Generate test reports quickly and easily with CableEye

Generate test reports quickly and easily with CableEye

Wire & Cable Equipment, CAMI Research, Harness Testing, News, Testing

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In these days of traceability the ability to generate test reports is essential, but how easy can it be?

With a manual test using a buzzer, bulb or semaphore, generating test reports is also manual, generally involving a clipboard and a pen. Manual tests are normally restricted to ‘GO NOGO’ testing only unless a fault is suspected. What this means is that a positive connection from end-to-end marks a pass; however, it does not test for stray connections on other pins/cores in the cable. So an open circuit is a NOGO, and a short circuit is a GO. The potential, here, for allowing ‘False Accepts’ is huge.

Wiring mistakes, tin whiskers, faulty materials can all lead to shorts within the cable and are unlikely to be found. Overall, Manual testing is far from desirable, particularly if having to test AND generate test reports at the same time.

So, we come to ‘system’ testing of cables. Again, there are some products that will test GO NOGO on individual cores, albeit simultaneously. Aside from speed this kind of tester is no better than manual testing and is best avoided. The report may be generated by a simple ticket printer or the ubiquitous clipboard and pen.

Let’s now get a computer involved.

A computer will switch test points much faster and much more reliably than manual testing and can, therefore, test for connections that should NOT be present. Really good computer-based cable testers will also learn the connections (and resistances) from a known-good cable so there is no real programming involved.

Obviously, once we involve a computer we can generate test reports… or can we?

With an embedded computer this can often be a time-consuming task, particularly if it uses an operating system where printer drivers are not readily available.

Enter CableEye, from CAMI Research!

CableEye is Windows PC based where the ever-increasing power and speed of PCs can, and does, positively affect the overall performance of a test station. CableEye will generate test reports and print to just about any printer that has a Windows driver and will print to label printers for labels or A4 printers for generating test reports.

This video will demonstrate the ease and speed of loading a cable, testing a cable, getting the result and generating test reports:

animated gif showing how to generate test reports

Now THAT is cable testing…

For more information or the loan of a demo system, get in contact with us.

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Generate test reports quickly and easily with CableEye

I need a cable harness tester, CableEye does both.

Harness Testing, CAMI Research, Testing

I need a cable harness tester,  not a cable tester!

During a recent discussion with a customer, he declared that he started out looking for a cable harness tester but was put-off by the price and complexity so he decided to opt for a cable tester to handle the ‘simple’ cables.

As the discussion moved ahead we went through some of the hundreds of applications currently running on CAMI Research CableEye systems around the world when the penny dropped for him… CableEye IS a cable harness tester!

CableEye also self-learns, tests, logs the test result data, and generates a test result record.

customer specific interface harness tester

He laid one of his cable harnesses on the table. the cable harness, which had seven connectors sections, was from a “mission-critical” project, where ‘near-enough’ was not ‘good enough’. Three connectors could clearly be seen as ‘one end’ of the harness whilst the other four were along the rest of the cable harness. This was, simply, no problem for CableEye.

As soon as the connectors had been selected/created in the PC’s library and added to a CableEye ‘fixture‘ it was a simple case of learning the cable harness, checking the learn against the design drawing, and saving. CableEye was now ready to test these harnesses. Development time around 10 minutes… test time, less than three seconds, including generating a PDF report!

cable harnes tester report

It is the power of the PC-based architecture that enables CableEye to be so versatile. Capturing continuity is one thing, using the captured results in a meaningful and useful way takes a PC and very special software.

FAQ

What is cable harness tester?

A cable harness tester is a precision electronic instrument that will verify that a cable or wiring harness is connected correctly between the different connectors fitted. For example, CableEye is an automated tester that will also learn the correct connections from a known-good cable or wiring harness.

What is the difference between a cable and a harness?

A cable is typically made ‘end-to-end’. It may have multiple connectors on either end but don’t, generally split-out to additional connectors. a wire harness, on the other hand, may have one or multiple connectors at one end and may split out across several connectors along its length

How is testing a cable harness different from testing a cable?

The principle difference is in the software. Testing a harness requires advanced algorithms, such as in CableEye, to make sense of the interconnections between the terminal connectors. Most cheap cable testers struggle with this.

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Know what you are testing – Insight on real world cable testing

CAMI Research, Testing, Wire & Cable Equipment

Do you really know what you are testing?

During a recent training session with a customer they reported that a given cable type was failing HiPot testing and they could not understand why.

military connectors - know what you are testing

Know What You Are Testing

The cable rating showed it was specified to be good to 600/1000V and the test parameters set to 600Vac/1000Vdc as this was the assumed meaning by the operators, and here is failing no.1

The cable rating of 600/1000V actually means 600V between conductor and shield and 1000V between adjacent conductors!

