Consolidated Bench Testing Equipment sounds good because its approach addresses this problem directly. One standardized tester controlled by software and composed of modules could replace an assortment of special-purpose benches, lower costs, and get crews back into working equipment sooner. It is also an asset decision-making strategy consistent with the way the American Public Transportation Association and the FTA think about assets.

The Real Problem Is Tester Sprawl

Anybody who worked in a depot will know what this means: the depot will have one bench dedicated to doors, one bench to brake or pneumatic functions, one bench to propulsion or traction, yet another one to HVAC, yet another bench to module level faults identification, plus perhaps some temporary benches which eventually become permanent. This is precisely the situation captured by DMC: older equipment, mixed fleets, changes in vendors, and lack of facilities at the depot make consistent troubleshooting and validation of LRUs and other replaceable units very difficult. Moreover, the agency may need to support multiple benches for different types of components, such as electronic, electromechanical, mechanical, and pneumatic. Simply stated, the bench room stops acting as a coherent system and becomes more of a museum of one-offs.

The issue here is that sprawl leads to secondary maintenance requirements. Asset management guidance specifies that agencies require detailed information on the availability of spare parts, suppliers, failure rate, outages, costs, manuals, technical documents, and test data. However, according to APTA, many transit agencies face issues because this information may be missing, outdated, not easily available, or scattered across paper files and different IT systems. On the human resources front, rail vehicle maintenance already requires a wide variety of expertise covering different subsystems such as propulsion, brakes, HVAC, doors, communications, monitoring, and automatic train protection and operation (ATP/ATO). Any additional bench increases the complexity of hardware knowledge and troubleshooting skills.

The comparison to the left is a synthesis of DMC’s CBTE architecture, transit lifecycle management guidance, and established calibration and system health practices.

A simple analogy helps. Traditional bench fleets are like carrying a ring full of keys for doors you barely use. Consolidation is more like a badge system: you still need the right access rules, but you stop maintaining metal for every single door.

Why the Lifecycle Bill Keeps Growing

It is here that the business case really comes into its own. Both the APTA and the Federal Transit Administration make clear that effective asset management must take lifecycle considerations, risk, and performance into account when deciding how to program investments and allocate money in the operations-and-maintenance budget. This means that the true cost of ownership does not end at the expense incurred in acquiring or building the test bench. Rather, it includes the ongoing costs of replacing parts, service contracts, calibration, software degradation, documentation updates, training refreshers, and all those costly delays that occur whenever one specialized test bench stands out as the only available resource. The guidance on measuring costs from the National Institute of Standards and Technology highlights another critical component of that total expense: calibration and traceability provide the foundation for accurate and credible measurements. When an operator maintains five different benches, it is often maintaining five different calibration processes as well.

This is also one reason why “we already own the test benches” may be a dangerous assertion. Old and specialized benches that have been deemed just useful enough to weather the annual budget cycle can suddenly become the very reason why the maintenance schedule stops.

What Consolidation Really Fixes

The best aspect of this design philosophy is that consolidating does not mean becoming monolithic. DMC’s Consolidated Bench Test Equipment (CBTE) design is said to be configurable in the sense of a framework that integrates modular instrumentation, application-specific interfacing, safety conditioning, and automated test software under one roof. DMC also highlights expandability options based on interchangeable test adapters, fixtures, harnessing, instrumentation, and processes, rather than replacing an entire test bench. The best analogy, however, is not that of one magic machine, but of a single drill with a set of interchangeable drills. The tool itself does not change much, but the bit is swapped for a new purpose.

From a practical standpoint, that makes maintenance a lot easier in some concrete ways. For one thing, spare parts inventory requirements go down since common hardware and software elements can be sourced with greater ease. Calibration becomes simpler, too, since technicians will need to manage a smaller number of base units with which traceability can be maintained. Cross-training of specialists will be easier since there will be just one interface and troubleshooting philosophy to learn. Automated test outcome assessment and guided user troubleshooting are also part of DMC’s message, while cloud-based pages hint at test-station monitoring.

