Power is sourced from the vehicle’s 24V utility supply.

Inside the I/O Server, three I/O modules collect data from numerous proximity sensors, quadrature position sensors, and strain gage sensors. If unsafe conditions exist, movement is restricted and alerts are sent to the vehicle operator.

An IOS-440 digital input module monitors ten ultrasound proximity sensors that are tuned to a fixed distance from the heavy equipment. These sensors surround the vehicle to detect external workers and other obstacles. A remote supervisor laptop can use WiFi communication to download data and upload field boundaries periodically.

To monitor the harvester's two booms an IOS-484 counter/timer module reads data from the position sensors and applies quadrature decoding.  In a forest, the booms have a dynamically changing range of motion and it is important to know when an obstacle is encountered.  Using the I/O module's countdown timer, the I/O Server checks if a boom is rotated but the stop position is not reached in a preset time limit.  The rotation is stopped and an error message is sent to the operator console.

Wheel-weight strain gage sensors are used to detect if a tip-over condition exists.  The sensor outputs are coupled to an IOS-330 A/D Converter module to measure individual wheel weight, calculate the vehicle centre of gravity, and warn if the tip-over threshold is approached

Wheeled Forestry Harvester Application

Commercial WiFi dongles and GPS antennae/receivers are used to keep system costs down and to take advantage of the manufacturer provided software drivers.  Two high retention USB ports help keep the devices securely in place.

I/O Server Configuration

I/O Port	Description
USB 1	GPS (field location)
USB 2	Wifi (data download)
IOS-482	Quadrature (log handler boom position x 2)
IOS-440	Proximity and discrete sensors (sa fety and system check x 20)
IOS-330	Strain gage sensors (wheel loading)
CompactFlash	Windows Embedded Operating System

Acromag's I/O Server provides an ideal solution for this heavy equipment monitoring and control application. By combining an industrial PC with integrated I/O modules, the I/O Server is compact, rugged and highly flexible. The modular I/O enable users to easily mix and match functions to meet their signal processing needs and quickly adapt to changing requirements.

Advanced thermal management techniques ensure reliable operation across a wide temperature spectrum. Shock and vibration resistance withstands the constant pounding as the vehicle moves across the rocky terrain. Most importantly, the fanless design has no moving parts and prevents debris from entering the unit to provide the long-term dependability so critical for such a remote operation.

 

For further information regarding this application, please contact Metromatics

 
                                


 

Kiaro! ink jet label printer - another happy customer

 

 

 

This was a recent blog from our supplier Quicklabel Systems who clearly described the great success one of their customer's Doc's Tea has had printing their own labels with the Kiaro! Inkjet label printer.

 

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Doc’s Tea is a handcrafted, small-batch beverage brewed by a family of dental health professionals dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. Recently, Dr. Ken Banks, owner of Doc’s Teas, began printing his own labels with the Kiaro! inkjet label printer in order to increase productivity, reduce cost, and dramatically improve label quality on all of their products.

“When I first saw the Kiaro! print I was amazed,” said Dr. Ken Banks, “I was impressed with the application process of the labels with our bottles and the look of the labels.”

We travelled to the home of Doc’s Tea, Inwood, West Virginia, to document how the maker of healthy, low-sugar, bottled sweet teas has increased their production speed, reduced their costs, and enhanced the look of their labels by using a Kiaro! label printer to print their own labels.

“We make our product on demand so that we can deliver a fresh product, not one that’s brewed, bottled and then stored,” said Dr. Ken Banks. Because Doc’s Tea doesn’t allow their teas to sit on shelves, they needed a solution that allowed them to print labels instantly, which eliminated the waiting time and inventory difficulties that come with ordering outside labels.

“The Kiaro! label printer fits in so well for us because it is allowing us to do small batches, to have high quality labels, not to have a large inventory,” says Dr. Ken Banks, “it allows us to brew on demand and to print on demand.”

See for yourself! 

Doc’s Tea, and countless others, have found that printing labels on-demand and in house just makes sense. Schedule a demonstration of a Kiaro! label printer with Metromatics, who will bring a Kiaro! to your facility, and show you what an in-house label printer can bring to your business.

Contact Metromatics now.
07 3868 4255

Managing Power Plant Energy Usage with Ethernet I/O

Our supplier Acromag was recently approached by a University who had a power plant that produced both electricity and steam for campus facilities and they wanted to monitor the energy of the facility.  The chilled water and steam condensate needed to be monitored and recorded in order to totalise the pulsed outputs from magnetic, positive displacement and vortex flowmeters.  The volumetric flow rate along with liquid heat lost during the steam to heat transfer process was used to determine steam costs for managing energy used in the facility.

The University required

-          Uncomplicated, reliable installation that could be duplicated across the campus

-          Communication with current data historian software, InStep eDNA, via Modbus TCP/IP over the campus Ethernet network

The solution that Acromag devised was the MODBUS TCP/IP Discrete I/O 989EN-4016 Pulsed Outputs.

Implementing the Solution:

1. Set up 989EN-4016 discrete I/O modules to receive pulsed output signals from the flowmeters.

2. Configure 1-3 discrete input channels on the 989EN modules to be counters that totalise the input pulses.

3. The InStep software was set so that it periodically read the totalised pulse count value of each input on the I/O modules using Modbus TCP/IP communication and recorded the amount of energy used over time.

Featured Products: 

BusWorks Discrete I/O 989EN-4016

Notes:

989EN-4016 modules have 16 discrete I/O where each channel can be an input or an output. Optionally, this model allows the first 8 channels to be used as non-volatile pulse counters with the remaining 8 channels available as local output alarms for input counters.

Why Acromag:

The 989EN-4016 modules offered an affordable, reliable solution with industrial-grade housing suited for harsh environments. Quick and simple installation allowed for easy setup throughout campus. Most importantly, the campus kept their software setup unchanged as communication with the data historian software was easily achieved.