DAQFactory

I recently completed a custom fatigue test rig. There was a variable speed motor spinning an eccentric weight on the end of the test part. We monitored strain gages and an accelerometer. Our original plan was to use an Automation Direct PLC to control everything. Unfortunately, with the supply situation, this wasn't possible. After some research, we ended up using DAQFactory. It's never been mentioned before on Practical Machinist, so I figured I'd do a quick write-up for posterity.

DAQFactory is a windows-based control/HMI that interfaces primarily with USB DAQs. It plays best with Labjack, but they say other ones work as well. We ended up with a LabJack U3-HV ($155). This has -10V to 10V inputs and 0-5V outputs.

The 0-5V output was a little limiting, as most DC motor drives take 0-10V, but Anaheim Automation had one that worked well.

DAQFactory worked very well, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it again on another project. For a small project like this, it's free, and it's not that expensive for larger projects. Documentation is okay, and e-mail support is good. We ran into a weird issue that wasn't covered in the documentation, and they got back to us in a few hours.

Programming is by their own language, no ladder logic, but it's pretty easy to learn and does what you'd expect.

A bit more info, since I have a few minutes. I attached a screenshot of the HMI. The start and stop buttons run, oddly enough, the start and stop routines.

The Express (free) version doesn't have indicator lights. It wasn't worth upgrading to the paid version just for the indicator lights, so I made my own. To do this, make a 20 pixel square white bitmap. You drop that into DAQFactory as a symbol and then can make it whatever color you want when it's on or off. It's actually more versatile than the standard indicator lights, as you can make it change from red to green, for example.

When it's running, the strain and acceleration are shown on the graph and data (cycle count, strain, and acceleration) are logged every minute. When strain goes too high, or acceleration or frequency go too high or too low, it triggers the limit exceeded sequence, shuts down the motor, and logs the data.

The HMI could definitely be prettied up, but it was good enough for this project and the customer will keep messing with it as they modify the test rig in the future.