Outcomes to focus on in a consolidating effort are, therefore, quite simple to name. The goal is a reduction in support costs per fixed sub-system, fewer bench-specific spare SKUs, fewer calibration events annually, lower mean repair times, shorter repair times for each LRU, and higher availability of tested benches. Only such gains justify adopting the concept in practice.

How to Migrate Without Losing Service

The migration process should intentionally be dull. Begin with a complete list of legacy benches, LRUs supported, interfacing considerations, calibration requirements, repeating failure modes, and problematic subsystems. Identify common tasks based on similarities in signal types, load testing, safety interlocks, harness families, data logging capabilities, and technician workflows. Establish a baseline CBTE core to pilot in a single high-volume or high-pain subsystem before scaling out using the same common core but with additional interchangeable adapters and processes. This approach dovetails with DMC’s modular architecture and lifecycle-planning guidelines and underscores the importance of understanding the economics of CBTE migration as demonstrated by modernization studies, which show that it depends strongly on workload, sustainment costs, and rehosting effort.

As you head towards that moment of truth, three questions should be paramount. Does your new bench test station properly emulate actual fleet operations and maintenance procedures? Will it be capable of meeting your existing fleet’s standards for electronic equipment testing, including EMC compatibility and shock and vibration requirements? Can it scale without needing to create a new core every time you add a vendor change or LRU? These are precisely the reasons why rail standards for electronic equipment, EMC integration, and shock/vibration matter, as well as why modularity, maintainability, UL508A panel build capabilities, and quality ISO 9001 systems management should resonate in your implementation.

If this looks familiar, the next productive conversation may not involve another piece of niche test equipment. Instead, it will entail comparing your overall sustainment responsibilities—spares, calibration, training, downtime, and scalability—against the reality of the depot with respect to a comprehensive, consolidated architecture for testing and diagnostics. Visit the DMC Mass Transit Consolidated Bench Test Equipment page or explore our wider range of Test & Measurement Automation products.

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NI Connect is a technical conference hosted by National Instruments (NI). The annual event features technical sessions, keynotes, networking opportunities, and tech demos featuring the latest in NI and test technology.

DMC has worked closely with NI for more than 25 years. As an NI Platinum System Integrator and one of 22 teams recognized as a Certified Center of Excellence, DMC looks forward to this yearly opportunity to connect with our partners on the NI team and stay up to date on the latest developments in NI hardware and software.

In addition to attending technical sessions and keynotes, DMC will participate in the Leadership and Partner Forums.

We also look forward to showcasing a Demo at the ADG section of the Expo Floor — Visit us in Hall C at booth number 2.  DMC’s demo showcases a compact and configurable HIL Automated Test System that can be programmatically adjusted to match individual testing needs.

Registration

Register here for NI Connect 2025.

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As a first-time NI Connect attendee, I had a ton of fun meeting Test and Measurement folks from all over the country and learning about lots of exciting new NI offerings. I also got to present on the Battery Test System 3.0 alongside a member of the NI team.

BTS 3.0 Presentation

The BTS (battery test system) is an NI product for performing electric vehicle battery validation testing. As experts in battery testing for well over a decade, DMC has been partnering with NI in the development and implementation of BTS. Through the development of BTS 1.0, 2.0, and now 3.0, the DMC and NI partnership has created a scalable, validated, and customizable product. I have personally managed multiple projects with the NI team during the development and implementation of BTS 3.0, so it was a wonderful experience to witness that effort come to fruition and to share our work with the NI Connect conference attendees.

Ben Black of NI and I presented on the BTS 3.0 together. We went into detail about the benefits of the BTS, which include:

• User-friendly web screens for lab managers, facility members, and test engineers to view multiple running tests and look at long-term battery stats
• Custom devices for integration across a range of hardware components and vendors
• Validated, built-in template sequences for common battery tests
• Flexible, turn-key measurement hardware
• Balance of validated, fleshed out product with easy-to-customize design

I had a blast presenting about the BTS 3.0 and helping to share DMC and NI’s work with folks at the conference.

