Is a USB to GPIB dongle/convertor a difficult project ?

[Michael A. Terrell]

Joerg wrote:

This one was actually realtime. Stopping the cold-rolled steel line was
not an option, ever. The contract specified that it be run as usual.
Then they had to detect flaws in the material while it was passing
through. My father said the real challenge was the data acquisition
because there would be the occasional splat of grease falling off the
gears of overhead cranes and right onto the steel.

Still, no parallel interface at that time could have run the length
of a steel mill with any speed.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[JosephKK]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Joerg wrote:
Hmm, my father computerized the first lab and production line (cold
rolled steel factory) in the early 60's, more than 10 years before GPIB
made it into the labs. Don't know what they used for connections,
probably some kind of TTY bus. And all he had was 2K of RAM which was
considered huge in those days.


Real time for that system, was probably on the order of several
seconds. Armco Steel, in Middletown Ohio, built a computerized hot
strip mill at that same time, using a huge 5 MB hard drive (40 inch
platter?) with a 5 HP three phase motor. (I ended up with the three
phase breaker box, with the ENGRAVED warning plate "DO NOT ENGAGE DISK
DRIVE FOR FIVE FULL MINUTES").

Serial communications HAD to be used, because the mill was over a
mile long. The computer system was replaced in the mid '80s when they
had purchased the last remaining Westinghouse hard drive in the world,
and no one was rebuilding them.

With that big motor it may well have been drum instead of disk. The
largest disks that i have heard of were 24 inches. Doesn't mean that
there weren't larger.

 

[Joerg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Joerg wrote:
This one was actually realtime. Stopping the cold-rolled steel line was
not an option, ever. The contract specified that it be run as usual.
Then they had to detect flaws in the material while it was passing
through. My father said the real challenge was the data acquisition
because there would be the occasional splat of grease falling off the
gears of overhead cranes and right onto the steel.


Still, no parallel interface at that time could have run the length
of a steel mill with any speed.

True. I just wanted to say that they did it serially and it worked.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

JosephKK wrote:

With that big motor it may well have been drum instead of disk. The
largest disks that i have heard of were 24 inches. Doesn't mean that
there weren't larger.

There were drums with that capacity, but this was a custom designed
disk drive built by Westinghouse and sold to a couple dozen heavy
industry customers, worldwide. A friend of mine was an ET at that mill
and helped dismantle it, after it was decommissioned. One of the biggest
problems was the horrible seek times. They got the new computer system
on line. just in time, because the disk crashed during the changeover.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Robert Lacoste]

"sciembrace" <sciembrace@gmail.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
bde69cce57dd0b2bd8220c8624ce6894@localhost.talkaboutelectronicequipment.com...

Probably it is not a difficult project- but, I don't think one can make
one
that easily- NI has probably patented all of its hardware. But, then, I
don't know how prologix is able to make it.

Hi all,

Just for your information we have just developped and commercialized a new
low cost USB/GPIB interface, nicknamed smart488 (well, more information at
http://www.alciom.com/en/smart488.htm, but my goal here is not to promote it
but to answer to the OP...). On the hardware side such a project is not that
difficult. We haven't used a FTDI chip plus a microcontroller as Prologix
did, but a single USB-enabled microcontroller (a Microchip 18F4550), which
allows us to build a more compact device and to simplify advanced firmware
features like firmware download through USB and no driver required on the PC
side. However the firmware side for such a project is far more complex. GPIB
basics are quite easy to understand as long as you buy the IEEE488 specs,
but making such an interface compatible with a significant number of GPIB
equipments is not that easy. If you develop such a product yourself take
care of the EOI subtilities in particular...

Friendly yours,
Robert
www.alciom.com

 

[Robert Lacoste]

"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> a écrit dans le message de
news: nbmSj.13931$2g1.11917@nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com...

Hi Joerg,

Just for your information we have just developped and commercialized a
new low cost USB/GPIB interface, nicknamed smart488 (well, more
information at http://www.alciom.com/en/smart488.htm, but my goal here is
not to promote it but to answer to the OP...). On the hardware side such
a project is not that difficult. We haven't used a FTDI chip plus a
microcontroller as Prologix did, but a single USB-enabled microcontroller
(a Microchip 18F4550), which allows us to build a more compact device and
to simplify advanced firmware features like firmware download through USB
and no driver required on the PC side. However the firmware side for such
a project is far more complex. GPIB basics are quite easy to understand
as long as you buy the IEEE488 specs, but making such an interface
compatible with a significant number of GPIB equipments is not that easy.
If you develop such a product yourself take care of the EOI subtilities
in particular...


