Simcenter SCADAS XS is a compact hardware package offered by Siemens for noise and vibration data acquisition.. The Simcenter SCADAS XS is compatible with taking data connected to a computer, wirelessly while connected to a tablet, and in standalone recording mode (Figure 1).
Figure 1: SCADAS XS Standalone recording mode (right) is self-contained and does not require a computer or tablet (left).
When the SCADAS XS is in standalone recording mode, it doesn’t need to be connected to anything except the sensors to record data. This method of using the SCADAS XS makes it ideal for quick mobility tests, such as vehicle or track testing. It can also be useful for operational tests for products.
This article explains how to setup and use the Simcenter SCADAS XS for standalone recording.
Contents 1. Creating a Standalone Template 2. Uploading a Template to SCADAS XS 3. Collecting Data 4. Downloading Data from SCADAS XS
1. Creating a Standalone Template
To create a testing template to use a SCADAS XS in standalone mode, a user will need the following:
The SCADAS XS records data wirelessly by using a template created by the user which contains time duration, frequency resolution, and other important data acquisition parameters. To start, open up the Simcenter Testlab folder or navigate to “Simcenter Testlab Signature Acquisition”.
It is useful to have the SCADAS XS connected to the computer and booted up. But it is also possible to create a template without being connected using “Offline Mode”. If using “Offline Mode”, load the correct virtual front end that corresponds to the SCADAS XS purchased. If connected directly to the SCADAS XS, this step can be skipped.
Begin in the "Channel setup" tab. Enter the channel settings for the setup that will be used during recording. For example, if using accelerometers, enter the “Input Mode”, channel directions, and sensitivities.
Next, click on the “Tracking Setup” tab at the bottom of the screen (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Enter the time duration settings in the "Tracking setup" tab.
This section is important to fill out as it will determine the run time for each test. Select the type of measurement mode, “Tracking” or “Stationary” and then select the method. If a user wishes to record indefinitely until they manually stop the test, set the “Method” to “Time” and then type in a high number of seconds. The SCADAS XS will record until either a user manually stops the test, or the number of seconds is reached. For specific measurement times or averages, enter the information in the tracking settings.
Finish the setup by going to the “Acquisition Setup” tab located at the bottom. Enter the frequency parameters required for the test, such as “Bandwidth” and “Resolution”.
It is important to note that SCADAS XS standalone recording mode only records time data, it does not record block data, nor does it do post processing on the data. Any online processing settings used will be ignored.
Once acquisition parameters have been entered, click “File -> Save Standalone Recording Template…” (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Saving the standalone recording template.
Do not use “Save as Template…” or “Save As…”, these menu options do not make a standalone recording template.
Note that “Save Standalone Recording Template…” is insensitive when in the "Channel setup" tab. Ensure that the selected worksheet is not the "Channel Setup"before attempting to save. For example, use the "Measure" worksheet.
Clicking save as standalone recording template will bring up a special save menu as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Standalone Recording Template save menu.
At this stage there are three important things to check:
The frequency and time duration settings are correct
The location of the template
The template filename
Select an easy to access location for the destination of where the template will be saved, as it will need to be eventually transferred onto the memory of the SCADAS XS. Enter a template name and double check settings. Note, the template name will also be the name of the data folder and files generated. This is something to keep in mind for organization purposes.
The template should be saved as an *.XRDF file. This is the standalone recording settings template file format.
2. Uploading a Template to the SCADAS XS
Connecting the SCADAS XS to the computer is now mandatory to place the template file on the SCADAS XS internal memory. First ensure that the microUSB cable end is connected to the back of the SCADAS XS port and the USB end is connected to the computer (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Connecting the SCADAS XS to a computer with a microUSB cable and booting in USB mode.
Power on the SCADAS XS by holding the “BAT” button for 10 seconds. A blue ring of light should steadily strobe around the “REC” button. If the SCADAS XS is off before it is connected, it should automatically boot into USB mode, once it sees that it has been connected to a computer. A green LED should appear next to the “USB” mode. If this doesn’t happen, press and hold the “Replay/Select” button” while toggling the “BAT” button. The green LED should change positions each time the “BAT” button is pressed.