Technical Highlights

The NI Connect keynote speeches were enjoyable. The focus was on several key industries: automotive, semiconductor & electronics, aerospace & defense, and software & technologies.

It was exciting to learn more about NI’s product offerings and gain insights from LabVIEW experts through the various presentations and workshops.

One standout presentation was called “NI Lifecycle Solutions: A Data-centric Approach to Product Life Cycle Performance.” This presentation covered multiple NI offerings, including OptimalPlus, which provides high throughput data collection and leverages that data for manufacturing optimization using machine learning, AI, and other strategies. I was especially interested in Machine Learning, since I have experience with DMC projects which employed this. You can learn more about DMC’s battery test offerings.

Building Connections

Even more than the technical insights, I found NI Connect incredibly valuable for the personal connections that I made. After a year of Zoom meetings, it was amazing to see lots of folks I had worked with in person, and to meet others for the first time!

DMC has a very strong relationship with many members of the NI team, and it was wonderful to strengthen those connections by meeting together at the conference.

It was also great to be surrounded by lots of Test and Measurement enthusiasts from all over the country (and the world)! The energy at the conference was electric—and it was clear that after a very tough few years, many folks were happy to be at this exciting event in person.

Learn more about DMC’s partnership with National Instruments.

The post DMC Presents BTS Offerings at NI Connect appeared first on DMC, Inc..

Topic Overview

After becoming open to a discussion in session one, we examined systemic racism in session two. Our third and final session in this series discussed “Becoming an Anti-Racist.”

Definition 

We shared the following definition of an anti-racist. “People who are actively seeking not only to raise their consciousness about race and racism but also to take action when they see racial power inequities in everyday life. Being an antiracist is very different from just being “nonracist.”

This diagram illustrates becoming an anti-racist.

Racial Biases

Next, we watched a video of Ibram Xolani Kendi. He is an American author, professor, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. Kendi explains that there is no such thing as a non-racist. All policies and ideas either hamper or advance equality.

Source: VCU Libraries

Dr. Kendi has also stated, “Racist and antiracist are not fixed identities. We can be racist one minute and an antiracist the next.”

As we’ve learned in our last two sessions, everyone has racial biases. Our culture and media are all rooted in racial inequity, so just by the nature of growing up exposed to this type of content, we will have racial biases.

We discussed that scholars teach that a big part of being anti-racist is acknowledging that you have internal racism and you can act in ways or support things that are racist. A big part of anti-racism is acknowledging that and then working to dismantle racism in yourself. In order to be anti-racist, we have to continually examine ourselves.

Steps to Ending Racial Inequality

Next, we shared Dr. Kendi’s steps to ending racial inequality and asked attendees to reflect on these ideas.

• Acknowledge that the problem is caused by policy, not people
• Acknowledge that racial inequity is intersectional
• Find out which specific policies are causing inequity
• Come up with new antiracist policies to replace them
• Determine which individuals or groups have the power to put antiracist policies into place
• Educate the public about specific racist policies and antiracist replacements
• Connect with antiracist policymakers to get the new antiracist policies implemented
• Get rid of racist policymakers by asking antiracist policymakers to force them out of office
• Make sure the new antiracist policy is having an equalizing effect
• If the policies aren’t working, look for new policies, not new people
• Keep an eye on policymakers to make sure no new racist policies come into effect

Discussion Questions

Finally, we brought in some voices from throughout DMC to answer discussion questions. Our goal was to share information with each other so we can all learn and grow in our journeys to be anti-racist and normalize these reflections. 

