04 November 2013: Stephan Sprink

Why reinvent the wheel when you can access existing and well established standards? The Q-DAS software products are standardized products that have grown continuously in the course of time due to our customers’ requirements. Still today, the range of users becomes wider. All the flexibility and configuration options we offer today help us to adapt the respective application directly to the needs of our customers. The Q-DAS CAMERA Concept is a kind of tool box leading to an efficient implementation of the products without requiring any individual software developments. This saves time and reduces implementation costs.

Standards in all phases of the implementation

You can obtain an additional benefit during the implementation of a performance measurement system evaluating the processes comprehensively. However, you need a certain degree of consistency in all phases of data flow and data processing. You may reach this consistency due to established standards. Individual programming, by contrast, is time-consuming, cost-intensive and will not be developed any further which makes upcoming updates and upgrades difficult to install.

The implementation of a performance measurement system must meet the requirements of small enterprises with a minor number of data sources to be connected and have to provide a comprehensive solution for
mid-size businesses and conglomerates, too, enabling a complete integration, sometimes even across locations. True to the motto: Everybody gets what he needs in order to gain reliable statistics for an increase in efficiency!

Standards for recording and (real-time) evaluation of data

A company applies measuring and test instruments of different manufacturers in order to fulfill inspection requirements metrologically in an optimal way. However, each instrument possibly has its own format for transferring or storing results. Smaller portable measuring instruments might only transfer the measurement result but larger measuring devices often include an individual measuring program and thus transmit definition data including measurement results from the measuring program.

The Q-DAS software products procella and O-QIS support more than 150 measuring instruments and multiplexer boxes by default (RS232 serial interface or USB) and they thus have the ability to take over measurement results from instruments of various manufacturers virtually through “plug & play”. If you need to connect a measuring instrument that has not been supported yet, we can integrate it after examination and include it in the standard range of supported interfaces. So the list of measuring instruments that can be integrated grows continuously due to the market requirements of our customers.

Larger measuring and test instruments and SPC systems including an individual measuring program transfer definition data in addition to the measurement result. Even these instruments and systems support the Q-DAS ASCII transfer format which is an industry standard and widely used in the market. It allows for data transfer without difficulty. Integrated export options in the measuring software of different manufacturers guarantee prompt processing of the measurement results without requiring any extra conversion effort. Additionally, AQDEF (Advanced Quality Data Exchange Format) defined based on the Q-DAS ASCII transfer format standardizes specified contents of data transmission for a comprehensive selection and analysis of data later on. The same applies to the transfer of process parameter values from PLCs for a comprehensive evaluation / assessment of processes...