Next, to access the internal memory storage on the SCADAS XS, navigate to the application called “SCADAS XS Browser”. This can be done by simply searching for it in the PC windows search, or by navigating to the Simcenter Hardware Diagnostics folder (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Two different ways to find the SCADAS XS Browser application.
If the SCADAS XS is properly connected, a popup file explorer will automatically appear with two folders in it: “templates” and “files” (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Files that the SCADAS XS will read need to be stored in “Files”.
Contrary to initial assumptions, the templates folder is only there for reference, if a user wants to store more than one template at a time. The SCADAS XS does not read or store any data on the “templates” folder.
Click and drag or copy and paste the *.XRDF template that was created earlier into the “Files” folder.
An important thing to note is that the SCADAS XS chooses which *.XDRF settings file to use in numerical alphabetical order when booted in standalone mode. If two or more templates are present in the files folder, it will read the one that is first numerically and then alphabetically.
Figure 8 below has an example of how to use a proper naming convention to make sure the correct template is selected.
Figure 8: Ensure that the correct template is being chosen by removing unwanted templates, or renaming templates to come first numerically and alphabetically.
Here there are two templates: “Anotch” and “steering_wheel”.
On the left side, the “Anotch” template would run if a user recorded data since it is first alphabetically. To change the order, either delete or move the unwanted template, or rename the template to come first. The right side shows a “1” has been added to the name, making it the template that will now run when the SCADAS XS is booted in standalone mode.
3. Collecting Data
Now that the template is set up, data collection can begin. Connect the SCADAS XS to any sensors needed for acquisition. Press and hold the “BAT” button until the SCADAS green battery button indicators light up and blue ring of light is flashing around the “REC” button.
The SCADAS XS is fully booted when the blue ring goes from flashing to stable blue. Once ready to record, press the “REC” button (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Recording data on the SCADAS XS by turning it and making sure the lights are blue (1) and pressing the “REC” button making the ring red (2).
This will trigger the SCADAS XS to start recording based on the settings entered in the template setup. Once a red ring appears around the “SCADAS XS”, the template is officially recording data and the test can begin.
The SCADAS XS will either record until the time duration that was set runs out or is manually stopped by a user. To manually stop the test, press the “REC” button again, and a solid blue ring should now appear around the “REC” button.
4. Downloading Data to the SCADAS XS
After data collecting is done, open the SCADAS XS Browser application again (see previous section for how to start the SCADAS XS Browser). Make sure the SCADAS XS is connected to the computer.
If the test was successful at recording data, a folder that is named the same as the template name should appear (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Accessing the data folder on the SCADAS XS internal memory using SCADAS XS Browser software.
If there were multiple runs taken, multiple data files will appear in the folder with the template name.
Click and drag the folder onto the computer in an accessible location. This may take a while for the files to transfer over if they are large. The data is now in a different file format called a .*XTRP. This file type is specially created to record large amounts of long durations of time and opening it alone in Simcenter Testlab or Testlab Neo will not be enough. The data needs to be imported. To do this, open up either Simcenter Testlab or Simcenter Testlab Neo. In this example, Simcenter Testlab is used (Figure 11).
Figure 11: Browse to the data using the computer in the file tree.
In the "Navigator" worksheet, click on the computer icon in the file tree on the left side. Browse to where the folder was saved using the tree and locate the data files. The data files will appear with an icon that has green cubes and TRP next to it. Highlight the data files, right click and select “Import into active project” as shown in Figure 11. If this is successful, a loading bar will appear as the data is converted and uploaded into the active section of the project.
To see the data, click on the active section by using the file tree to go to section. The data should appear as individual folders for every run recorded during data collection (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Data files for two different runs in the active section.
The time data imported from the Simcenter SCADAS XS is now available for post processing, viewing, and editing.
