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Companion III™ Data Acquisition System

  • data acquisition I/O on boom arm
  • data acquisition system in portable cart
  • data acquisition in wall unit
  • data acquisition I/O on remote stand

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The Companion III™ Data Acquisition System is specifically designed to acquire analog signal data for Dyne Systems' dynamometer test data acquisition and control software, Cell Assistant™ (configured either for Windows® or for National Instruments LabVIEW™). Once paired with the Companion III™, Cell Assistant can measure most types of analog signals, including high level voltage, current, and frequency signals - plus signals from thermocouples, thermistors, RTDs, and strain-gage bridges.

I/O Options

Whether Companion II is rack-mounted or panel-mounted, several options exist for accessing its I/O. Standard thermocouple, voltage, and transducer inputs, as well as emergency stop button can be mounted on either a remote stand (shown here with throttle actuator), or on a boom swing arm. Both offer convenient access, with the boom's capacity for inputs being the larger of the two.

Without these options, normal access is either through an I/O panel mounted in the side of the panel-mount enclosure, or direct connections to the inputs on the rear of the rack-mounted Signal Conditioning Unit. Discuss your application with our Sales Representative to determine which configuration will work best for your situation.

Companion III Offers These Advantages and More

Rear view of Companion III Master Control and Signal Conditioning Units
Rear View of the rack-mounted versions of Companion III Master (upper) and Signal Conditioning Unit (lower)
  • Modular construction for easy integration into existing wiring or new construction
  • “Off the Shelf” field terminations
  • Factory wired and tested with pin/socket connections
  • Packaged in several configurations, to integrate with your specific needs
  • High quality acquisition of analog signals with true anti-aliased digital filtering for up to 120 channels
  • Provides superior deterministic sampling rates and electrical isolation

Companion III Master Control Unit

Companion 2 shown in wall-mounted version
Inside view of panel-mounted version of Companion III

The Master Control Unit (shown, upper) provides all A-D computing for the analog data collection channels of the Signal Conditioning Unit (lower), and communicates with the test cell central data-acquisition PC. The single board computer-based system uses minimal panel space of 3.5" x 14", or 3.5" of standard rack space. The Companion IIIT also includes power supplies for control power, pressure transducer excitation and other data collection hardware.

Companion III Signal Conditioning Unit (SCU)

The rack mounted Signal Conditioning Unit (lower unit in photo) can be customized per application because it utilizes industry standard 5B signal conditioning modules for each specific channel. The flexibility of 5B conditioners allows a variety of different types of signals to be connected. Analog inputs (in blocks of 6) are easily wired with Sub-D connectors, while thermocouples are connected with the appropriate spade quick-connects dependent on the type of thermocouple specified. Cold junction compensation is installed for each thermocouple channel. Also available in a panel mounted option - see below.

Panel Mounted Signal Conditioning Unit (SCU)

  • Requires 3" x 14" of panel space for each unit
  • Each Slave unit provides connection for up to 12 channels of analog data from the Device Under Test (DUT)
  • Up to 10 SCUs can be panel-mounted for each Master unit, equating to 120 possible channels of DUT data

Rack Mounted SCU

Optional boom arm shown enables convenient access to Companion I/O
Optional boom arm enables convenient access to Companion III's I/O
  • Requires only 3.5" of standard 19" rack space for each unit
  • Each SCU provides connection for up to 24 channels of analog data from the Device Under Test
  • Up to 5 SCUs can be rack-mounted for each Master unit, equating to 120 possible channels of DUT data

Specifications

Analog Inputs
Maximum Analog Inputs120
Panel-mounted Assembly12 inputs per assembly (max. 10 units per system)
Analog Input Channel Accuracy ±0.1% of full scale typical
(thermocouple accuracy varies by type and range)
Analog Input Channel Resolution16 bit
Maximum Alias Error3.9 bits (-73dB) @ 11.5 Hz
Isolation1,500 volts RMS (typical)
Analog Input Signal TypesConsult with Sales Representative
Analog Output
Maximum Analog Outputs8
Analog Output Channel Accuracy±0.1% of full scale typical
Analog Output Channel Resolution12 bit
Isolation1,500 Volts RMS (typical)
Analog Signal Output TypesConsult with Sales Representative
Miscellaneous
Sample Rate20 Hz per Channel
CPU586 Processor
Communication115 kBaud RS-232 serial port
Filter Method5x over sampling with digital filtering

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