Precision Tilt Monitoring System Demonstration
When Jewell Instruments acquired industry-leading data acquisition hardware manufacturer DGH Corporation, we were excited about all of the possibilities that we could discover by using our products together. In fact, DGH products offer several interfaces that complement Jewell’s high-performance inertial and tilt sensors nicely. Well, our engineers got to work and created a demonstration displaying just how well our product lines can work together!
In a 4-minute demo video, Jewell and DGH take you on a tour of a precision tilt monitoring system using a Jewell Instruments LCF-2330 dual-axis inclinometer and a DGH D6400 series data acquisition module. In conjunction, we use a PC-based software called DASYLab 2020 to display data and transfers it to a cloud-based MQTT server.
Jewell Instruments LCF-2330 Inclinometer
The Jewell LCF-2330 is a rugged inclinometer offering high accuracy and superior repeatability. The fluid damped mechanism delivers excellent noise rejection in high-shock and vibration environments and excellent output stability. These versatile sensors are available with 0-5V, ±5V, and 4-20mA output with measuring ranges from ±1° up to ±90°. A 13-pin interface connector supplies power to the unit and accesses the analog output signals.
DGH D6400 Data Acquisition Module
The DGH D6400 series data acquisition modules measure industrial sensors with a DC voltage or a 4-20mA current output. Each module contains seven analog input channels, differential signal conditioning circuitry, user-selectable input ranges, and a high-resolution 16-bit analog to digital (A/D) converter. The module operates on a wide power supply input range, includes two user-programmable single-pole digital filters, analog to digital conversion speeds up to 25 samples per second, and communicates using the Modbus RTU serial protocol over a two-wire RS-485 serial interface.
DASYLab Data Acquisition Software
DASYLab data acquisition software is an easy-to-use program that offers real-time data analysis, control, and the ability to create custom graphical user interfaces without advanced programming. This icon-based software provides function blocks that connect to build an application. The 2020 version of the program features support for the MQTT protocol. MQTT publishes data values to corporate or cloud-based MQTT servers. DASYLab is available in three different versions and offers a free 28-day trial.
Demonstration
The demonstration shows an LCF-2330 inclinometer mounted on a small laboratory mixing table. The inclinometer’s X- and Y-axis outputs are connected to the DGH D6400 analog input module while a monitor displays the DASYLab software executing a demonstration worksheet. As the sensor moves, the bar and trend graphs and digital meters are updated in real-time to reflect the present tilt angle in degrees. The worksheet also shows the tilt values being written to a disk file and transferred to Microsoft Excel using Windows DDE. The MQTT ‘publisher’ function block is used to publish the sensor data to an open-cloud-based server, while the MQTT ‘subscriber’ function block reads the data back from the server. Typically, the ‘publish’ and ‘subscriber’ function blocks would be used on separate computers in separate locations benefitting un-supervised or remote monitoring applications.
Contact us or Jewell Instruments directly to build your own precision tilt monitoring system like the one performed in this demonstration.