No pun intended, Robert, but the Prologix over here seems to be cheaper
than the the price your French distributor charges:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=549
versus
http://www.lextronic.fr/P3171-cordon-dinterface-usb--gpib.html

But I guess that's because the USD/Euro exchange rate has pretty much
flipped around within a couple years.

Yes, we hope that the US$ will be higher soon... and I think we are not
alone to have the same hope over the world ;+). A 60% increase of the $US to
Eur exchange rate in a couple of years is not really understandable, at
least by an engineer !

Is there a chance your adapter will be marketed in the US anytime soon?

As soon as a distributor will ring us ;;+).

For future versions you might want to consider a separate USB cable like
on the Prologix. The main reason is that large analyzers must often be
pushed close to the wall because of their depth. That requires a USB
connector so you can insert one of those right angle adapters and then the
USB cable. Otherwise there is a chance the USB cable will be bent at too
sharp a radius or even hit the wall.

We hesitated twice between the option of a fixed USB cable and the use of a
standard type-B USB connector. We finally decided that the fixed cable
option was better just because it is more reliable. You're right, cable may
be deteriorated, but we didn't want to have the risk of disconnected type-B
connectors behind a pile of a dozen heavy equipments... Moreover the built
in cable allowed us to have drastically better EMC results...

Cheers,
Robert

 

[Robert Lacoste]

"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> a écrit dans le message de
news: nbmSj.13931$2g1.11917@nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com...

Hi Joerg,

Just for your information we have just developped and commercialized a
new low cost USB/GPIB interface, nicknamed smart488 (well, more
information at http://www.alciom.com/en/smart488.htm, but my goal here is
not to promote it but to answer to the OP...). On the hardware side such
a project is not that difficult. We haven't used a FTDI chip plus a
microcontroller as Prologix did, but a single USB-enabled microcontroller
(a Microchip 18F4550), which allows us to build a more compact device and
to simplify advanced firmware features like firmware download through USB
and no driver required on the PC side. However the firmware side for such
a project is far more complex. GPIB basics are quite easy to understand
as long as you buy the IEEE488 specs, but making such an interface
compatible with a significant number of GPIB equipments is not that easy.
If you develop such a product yourself take care of the EOI subtilities
in particular...


No pun intended, Robert, but the Prologix over here seems to be cheaper
than the the price your French distributor charges:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=549
versus
http://www.lextronic.fr/P3171-cordon-dinterface-usb--gpib.html

But I guess that's because the USD/Euro exchange rate has pretty much
flipped around within a couple years.

Yes, we hope that the US$ will be higher soon... and I think we are not
alone to have the same hope over the world ;+). A 60% increase of the $US to
Eur exchange rate in a couple of years is not really understandable, at
least by an engineer !

Is there a chance your adapter will be marketed in the US anytime soon?

As soon as a distributor will ring us ;;+).

For future versions you might want to consider a separate USB cable like
on the Prologix. The main reason is that large analyzers must often be
pushed close to the wall because of their depth. That requires a USB
connector so you can insert one of those right angle adapters and then the
USB cable. Otherwise there is a chance the USB cable will be bent at too
sharp a radius or even hit the wall.

We hesitated twice between the option of a fixed USB cable and the use of a
standard type-B USB connector. We finally decided that the fixed cable
option was better just because it is more reliable. You're right, cable may
be deteriorated, but we didn't want to have the risk of disconnected type-B
connectors behind a pile of a dozen heavy equipments... Moreover the built
in cable allowed us to have drastically better EMC results...

Cheers,
Robert

 

[sciembrace]

Probably it is not a difficult project- but, I don't think one can make one
that easily- NI has probably patented all of its hardware. But, then, I
don't know how prologix is able to make it.