• Can you think of a time when you noticed growth in your ability to recognize racism?
• What works for effectively dismantling racism within your community (friends, family, church, teams, workplace)?
• What works for effectively dismantling racism within a conversation or with an individual?
• What works for effectively dismantling racism in institutions (donations, advocacy, political involvement)?
• How will you personally work to address bias when performing recruiting, managing others, and other subjective processes in the workplace?
• If you received feedback that something you or another in the workplace had done/said that perpetuated racism, how would you want to approach receiving that feedback? What actions might you take?
• Do you have any tips for disrupting racism in the workplace? What steps have you found to be useful? What steps have been ineffective?
• What are good ways to be an ally and supportive without being performative, a “white savior”, or overstepping? Is there a line between being supportive and overstepping which could hurt the movement?

We hope that this series empowered attendees to be informed and positively influence racism in the world!

Learn about the other topics in this series:
Part One: Being Open to a Discussion
Part Two: Systemic Racism

Learn more about DMC’s company culture. 

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Part One: Being Open to a Discussion

Topic Overview

After becoming open to a discussion in session one, our next session addressed systemic racism. We all know that discrimination was “outlawed” after the civil rights movement. So why is there still disparities between races? The answer – systemic racism.

We discussed the definition of systemic racism and why institutional racism is more subtle and harder to recognize than individual racism.  

Educational Timeline

Next, we discussed the history of racism in America. Much of this content was pulled from “What is Owed” by Nicole Hannah-Jones.

We watched a clip from Netflix’s special Racial Wealth Gap to learn what happened after the end of the Civil War. We also discussed Black Codes and the Homestead Act. 

Credit: Netflix

Moving into the Twentieth Century, we discussed redlining. Redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services were denied to residents of certain neighborhoods on the basis of their race or ethnicity. Redlining prohibited black and brown individuals from being able to obtain loans, and thus buy property, in certain neighborhoods. At the same time, white people were empowered towards homeownership with government-subsidized loans. This became a source of intergenerational wealth disparity with very large impacts on our world today.

We learned about racial violence, including the Tulsa Massacre. We also covered Jim Crow laws and the New Jim Crow. 

Credit: Macat

Systemic Racism

We further explored the topic of systemic racism and started by watching this video on institutional racism. 

Our discussion on systemic racism included its perpetuation by the media, police brutality, the criminal justice system, the prison industrial complex, education, and systemic wealth and housing. 

Special Guest Expert

For the next portion of the session, we welcomed Reginald Champagne as our special guest expert to help us navigate the complicated topic of system racism who we answering our questions on the content. Reginald Champagne is Senior Counsel for Beam Suntory and teaches classes at Northeastern University in Boston. He holds a JD and Masters of Law from Boston University School of Law and studied Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University.

Reginald addressed some questions that DMC employees submitted regarding systemic racism and anti-racism. 

Check back as we share content from our final session on Unpacking Racism.

Learn more about DMC’s company culture. 

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Speaking to the Moment

The goal of this session was to empower listeners to be informed and positively influence racism in the world. We began by acknowledging that the conversations may be difficult or uncomfortable, the work is not easy, and feeling uncomfortable is okay. 

We reviewed some videos and discussed them together. The content demonstrated how racism takes many forms from small things that you say that you don’t realize how they come off, to systemic racism, to police brutality against primarily black people.  

Emmanuel Ancho's video "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man" addressed the question, "Why are people looting?" Lilly Singh's video "Real Things White People Have Said to Me" flipped the script on racist remarks. At this point, two DMC team members from minority backgrounds shared their experiences and how it affected them in the DMC space. 

Be Open to a Discussion

We really can’t unpack racism without having an open mind. The video "James Corden Gets a Lesson on White Privilege", reinforced that his white skin color didn't make his life more challenging.  

We covered the following educational phrases. 

Racial Colorblindness
Colorblindness creates a society that denies people of color’s negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives. This clip from PBS News Hour addresses "Why 'Colorblindness' is Not the Right Approach to Race." CEO Melody Hobson suggested "Being Color Brave."

White Fragility
Discomfort on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice. Dr. Robin DiAngelo shared "Why Are White People So Bad at Talking About Race?"

