Data acquisition Figure 1: A vanwaltDataHub
All Round PRotection
For many applications data collected in the field must be stored onto removable memory devices. Michael Barrett, MD of Nexus Industrial Memory, provides guidance on what to look for when selecting a drive for use in harsh environments.
the heart of predictive maintenance. In other sectors, such as motorsport, data logging is part of vehicle development and performance monitoring on the track. In most cases the data recorded at source is
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transmitted through a wired or wireless network, and storage and processing are done elsewhere. Sometimes though transmission is not possible, is impractical or is simply not desired. In other cases, there are advantages in having a locally stored record to complement the data that is sent or accessed through a network.
Figure 2: Industrial removable memory devices and their corresponding receptacles are ideal for harsh environment applications
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ata logging is at the heart of condition monitoring which, in the industrial sector, for example, is at
A removable memory device (RMD) can be used
to make a copy of the locally stored data. Indeed, this is the route design-house and CEM GB Electronics (GBE) took when they designed the vanwaltDataHub (see figure 1) for its customer Van Walt Limited, which supplies a variety of technologies for use in environmental and groundwater monitoring. Another option is to have an RMD in place all the
time and to act as the main data storage area. For instance, many wind turbines are fitted with data logging systems for monitoring the health of bearings and gears. Understandably, the RMDs might be in place for several years, and the information written to the device is likely to be a summary of how system component health changes over time. In other instances, the RMD might only be in place
for a few minutes or hours and a wealth of data is stored with a view to processing elsewhere. In motorsport, for example, some teams use RMDs to store data that pertains to engine, gearbox and drivetrain performance. Some parameters are sampled at a few kHz and a high volume of data might be stored during a single lap. Between them, the RMDs used in the above
applications are likely to be exposed to temperature extremes, high vibration levels, moisture, salt, dust, oil and chemicals (brake fluid, for example). Commercial RMDs such as USB
September 2021 Instrumentation Monthly
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