--
Message posted using http://www.talkaboutelectronicequipment.com/group/sci.electronics.equipment/
More information at http://www.talkaboutelectronicequipment.com/faq.html

 

[Joerg]

Robert Lacoste wrote:

"sciembrace" <sciembrace@gmail.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
bde69cce57dd0b2bd8220c8624ce6894@localhost.talkaboutelectronicequipment.com...
Probably it is not a difficult project- but, I don't think one can make
one
that easily- NI has probably patented all of its hardware. But, then, I
don't know how prologix is able to make it.

Hi all,

Just for your information we have just developped and commercialized a new
low cost USB/GPIB interface, nicknamed smart488 (well, more information at
http://www.alciom.com/en/smart488.htm, but my goal here is not to promote it
but to answer to the OP...). On the hardware side such a project is not that
difficult. We haven't used a FTDI chip plus a microcontroller as Prologix
did, but a single USB-enabled microcontroller (a Microchip 18F4550), which
allows us to build a more compact device and to simplify advanced firmware
features like firmware download through USB and no driver required on the PC
side. However the firmware side for such a project is far more complex. GPIB
basics are quite easy to understand as long as you buy the IEEE488 specs,
but making such an interface compatible with a significant number of GPIB
equipments is not that easy. If you develop such a product yourself take
care of the EOI subtilities in particular...

No pun intended, Robert, but the Prologix over here seems to be cheaper
than the the price your French distributor charges:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=549
versus
http://www.lextronic.fr/P3171-cordon-dinterface-usb--gpib.html

But I guess that's because the USD/Euro exchange rate has pretty much
flipped around within a couple years. Is there a chance your adapter
will be marketed in the US anytime soon?

For future versions you might want to consider a separate USB cable like
on the Prologix. The main reason is that large analyzers must often be
pushed close to the wall because of their depth. That requires a USB
connector so you can insert one of those right angle adapters and then
the USB cable. Otherwise there is a chance the USB cable will be bent at
too sharp a radius or even hit the wall.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[Joerg]

Robert Lacoste wrote:

"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> a écrit dans le message de
news: nbmSj.13931$2g1.11917@nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com...

Hi Joerg,

Just for your information we have just developped and commercialized a
new low cost USB/GPIB interface, nicknamed smart488 (well, more
information at http://www.alciom.com/en/smart488.htm, but my goal here is
not to promote it but to answer to the OP...). On the hardware side such
a project is not that difficult. We haven't used a FTDI chip plus a
microcontroller as Prologix did, but a single USB-enabled microcontroller
(a Microchip 18F4550), which allows us to build a more compact device and
to simplify advanced firmware features like firmware download through USB
and no driver required on the PC side. However the firmware side for such
a project is far more complex. GPIB basics are quite easy to understand
as long as you buy the IEEE488 specs, but making such an interface
compatible with a significant number of GPIB equipments is not that easy.
If you develop such a product yourself take care of the EOI subtilities
in particular...

No pun intended, Robert, but the Prologix over here seems to be cheaper
than the the price your French distributor charges:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=549
versus
http://www.lextronic.fr/P3171-cordon-dinterface-usb--gpib.html

But I guess that's because the USD/Euro exchange rate has pretty much
flipped around within a couple years.

Yes, we hope that the US$ will be higher soon... and I think we are not
alone to have the same hope over the world ;+). A 60% increase of the $US to
Eur exchange rate in a couple of years is not really understandable, at
least by an engineer !

It is an over-reaction and might be turning around now but who knows.
It's even less understandable in view of inflation levels in Europe. I
thought they must be higher here but yesterday we had an article in the
morning paper about a French couple just outside of Paris. Even the
bread price had been raised three times already this year. Both working.
They had a combined annual net income of around 40000 Euros and lived
frugally but ran into overdraft on their bank account every month.

I still miss the cheese section of the Carrefour supermarket ...

Is there a chance your adapter will be marketed in the US anytime soon?

As soon as a distributor will ring us ;;+).

If they find it. HPIB isn't a hot bus anymore, you might have to ring
them instead of waiting. Or as one family here put it when their
daughter was considering not going to a certain party: Mr. Nice Guy
isn't going to come along on a white horse anymore these days. She found
Mr. Nice Guy on that party and they are getting married ;-)

For future versions you might want to consider a separate USB cable like
on the Prologix. The main reason is that large analyzers must often be
pushed close to the wall because of their depth. That requires a USB
connector so you can insert one of those right angle adapters and then the
USB cable. Otherwise there is a chance the USB cable will be bent at too
sharp a radius or even hit the wall.