Colorism
Prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. One DMC employee shared a personal example. 

Breakout Groups

At this point, we broke out into small groups to review discussion questions together. It sparked meaningful conversation about the video content and how it affects our experiences at DMC. 

Check back as we share content from our following two sessions on Unpacking Racism!
Part Two: Systemic Racism

Learn more about DMC's company culture. 

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After seven months of effort, the Taskforce has moved into its closeout phase. Although diversity/inclusion efforts will be an ongoing and iterative process at DMC, we wanted to take some time to reflect on the results of this Taskforce and the DMC improvements it has helped promote.

Taskforce Members

The members of the taskforce span across multiple DMC offices. The team has biweekly meetings over Zoom and collaborate regularly. The members of the taskforce include Courtney Mitchell, Karen Hsu, Sam Weber, Becca Stussman, Anjali Bharadwa, Elizabeth Goodnight, Elisha Harris and Jason Mayes (from left to right in the picture above).

Internal Initiatives

The Internal Initiatives sub-team focused on DMC’s company culture and policies as they relate to employees’ feelings of inclusion and belonging. The team members worked closely with DMC’s management, HR, and admin teams to review DMC’s policies, collect employee feedback, and recommend potential improvements. Some of the initiatives that were created with the help of the Internal Initiatives sub-team are:

• Annual Inclusion and Belonging Survey
• Annual Diversity and Inclusion Trainings
  • Self-guided web-training that employees complete on their own before the group training
  • DMC-wide group training with all employees
  • Manager-only group training for members of the management team
• Monthly bulletin board updates and email blasts to celebrate heritage months (Black history month, LGBTQ+ Pride, etc.)

Marketing Improvements

The marketing sub-team evaluated DMC’s website, flyers, and other marketing content. The team worked closely with DMC’s marketing team to create the following updates to our content:

• Creation of the Diversity & Inclusion website page, which provides transparency into DMC’s thoughts/policies related to diversity/inclusion
• Revamped recruitment flyers to be “coded” in a way that’s more inclusive to all candidates

Recruiting

The recruiting team implemented initiatives designed to diversify and widen DMC’s candidate pool. The team worked closely with DMC’s recruiting team, and promoted the following policies:

• Specific DMC outreach to University clubs with unrepresented engineering candidates. (Society of Women Engineers, Society of Black Engineers, etc.)
  • Sent emails to underrepresented candidate clubs at all schools where DMC recruits.
  • Planned/attended events with underrepresented candidate clubs at some schools where DMC recruits.
• Created a plan to evaluate the success of the email/event initiatives, so we can allocate resources in a way that helps us reach the most candidates.

Hiring Process

The Hiring Process sub-team worked closely with DMC’s Hiring committee to evaluate and update DMC’s hiring process to make it as unbiased as possible. The Hiring Process team helped implement the following modifications to DMC’s hiring procedure:

• Revamped our evaluation form language to mitigate the potential for bias
• Implemented anti-bias coaching for DMCers involved in the interview process

Next Steps

DMC is really excited about all of the improvements we’ve implemented with the help of the Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce. However, we understand that inclusivity is an ongoing process, and our work towards it is never entirely done. That’s why DMC anticipates continued steps to improve our diversity/inclusion.

These continued steps include forums to collect feedback from DMCers, expansion of initiatives that demonstrate the most value-add, and the potential creation of a second Diversity and Inclusion group to continue exploring diversity/inclusion efforts.

Learn more about our Diversity and Inclusion Efforts and check out DMC’s open positions.