Failing no.2 is a classic and can be seen throughout the world of Test. Fundamentally the operator was not supposed to be testing the cable itself, this is handled by the cable producer and, at best, by their own goods-in process (though in this case it was not).

So what should they have been testing if not the cable specification? Well, quite simply, they should be testing what THEY have done to the cable which was to fit a connector at each end… nothing more!

Testing the specifications of cable stock on an assembled cable is like testing the grade of steel that a car is made of during an MoT or the strength of a rope when it has a knot in the middle.

This approach is likely to result in a high false-failure rate as it’s highly unlikely that the finished assembly will be the same as the cable specification and will definitely NOT be better.

As well as supplying the CableEye range of cable testers we can provide a consultative test service where you can benefit from the extensive test experience held here. Drop us a line for more details on either. Just use our Contact page or call us on 01243 582555.

Evaluating a cable tester

Evaluating a cable tester

CAMI Research, Testing, Wire & Cable Equipment

How do you go about evaluating a cable tester?

Evaluating a cable tester can make the difference between buying a box to test cables and buying a system to provide test, traceability, documentation and even guided assembly.

The first thing to do is determine the need. Speak to your customers and find out what they are looking for from you today and for the next year or two:

  • Would they want a system where they can flag a concern over a cable or batch of cables and have assurances they were tested?
  • Would they be more likely to pay for testing if they knew the system could be calibrated in the UK to national standards?
  • How about graphically comparing the first-off with their diagrams?

Once you know the customer’s need look at what is involved in delivering this. It could be:

  • a new process
  • new equipment
  • new people

At Cimbian we offer advice as well as product. We can help with assessing the task and in finding a solution with out Consultative Test Service.

If it is new equipment we have demonstration equipment available that can be used to show you what is possible and how to get there.

evaluating a cable tester

So Many Options.

Demonstration equipment can be supplied on a loan basis for a week or two to help you assess how the equipment can, and likely will, help in your objective. If you would like to discuss a demo or a loan unit please call us on 01243 582555 or drop us a line through our contact page.

 

New CableEye Models

New CableEye Models

CAMI Research, Testing, Wire & Cable Equipment

CAMI Research has released two new CableEye models.

News from CAMI Research is that the two flagship models, the M3U in low voltage testing and the HVX in HiPot testing now have two higher specification siblings.

The new CableEye models are the M3UH and the HVX-21 and the specification increases are summarised here:

M3UH Item 821UH:

  • Resistance measurement range has been brought down to 0.1Ω to 5MΩ, +/- 0.1Ω, at the low end. The standard M3U is 0.3Ω to 10MΩ, +/- 0.15Ω at the low end with no loss of speed. [/tab]

HVX-21 Item 829A:

  • (HVX-21) HiPot range is now 2100 Vdc, 1200 Vac (HVX (Item 829) is 1500Vdc, 1000Vdc), both still in 1V steps.
  • Resistance thresholds are now 0.1Ω to 5GΩ on the HVX-21 whereas on the HVX they are 0.1Ω to 1GΩ.
  • In addition to this the Current Sensitivity has been improved by a factor of five on the HVX-21 at 0.2µA whereas the HVX Current Sensitivity is 1µA

new cableeye models datasheet image

 

To learn more or get a quotation please drop us a line through our Contact page.

Flexible System Checks Cables and Harnesses

Flexible System Checks Cables and Harnesses

CAMI Research, Testing, Wire & Cable Equipment

Flexible System Checks Cables and Harnesses

The July issue of US-Tech, One of America’s widest read electronics industry magazines, featured an interesting article by Margaret Bishop of CAMI Research, the subject of which was Cables And Harnesses Checking using a flexible system.

The article looks at the role of a modern-architecture test system and how it can be used across the entire process, from assembly to QA.

The US-Tech magazine is available as both a digital online version or as a download version.

Take a look here (page 53 – 55): US-Tech article link

flexible system checks cables and harnesses - us-tech

Cable And Harness Checking

 

Many CableEye customers settle into using their system and don’t realise the tremendous potential that their investment holds for them, be it data-logging, guided assembly or simply generating and printing barcodes and labels. This article seeks to explore this potential.

Cimbian UK is the UK’s authorised distributor for CAMI Research products and we are experienced in helping customers deploy CableEye in a range of roles and applications. Drop us a line through our contact page to see how CableEye can do even more for you.