We hesitated twice between the option of a fixed USB cable and the use of a
standard type-B USB connector. We finally decided that the fixed cable
option was better just because it is more reliable. You're right, cable may
be deteriorated, but we didn't want to have the risk of disconnected type-B
connectors behind a pile of a dozen heavy equipments... Moreover the built
in cable allowed us to have drastically better EMC results...

Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Joerg wrote:

Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.

Joerg, heavy test equipment should be on an equipment cart.

<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92862>
<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5770>
<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5107>

are some examples. Every bench at Microdyne had at least one cart. The
industrial carts they bought were just the right width for the HP
equipment, but we also used a couple pieces of 2" * 4" lumber and a
piece of plywood to use them with other equipment. A six to eight inch
gap at the front left room to store cables under the plywood. The only
time equipment had to be moved off a cart was when it went to the cal
lab. Even then, sometimes the whole cart was wheeled to the lab. If it
passed their tests, it was wheeled back. If not, that item was removed
from the stack and replaced with another piece of equipment from the
shelves of spare parts.

I use both the second and third in the list in my shop.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html


Use any search engine other than Google till they stop polluting USENET
with porn and junk commercial SPAM

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm

 

[Fred Bartoli]

Joerg a écrit :

I still miss the cheese section of the Carrefour supermarket ...

Uhhh?

So you don't know what real good cheese is then.


--
Thanks,
Fred.

 

[Joerg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Joerg wrote:
Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.


Joerg, heavy test equipment should be on an equipment cart.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92862
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5770
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5107

are some examples. Every bench at Microdyne had at least one cart. The
industrial carts they bought were just the right width for the HP
equipment, but we also used a couple pieces of 2" * 4" lumber and a
piece of plywood to use them with other equipment. A six to eight inch
gap at the front left room to store cables under the plywood. The only
time equipment had to be moved off a cart was when it went to the cal
lab. Even then, sometimes the whole cart was wheeled to the lab. If it
passed their tests, it was wheeled back. If not, that item was removed
from the stack and replaced with another piece of equipment from the
shelves of spare parts.

I use both the second and third in the list in my shop.

Those can easily tip over. I don't think OSHA would let that fly in
California. Most labs are like mine. A wide bench and a rack in the
back. The equipment gets shoved it that rack and you have to make sure
all required connections are there.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[Joerg]

Fred Bartoli wrote:

Joerg a écrit :


I still miss the cheese section of the Carrefour supermarket ...



Uhhh?

So you don't know what real good cheese is then.

Well, I haven't been in one in a decade or so but back then they had a
huge selection. In the US we can't get really good camembert or brie
because of the pasteurization requirement.

Of course, even in France I preferred the little fromage shops. That's
where the really good stuff could be had. Where you take a bite of brie
and your respiratory system stalls for a second.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Joerg wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.


Joerg, heavy test equipment should be on an equipment cart.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92862
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5770
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5107

are some examples. Every bench at Microdyne had at least one cart. The
industrial carts they bought were just the right width for the HP
equipment, but we also used a couple pieces of 2" * 4" lumber and a
piece of plywood to use them with other equipment. A six to eight inch
gap at the front left room to store cables under the plywood. The only
time equipment had to be moved off a cart was when it went to the cal
lab. Even then, sometimes the whole cart was wheeled to the lab. If it
passed their tests, it was wheeled back. If not, that item was removed
from the stack and replaced with another piece of equipment from the
shelves of spare parts.

I use both the second and third in the list in my shop.


Those can easily tip over. I don't think OSHA would let that fly in
California. Most labs are like mine. A wide bench and a rack in the
back. The equipment gets shoved it that rack and you have to make sure
all required connections are there.

Not with the weight distribution we used. The carts were over 100
pounds, and the load was centered on the cart, along with items stored
on the bottom shelf. They used them that way at that location for over
20 years. At the peak of production they had two techs per 8' bench,
with most of their equipment on carts. That was when they were trying to
keep up with the demand for their 1100 series C-band satellite TV
equipment for CATV and broadcast customers. The only time anything
tipped over was when two idiots tied to move a loaded 8' workbench,
without help. When all four wheels swivel, it is almost impossible to
turn one over.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html


Use any search engine other than Google till they stop polluting USENET
with porn and junk commercial SPAM

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Joerg wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.