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In order to make this Tutorial easer to navigate, I’ve included quick links below to jump straight to your topic of interest:

1. Create a New Project
2. Create your Password
3. Configure your I/O
   1. Redundant Pairs
   2. Cross Circuit Detection
   3. Ground Switching Output
4. Adding Block Logic
   1. Safe vs. Standard Logic
   2. Checking your Project
5. Project Security
   1. Log On and Off
   2. Locking and Certifying
6. Commissioning
   1. Log On to TRISAFE-S Module
   2. Download to TRISAFE-S Module
   3. Upload from TRISAFE-S Module
   4. Monitor Online Values
   5. Force Values

Create a New Project

When you start a new SAFECONF project, the application will automatically launch the project wizard, which will walk you through the steps to create your project. To create a new project:

1. Define your project name and path

2. Select your Master Device (in our case, the PSR-TRISAFE-S)

Create a Password

SAFECONF projects must be password protected, and only users with the project password will be able to modify the project. Once you’ve created a new project, you will be prompted to create a 6-10 character password for it. 

Configure your I/O

The hardware editor of the SAFECONF application allows users to visualize and modify their projects’ hardware configurations. The TRISAFE-S Phoenix Contact Module includes 20 inputs (I0-I19), 4 safe outputs (O0-O3), and 4 standard outputs (M0-M3). I’ll discuss the difference between safe and standard outputs in more detail in the SAFE vs STANDARD Logic section.

Redundant Pairs

By default, the inputs of the TRISAFE-S module are configured together in redundant pairs. If you want to understand the inputs separately, you will need to separate them in the hardware configuration. You can do this by right clicking on the paired input (red connection symbol) and clicking “separate signals”.

To group inputs that are separated, click on either input in the pair, and select “Link Signals”.

Cross Circuit Detection

SAFECONF allows users to configure detection of cross circuits (unexpected connections between redundant circuits). This is done using two clock outputs provided on the TRISAFE-S Module: T0 and T1. These signals pulse at different frequencies, so users can detect cross circuits by wiring each input of the redundant pair into circuit with T0 and T1, respectively. An input configured for cross circuit detection will only appear as TRUE if it pulses with its configured test pulse.

Figure from SAFECONF 2.92 Device Parameterization Help Guide

To configure which of your input signals should have cross circuit detection, Right Click on your Hardware Editor, and Select “Safe Parameter…”. In the Window that appears, you can select from the drop down next to each input whether it should have cross circuit detection or not. “Even” inputs (I0,I2,I4..) can only be configured with test pulse T0, and “odd” inputs can only be configured with T1. 

Ground Switching Output

TRISAFE-S modules offer two ground switching outputs, which can be used with Outputs O0 and O1 to assist in shutting down a single-channel application. Outputs configured for Ground Switching will cause their specified ground switching outputs to switch in addition to the outputs themselves. Users can configure outputs for Ground Switching by Right Clicking on the Output in the Hardware Editor and selecting “Safe Parameter…”. In the Window that appears, you can select from the drop down next to the Output whether it should have Ground Switching configured or not.

Adding Block Logic

Adding block logic to your SAFECONF project is as simple as dragging functions/constants and I/O from the Tool Box and Hardware Editor, respectively, into the Safety Network of your project. Then, you can link objects together by clicking and dragging between two terminals.

.

SAFE vs STANDARD Logic

In SAFECONF, functions and variables are considered SAFE or STANDARD. All inputs (even unpaired ones) are considered safe. TRISAFE-S Outputs (O0-O3) are SAFE, and Monitoring Signals (M0-M3) are STANDARD.

The program represents Safe logic using the color Yellow and Standard logic using Gray. SAFECONF contains many functions in both the Safe and Standard implementations, including the On Delay Timer in the image below. SAFECONF also contains both Standard and Safe constants.

Once Safe logic passes through a Standard function block, the output is considered Standard. Standard logic cannot be wired into Safe blocks or Safe outputs (O0-O3). Standard or Safe logic can both be wired into Standard outputs M0-M3.

Checking your Project

Before users can Certify or Download their projects (both explained later), they need to successfully check them. Checking a project ensures that the program compiles properly. Users can check their project by selecting the Check icon from the project ribbon. The application will then verify each step and inform the user whether the Check was successful or not.

