------------------------Monitor------------------------- The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control Issue 31 www.windmill.co.uk February 2001 --------------------ISSN 1472-0221---------------------- Hello. We have had a record number of new subscribers this month - welcome to you all. In this issue we have another example of how you are applying Windmill, this time to monitor the flow of powder. We also bring news of serial trouble-shooting software to be launched in March. Thank you to everyone who filled in our survey last month. If you missed it, or have not yet got round to filling it in, you can do so at https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitor30.html We only send this newsletter to people who have subscribed - should you wish to cancel your free subscription please visit https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html CONTENTS ======== * Windmill News - Measuring powder flow - GPS update - Coming soon, new serial trouble-shooting software * Data acquisition and control conferences and exhibitions ________________________________________________________ Windmill News: Measuring the Flow Rate of Powder Scientists in a Department of Pharmaceutical Technology wanted to monitor powder "flowability". They planned to measure the mass flow rate of a powder by letting it flow through an orifice directly upon an A & D electronic balance. They needed to continuously log readings from the balance, storing them alongside the time the readings were taken. From the mass change per unit time they could then calculate the flow rate in grams per second. They connected their balance to a PC using an RS232 cable, and were looking for software to capture the required data. The software they found was Windmill. It not only did everything they wanted - it was also free! The free Windmill 4.3 suite of software includes a driver for laboratory instruments with RS232 ports. Called LabIML, this collects data from the balance and passes it to other Windmill applications: Logger, Chart, DDE Panel, etc. You can also pass data to third party Windows programs like Excel, for real-time analysis. https://www.windmill.co.uk/powder.html * Windmill News: GPS Update The GPS article in last month's Monitor proved very popular, with several requests for more information. We have therefore created a web page expanding the explanations and instructions for connecting a GPS receiver to a PC. You can find this at https://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html * Windmill News: New Serial Trouble-Shooting Software to be Launched next Month March sees the launch of our new terminal emulation software, ComDebug. This shows you exactly what is happening at the COM port. You can see the commands and data sent to your instrument, and its reply. If you have problems communicating, ComDebug helps you quickly identify and correct the problem. For more details, and to discover how to download ComDebug for free, read next month's Monitor. ________________________________________________________ Exhibitions and Conferences Every other month we list forthcoming exhibitions and conferences related to data acquisition and control. 28 February - 3 March Manufacturing IT Bologna Italy Exhibition and conference on integrated systems for industrial enterprise manufacturing & control. https://www.isa.org/mit2001/ Intertronic 6-9 March Paris-Expo Porte de Versailles Paris. A biennial exhibition bringing together telecommunications, industrial electronics and automotive sections. http://www.intertronic.com/home_uk.htm National Manufacturing Week 5-8 March McCormick Place Complex Chigago Illinois USA North America's premier marketplace for buyers and sellers of products, services and technologies that support and integrate all the functions of the manufacturing process. Includes industrial automation and design engineering. Pittcon 4-9 March New Orleans Louisiana USA Held since 1950, the primary goal of this conference remains the education of scientists. This year's highlights include a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. A conference and exposition on laboratory equipment and chemical analysis: including software, electrodes, sensors and instrumentation. http://www.pittcon.org/ 13-15 March Drives & Controls ExCel Docklands London UK This international exhibition and conference covers motor control, automation, energy saving, environmental developments, communications and the ubiquitous e- commerce. They've even chartered and subsidised trains from around the country to deliver you to the door. http://www.drivesexpo.co.uk/ 13-16 March Interchimie, Mesucora, Salon du Laboratoire Paris Nord Villepinte France International show of equipment and material transformation techniques. On show: production equipment, process monitoring, measurement, control, instrumentation and laboratory automation. http://www.forumprocess.com/ 23-28 April Hannover Fair 2001 International fair featuring Factory Automation, Industrial IT & Software, MicroTechnology, Motion, Drive & Automation and Research & Technology http://www.hannovermesse.de/ ________________________________________________________ * 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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