Joerg, heavy test equipment should be on an equipment cart.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92862
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5770
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5107

are some examples. Every bench at Microdyne had at least one cart. The
industrial carts they bought were just the right width for the HP
equipment, but we also used a couple pieces of 2" * 4" lumber and a
piece of plywood to use them with other equipment. A six to eight inch
gap at the front left room to store cables under the plywood. The only
time equipment had to be moved off a cart was when it went to the cal
lab. Even then, sometimes the whole cart was wheeled to the lab. If it
passed their tests, it was wheeled back. If not, that item was removed
from the stack and replaced with another piece of equipment from the
shelves of spare parts.

I use both the second and third in the list in my shop.

Those can easily tip over. I don't think OSHA would let that fly in
California. Most labs are like mine. A wide bench and a rack in the
back. The equipment gets shoved it that rack and you have to make sure
all required connections are there.


Not with the weight distribution we used. The carts were over 100
pounds, and the load was centered on the cart, along with items stored
on the bottom shelf. They used them that way at that location for over
20 years. At the peak of production they had two techs per 8' bench,
with most of their equipment on carts. That was when they were trying to
keep up with the demand for their 1100 series C-band satellite TV
equipment for CATV and broadcast customers. The only time anything
tipped over was when two idiots tied to move a loaded 8' workbench,
without help. When all four wheels swivel, it is almost impossible to
turn one over.


Until the cart hits a large extension cable on the floor. I've seen it
happen.

Absolutely no cords were allowed, anywhere on the production floor.
All of the outlets, and test signal cables were dropped from the
acoustic tile ceiling. The facility was designed by the company's
mechanical engineers with safety and easy reconfiguration in mind. It
was a basically a single 180' * 190' room, with a small tool room near
the front of the 200' * 200' building. There were three buildings that
size. The front was offices and the stockrooms, the center was
manufacturing, and the third was leased to Lockheed Martin after
Microdyne left the sat TV business.

We reset the entire production floor in one eight hour Saturday
shift, to make room for the new RCB-2000 & DR-2000 product line. Prior
to that, production and test were in mixed groups, per product. We
reset the product flow to minimize floor traffic, and set some areas
with eight benches in quads, like oversized cubicles with four
doorways. That way each tech had two benches, to reduce setup time for
different jobs. We moved about 100 benches that day.


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Use any search engine other than Google till they stop polluting USENET
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[Joerg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Joerg wrote:
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Joerg wrote:
Yes, EMC is a pain with USB. Loose connector aren't such a problem.
Happens all the time. Did I plug in that BNC? Oh no ... move that
freaking heavy HP4191 back out, plug in, push it back, take pain pill
before the sciatic nerve flares up again.
Joerg, heavy test equipment should be on an equipment cart.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92862
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5770
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5107

are some examples. Every bench at Microdyne had at least one cart. The
industrial carts they bought were just the right width for the HP
equipment, but we also used a couple pieces of 2" * 4" lumber and a
piece of plywood to use them with other equipment. A six to eight inch
gap at the front left room to store cables under the plywood. The only
time equipment had to be moved off a cart was when it went to the cal
lab. Even then, sometimes the whole cart was wheeled to the lab. If it
passed their tests, it was wheeled back. If not, that item was removed
from the stack and replaced with another piece of equipment from the
shelves of spare parts.

I use both the second and third in the list in my shop.

Those can easily tip over. I don't think OSHA would let that fly in
California. Most labs are like mine. A wide bench and a rack in the
back. The equipment gets shoved it that rack and you have to make sure
all required connections are there.

Not with the weight distribution we used. The carts were over 100
pounds, and the load was centered on the cart, along with items stored
on the bottom shelf. They used them that way at that location for over
20 years. At the peak of production they had two techs per 8' bench,
with most of their equipment on carts. That was when they were trying to
keep up with the demand for their 1100 series C-band satellite TV
equipment for CATV and broadcast customers. The only time anything
tipped over was when two idiots tied to move a loaded 8' workbench,
without help. When all four wheels swivel, it is almost impossible to
turn one over.

Until the cart hits a large extension cable on the floor. I've seen it
happen.