Log On and Off

Users must Log On to a project in order to edit it, and users can Log Off of a project to prevent undesired changes. Log On and Log Off commands are located in the “Project” tab. Users will need to enter the project password in order to Log On.

Locking and Certifying

When users want to lock out a Safety Network from editing, they can use the Top Ribbon Interface to lock it. Users can do this by clicking on the work-mode pencil icon, or right clicking the ribbon and selecting “lock”.

In the locked Mode, users will not be able to edit the project. Users can Certify the project by clicking on the Locked Mode icon, or by right clicking the network ribbon and selecting “Certified”. A project needs to be checked before it can be Certified.

Certified projects are stamped with the date/time of certification, as well as the account name of the PC’s user. Certified projects indicate that the certifying user has declared the project logic Safe to the standards specified by the project.

Users can move the project back into editing mode by clicking the Stamp Icon, or right clicking on the ribbon and de-selecting Certified. The program will prompt the user to OK the decertification.

Log On to a TRISAFE-S Module

Users can connect their PCs to the TRISAFE-S module using a USB mini cable (see below).

Just as SAFECONF projects are password protected, and users must Log On to edit them, so are the modules themselves password protected. Once connected to the TRISAFE-S module, users can Log On using the module’s password. If module is currently running a SAFECONF project, the module’s password will be the same as that of the project. If you don’t know your module’s password, you can Set to Factory Default in order to download your project to it, after which its password will be the same as that of your project. All of these options are located under the “Safe PLC” tab.

Download to a TRISAFE-S Module

Users who are Logged On to a safety module can download their project to it using the Download icon (in red below).

Once the program finishes loading onto the module, users will need to confirm the program by using a narrow object (toothpick, small screwdriver, etc.) to press in the “Confirm” button on the module (in red below). Then, click OK on the SAFECONF popup, and the module will run the program you’ve just loaded to it.

Upload from a TRISAFE-S Module

Users can upload a project from a TRISAFE-S safety module by pressing the upload button of the top ribbon (in red). Users do not need to be logged in to a module in order to upload its program.

Monitor Online Values

If users are online with a TRISAFE-S Safety Module and the project loaded onto the safety module is the same program open in the SAFECONF application, users can Go Online with the module to monitor program values in real-time. Users can do that by selecting the Show Online Values button (in red below) in the SAFECONF ribbon.

Then, the program display will update to show real-time values of program variables.

Force Values in Commissioning Mode

Users who are logged on to a TRISAFE-S Module can enter Commissioning Mode to Force values. To force values, enter Commissioning Mode (SAFE PLC->Commissioning). 

Then, users can right click on a value in order to force it TRUE or FALSE.

Conclusion

With this tutorial, you should have all the tools to get started with programming and commissioning your TRISAFE-S Safety Module using SAFECONF software. This intuitive and free application should help make programming your machine’s Safety Controls an approachable task for engineers of all experience levels. Good luck!

Learn more about DMC’s Automation Expertise.

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The solution I discovered is very quick but a bit unintuitive, so I wanted to pass along that information here. This blog will be short and sweet.

NI MAX could see my MXI Connection but could not recognize the chassis or its modules.

Solution

If your PC is unable to see your modules associated with your PXI chassis, try shutting down and then repowering your PC while your NI Chassis is connected and powered on with its associated modules connected. It is important to note that you must Shut Down your PC, rather than just restarting, for reasons I explain below.

If you shut down and repower your PC while the PXI Chassis is powered-on and connected, and you are still unable to see some or all of your chassis modules, try repowering it again with just one module connected at a time. You should be able to do this for all of your modules one by one until NI-MAX can see all of the modules within your PXI Chassis.

Success! Shutting down my PC allowed me to see my PXI Chassis and Modules

Why do I need to shut my PC down (instead of just restarting)?

PXI chassis modules connect to PCs by writing an enumeration value into the System BIOs of your PC. National Instruments has a great blog to explain how this process works and how you can ensure your PC has the Bus Resources required to store your PXI module enumeration values.

