-------------------------Monitor------------------------ The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control Issue 137 www.windmill.co.uk December 2009 --------------------ISSN 1472-0221---------------------- Welcome to Monitor, the data acquisition and control newsletter. A happy New Year to you. I hope you find the newsletter useful, but should you wish to remove yourself from our mailing list please go to https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html CONTENTS ======== * Excel Corner: Adding Alarm Limits to Charts * DAQ News Roundup * Data Acquisition and Control Exhibitions ________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Excel Corner: Adding Alarm Limits to Charts ________________________________________________________ If you use Windmill software to collect readings you can set alarm levels for each series of data. When a reading is taken outside this limit it provokes a response in software. In the Windmill charting software this manifests itself as the chart trace being shown in a different colour. Markers are also inserted on the chart axis. How do you show readings in alarm on an Excel chart? One way is to draw a horizontal line at each alarm level. The method for this is very similar to the moving grid line we discussed in October's Monitor. 1. To draw an alarm marker across the Excel chart you need to add another series of data. This series has just two points: one to set the start of the line and one to set the end. Assuming you had the time of data collection in column A, data in column B and columns C and D free: - In Cell C1 copy a reference to the first timestamp. For example =A1. - In Cell C2 insert a dynamic reference to the last timestamp, which in our example is the last row of column A. To do this enter =INDEX(A:A,COUNTA(A:A),1) - In Cells D1 and D2 enter the alarm level. 2. Highlight and drag Cells C1 to D2 onto the chart. This will draw a straight line across the chart, showing the alarm level. You can also use this method to insert horizontal lines at the maximum, minimum, average and median values in the chart. In our example, to draw a line at the maximum value, insert =MAX(B:B) in cells D1 and D2. Further Reading =============== Excel charting tips https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/excel-charting.html Excel data acquisition tips https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/ Monitor 135 https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor135.html#Excel Charting with Windmill https://www.windmill.co.uk/chart.html ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Data Acquisition and Control News ________________________________________________________ Baubles used to study water channels under ice sheets Tiny orange balls made from Christmas tree baubles could shed new light on how Greenland's Ice Sheet will respond to a warming world. Scientists have shown how the 4cm spheres can go through water channels that run under glaciers and be recovered afterwards. When equipped with sensors, these balls can gather data on how this meltwater is lubricating the movement of the ice. Source: BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8402704.stm Smart Grids for Sensors According to a new report from NanoMarkets, the rollout of the Smart Grid will create significant new opportunities for sensor manufacturers. The report claims that building the new Smart Grid infrastructure will generate $11.4 billion revenue for sensors and related products. Source: NanoMarkets http://bit.ly/7QhEiG New fast gas detectors A new generation of optical sensors is enabling the development of robust, long-lasting, lighting-fast trace gas detectors for use in a wide range of industrial applications. Source: Cordis http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/ Want fresh air? Give your house a nose job A heat-exchange system based on the temperature- regulating trick of the kangaroo rat could keep house air fresh without losing heat. Source: New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com/ Sizing up the sorting issue Reducing the need for manual sorting is one of the big challenges for automation systems, and the development of ever more advanced machine vision technology is playing a key role in meeting it. Now a team of specialists in the field has used image-processing techniques to help the retail sector reduce the time and cost needed to deal with one of the most basic tools of its trade - the humble size tag. Source: The Engineer https://www.theengineer.co.uk/ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Data Acquisition Exhibitions and Conferences ________________________________________________________ The quarterly update of data acquisition and control exhibitions around the world. LabAutomation 24-26 January California USA Unveils new technology related to laboratory automation. http://www.labautomation.org/LA10/ Automotive Testing Expo India 2-4 February Hyderabad India Covers all aspects of testing, evaluation and quality engineering technologies, services and equipment. http://www.testing-expo.com/india/ Pittcon 28 Feb - 5 March Florida USA Conference on laboaratory science for all who use analytical instrumentation, equipment and techniques. http://www.pittcon.org/ Automation World 3-6 March Seoul Korea Includes industrial automation, instrumentation, measurement, intelligent building systems and robotics. http://www.automationworld.co.kr/2010/eng/ Medtec 2010 27-28 April Birmingham UK With high-tech manufacturing, packaging, materials, automation and design, Medtec UK presents the latest technologies and tools for medical device manufacturing. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ * Copyright Windmill Software Ltd * Reprinting permitted with this notice included * For more articles see https://www.windmill.co.uk We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site or publication, providing the above notice is included and a link back to our website is in place. An archive of previous issues is at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html and an index of articles at https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office, Manchester, M8 8QR, UK Telephone: +44 (0)161 834 6688 Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190 E-mail: monitor@windmillsoft.com https://www.windmill.co.uk/ https://www.windmillsoft.com/
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