Absolutely no cords were allowed, anywhere on the production floor.
All of the outlets, and test signal cables were dropped from the
acoustic tile ceiling. The facility was designed by the company's
mechanical engineers with safety and easy reconfiguration in mind. It
was a basically a single 180' * 190' room, with a small tool room near
the front of the 200' * 200' building. There were three buildings that
size. The front was offices and the stockrooms, the center was
manufacturing, and the third was leased to Lockheed Martin after
Microdyne left the sat TV business.

We reset the entire production floor in one eight hour Saturday
shift, to make room for the new RCB-2000 & DR-2000 product line. Prior
to that, production and test were in mixed groups, per product. We
reset the product flow to minimize floor traffic, and set some areas
with eight benches in quads, like oversized cubicles with four
doorways. That way each tech had two benches, to reduce setup time for
different jobs. We moved about 100 benches that day.

Most places I've seen operate in similar fashion. But you know how it
goes. The guy with the floor buffer comes along, dragging that big power
cable. Leroy wants to quickly finish up what the night shift didn't
quite get done, he's a bit tired by now, rolls the cart with the heavy
analyzer, oops ...

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Joerg wrote:

Most places I've seen operate in similar fashion. But you know how it
goes. The guy with the floor buffer comes along, dragging that big power
cable. Leroy wants to quickly finish up what the night shift didn't
quite get done, he's a bit tired by now, rolls the cart with the heavy
analyzer, oops ...

The maintenance man was a full time day shift employee, and wasn't
allowed to move any equipment if the tech wasn't at the bench. There was
no second or third shift, just some overtime for the day shift people.
Most of the carts had so many cables run to the bench that they had to
be unhooked to move more than a few inches. We were notified of any
building maintenance, so if you needed the floor cleaned under your
bench, you unhooked everything and rolled it to the wall, in an are that
would be cleaned the following Saturday. I'm not trying to argue with
you, but the system can work well, with proper planning.

We eliminated carts, were possible, but some techs had over 50 pieces
of test equipment on their benches. We were an engineering to order
facility, and priorities could change a couple times a day, if a
customer's plans changed. We also built and tested some base chassis
for stock, for emergency orders. We were able to ship a couple custom
radios within three days, to replace equipment that was damaged at a
customer's site.



--
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Use any search engine other than Google till they stop polluting USENET
with porn and junk commercial SPAM

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm

 

[Joerg]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Joerg wrote:
Most places I've seen operate in similar fashion. But you know how it
goes. The guy with the floor buffer comes along, dragging that big power
cable. Leroy wants to quickly finish up what the night shift didn't
quite get done, he's a bit tired by now, rolls the cart with the heavy
analyzer, oops ...


The maintenance man was a full time day shift employee, and wasn't
allowed to move any equipment if the tech wasn't at the bench. There was
no second or third shift, just some overtime for the day shift people.
Most of the carts had so many cables run to the bench that they had to
be unhooked to move more than a few inches. We were notified of any
building maintenance, so if you needed the floor cleaned under your
bench, you unhooked everything and rolled it to the wall, in an are that
would be cleaned the following Saturday. I'm not trying to argue with
you, but the system can work well, with proper planning.

We eliminated carts, were possible, but some techs had over 50 pieces
of test equipment on their benches. We were an engineering to order
facility, and priorities could change a couple times a day, if a
customer's plans changed. We also built and tested some base chassis
for stock, for emergency orders. We were able to ship a couple custom
radios within three days, to replace equipment that was damaged at a
customer's site.

The businesses I usually work at are very different. Full-bore
production with expensive machinery. So you have to maximize runtimes,
up to about 20hrs/day with the remainder being used for PM. Often two
10h shifts. PM was also going around the clock from machine to machine.
So the maintenance guys didn't have a chance other than interfering a
bit. Including the guy with that big tile buffer ...

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

 

[JosephKK]

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:32:47 -0500, "sciembrace"
<sciembrace@gmail.com> wrote:

Probably it is not a difficult project- but, I don't think one can make one
that easily- NI has probably patented all of its hardware. But, then, I
don't know how prologix is able to make it.

All the basic patents on GPIB have run out long ago, they belonged to
HP anyway. Even the NI patents (relating to IEEE-488.2) are getting
long in tooth. (about 15 years old) The converter is not particularly
hard, but you will have to learn IEEE-488 etc. well to make it.