The practical impact of this process is that your PXI chassis modules will be invisible to your PC until you power on your PC from a shut down state while the modules are connected. System BIOS are not modified during a PC restart, so simply restarting your PC will not affect your PC’s ability to recognize a PXI Chassis Module.

It is possible that during a PC startup, your PC may view some of your PXI chassis modules but not all. If this is the case, it may help to power on your PC with just one PXI module connected at a time. Most PC’s retain their System BIOS values between shutdowns, so you can iteratively write each module’s enumeration value to your PC’s BIOS until all are visible to your PC and can be viewed in NI-MAX. Some industrial PC’s do not retain this enumeration portion of their system BIOS between shutdowns. For these PC’s, you will need to ensure your PXI chassis is powered on and connected with all of its modules every time your PC starts up.

This System BIOS behavior applies no matter how your PXI Chassis is connected to your PC (MXI cable directly, MXI cable to express card, etc.).

Bonus–Automatically Power on your Chassis using your PC

With one industrial PC that I used, I found that even after I had successfully connected to my PXI chassis and its associated I/O modules, I still lost connection to them every time I powered off my machine.

My machine worked by powering on my PC and then, slightly after, turning on my PXI chassis. By the time my PXI chassis had turned on, it had already missed the opportunity to write to my PC’s system BIOS. The industrial PC that I used did not retain the chassis modules’ enumeration values after a shut down, so I would lose connection to the modules every time I turned my machine off and on.

The only solution I could perform was to leave my machine and PXI chassis powered on while manually shutting down and repowering my PC. Only then, after my PC had booted up with the PXI chassis powered on and connected to it, could I see my PXI modules using NI-MAX. The problem with this solution was that shutting down and repowering my PC every time I turned my machine off and on was a tedious and time consuming process, and it left room for confusion from new operators.

Luckily, NI has an executable that can trigger your PXI chassis to automatically turn on whenever a PC that is connected to it through an MXI cable turns on. This will trigger works before your PC accesses its system BIOS, so that every time you shut down and repower your PC, the PXI chassis can write the appropriate enumeration values anew.

You can also find the executable to configure your PXI chassis.

Once I used this executable, my PXI chassis turned on at the same time as my PC, and I was able to power on my machine and immediately achieve connection between my PC and the PXI modules.

Conclusion

Although shutting down your PC is a very quick debugging step to address your PXI modules’ connection issues, many PXI users may not be aware of the PXI module to PC connection process, and thus will not know to try this troubleshooting step. Hopefully this blog saves you some time, and helps you along the way to a successful project using the NI PXI chassis!

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The format of the show started with a suggestion from the audience. Then Tina Fey would ad-lib a monologue based off of that suggestion. After her monologue, the rest of the cast would improvise several scenes based off of that monologue. The performances were absolutely amazing, and the entire theater was lit up with audience laughter.

The UCB4: Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Matt Besser

Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Horatio Sanz

This event was especially special to me because I’ve been taking improv lessons at the Upright Citizens Brigade, a comedy school and theater founded by four of the performers: Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Matt Besser (the “UCB 4”). The DMC team has always been incredibly supportive of my improv–coming to my class shows, cheering me on, and being really encouraging in general. So when I heard that ASSSSCAT would be performed by the UCB4 and others at such a phenomenal venue, I was really excited to tell the rest of the DMC New York office about it! To my delight, everyone was on board!

Our seats were in the orchestra, close to the stage!

Our seats were absolutely amazing, and it was so cool to see such impressive leaders in the comedy industry perform improv. Because the show was totally unscripted, it felt like we got a sense of the performers’ personalities, and the whole event had a great, fun vibe in general.

From left: Matt Walsh, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Horatio Sanz, and Rachel Dratch

Overall, it was an amazing experience, and we all had a great time! It was really cool to see such incredible comedy performers, and I really enjoyed sharing my improv interest with the rest of the team!

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