Data acquisition and process control software

Data acquisition systems need to be versatile and easily expanded when requirements grow. The Windmill software suite meets these needs and has proved itself in hundreds of applications including:

Quality assurance
Research and development
Environmental monitoring
Test and measurement

Charting Data with Windmill

Truly Modular

Each Windmill program concentrates on doing a single job and you simply run as many programs as you need. You can run several copies of each program, which means there are no fixed limits to the size of a Windmill system. Windmill programs include logging, charting, process mimics, alarm logging, PID control and sequence control.

You can also build specialised modules using a programming language like Visual Basic. Let Windmill take care of the hardware configuration and control, logging to disk, and so on. The finished system could use any of the hardware supported by Windmill.

Windmill data acquisition software with Microlink hardware

Testimonials from Windmill Users

"This seems like the best, most versatile, and professional data acquisition/processing suite I have seen."
FK, Chalmers University of Technology

"Takes away the tedium of old fashioned data-logging and post processing by combining the two tasks into one. It is possible to run simultaneous measurement, computation and graphical analysis macros in Excel under the Windmill environment."
Napier University

"Excellent software...very helpful"
Ridho

Handles a Broad Range of Equipment

Windmill can communicate with devices over Ethernet, Internet, TCP/IP, Modbus, USB, RS232, RS422 and RS485. A generic serial driver means almost any instrument with a serial port - be it RS232, RS422, RS485, Modbus or TCP/IP - can be linked to the system. The software also communicates with USB and Ethernet devices listed in our on-line shop.

Example process mimic created by Windmill Graphics

A process mimic showing a brewery filter line, created by the Windmill Graphics software

Instruments, sensors and signals which have been monitored by Windmill include altimeters, balances, conductivity meters, current signals, data loggers, dial guages, digital indicators, digital thermometers, DMR, encoders, extensometers, flaw detectors, flow meters, flow meters, fluorometers, force gauges, gas analysers, GPS, gyro compasses, high impedance probes, hygrometers, I2C devices, ion gauges, Linear Variable Displacement Transducers (LVDTs) load meters, motion sensors, multimeters, myographs, oxygen electrodes, particle analysers, pH meters, pH probes, PIC microcontrollers, plcs, pressure transmitters, power analysers, power signals, pressure transducers, resistance temperature devices (RTDs), RLC meters, RFID readers, thermoregulators, thermocouples, titrators, solar panel array controllers, sonar, strain gauge bridges and water baths.

You can use Windmill to interface many instruments, from different manufacturers. For example, devices from from Acculab, A&D, Advantec, Ashtec, Avery Berkel, B&B Electronics, Biodata, Bruël & Kjær, Campbell Scientific, Dataq Instruments, Daily RFID, Dataq Instruments, Datel, Datataker, Denver, Desoutter, Ecom, Fisher, Fluke, Funaro, Garmin, Geolux, Honeywell, Horiba, Humminbird, ICP DAS, Keyence,LOVATO electric, Love Controls, Linkcom,, Magellan, Maxim, Mettler Toledo, MecMesin, Metrix, Microchip Technology, Mitutoyo, Motorola, Molytek, Newmar, NovAtel, Nu-Metrics, Ohaus, Omnistar, Omron, Orion, Panametrics, Parallax, Parker, Protek, Quantum Logic, Remontec, Retail Sensing, Rockwell, San Jose, Sartorius, SG Brown, Siemens, Sokkia, Sylvac, Telegan, Transcell, Tritech, TTi, TSS, Turner Designs, Varian SenTorr, Veris, Video Turnstile, Voltcraft, Weeder Technologies, Weilheimn, WTW, World Precision Instruments and YSI and many other manufacturers. Many channels of data can be accepted from each instrument.

Hardware Independent

All the equipment monitored by Windmill is configured with one program: SetupIML. This lets you select channels, give them names, specify linearisation and scaling to your chosen engineering units, and so on.

Configuring the hardware with SetupIML
In SetupIML you can double-click a channel and change its settings.

SetupIML scans the connected hardware and creates a complete default set-up to get you started. When you edit this set-up the menus and dialogues show only those options available with your hardware, so you cannot go wrong.

All the details are stored in files and you can create a library of files for different procedures. Your chosen channel names and details are used consistently throughout the Windmill system, even when data is exported to other applications.

Is Windmill Suitable for You?

Windmill runs under Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and 98
Supports analogue and digital input and output including:
- counters
- timers
- thermocouples
- RTDs
- strain gauges
- pressure transducers
- encoders
- environmental monitoring equipment
- process control devices
- laboratory instruments
Supports an extensive range of equipment and communications protocols.
Speeds up to a maximum of 200 samples per second with 20 or more channels, or with the Streamer module, 100000 samples per second.
Alarm indication on all inputs.
No programming required; all programs are ready to run.
Transfer data to Excel or other applications.
Easy to use.

Data Logging Options

Log only when new data is available from your instrument: when a weight changes on a balance for instance. Even if two items weigh the same, Windmill knows that a change has occurred, so no readings are missed.
Log to a new data file at regular intervals, every hour or every week for example. This is useful in continuous, long-term logging.
Log data only when channels are in an alarm state, for example when a temperature reading rises above a set point for five minutes. The temperature is regularly logged throughout this time.
Log data for a fixed duration, for example during an alarm condition and for ten minutes afterwards.
Use Excel to start and stop logging.
Log from different channels at different rates.
Log from different channels to the same or different files.

data logging software
Setting the Logging Options

Get Windmill

Windmill is supplied free with all our data acquisition hardware. Subscribers to our newsletter can also download a free copy but without any technical support.