ShockLog

ShockLog - The big brother to the MicroLog

Low Cost Tri-axial Shock and Vibration Monitor - RD298 ShockLog.

The RD298 Shock Log combines the SHOCKWATCH advanced tri-axial piezo electric accelerometer technology with sophisticated electronics and software to offer an advanced shock and vibration-monitoring instrument.

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Key Features

• Completely self contained (battery operated)
• 12 month battery life
• Three built in accelerometers
• Built in temperature sensor
• Optional external sensors
• Velocity or acceleration measurements
• Adjustable Warning and alarm thresholds
• LED operation, warning and alarm status indicators
• Tamper proof & factory and user passwords
• IP67 sealed and RF screened
• Date and time stamping
• Non volatile memory records 500 day history
• Low cost standard C size lithium or alkaline battery
• Detailed record of significant events

The when, where and how

Real time date stamping identifies when a shock has occurred. When combined with the axis of impact, a clear picture of the likely damaging event emerges allowing effective remedial action to be taken.

Detailed arbitration evidence

ShockLog is vital for determining at what point during a journey damage may have occurred. As the information is clear, accurate and incontestable, it is invaluable in arbitration by avoiding unnecessary delays in apportioning responsibility.

A visible deterrent

The sheer presence of ShockLog acts as a clear indication that your products are being monitored. By involving your staff, carriers and customers in the monitoring programme, inappropriate handling or storage can be minimised.

A means to audits carrier and routing efficiency

ShockLog's sophisticated monitoring capability helps to analyse the cause of persistent damage in transit. Damage that could be avoided by a simple change of route, handling procedure or even carrier.

An aid to intelligent packaging design

Damage can be caused by many different factors according to the transportation method used. ShockLog's detailed record of movement, vibration, temperature, humidity and pressure can identify how this damage occurred and help with the development of the most appropriate and cost effective packaging solution.

Reduced administration and field service costs

Effective and timely identification of likely damage reduces the time spent on site by your service and installation teams and allows them to concentrate on revenue generating activities.

Rapid identification of staff training needs

Routine analysis of the ShockLog data will identify potentially damaging handling or storage situations before they become critical, allowing you to act accordingly.

An extension to your quality image

Your in house or ISO quality programme can now extend beyond your despatch bay, whilst providing clear evidence to your customer of the care and commitment you have to them.

Features

The RD298 has been designed to monitor shock and vibration based on acceleration or velocity measurements. It has several unique features, which make it especially suitable for applications where the cost of exposure to out of specification environmental influences is very high. The instrument is equally convenient for protecting high value fixed or mobile installations or investigating shock and vibration during transportation.

In normal operation the device checks the output of the sensors (the three built in accelerometers, the built in temperature sensor and any external sensors) once every 10 seconds. The information from the sensors is merged into a record for each recording period and recorded in non-volatile memory. The length of the recording period can be set between 10 minutes and 24 hours and there is sufficient memory for 512 periods.

If any of the accelerometer signals or the first external input exceeds the 'wake up' threshold the processor will be turned on and will check the sensor outputs at a much faster rate (up to 4000 samples per second). If the output of any sensor exceeds the warning or trip thresholds the RD298 will flash its status lamps accordingly. In addition the detailed acceleration time history of the first event to set a warning, the first to set an alarm and subsequent severe events up to the installed memory capacity will be recorded. The RD298 will adjust the sample rate during the event recording (within parameters set up by the user) to make the most efficient use of memory and capture the full extent of any events.

The external inputs are intended for use with low bandwidth devices such as pressure or humidity sensors and, in addition, the first external input can be used to trigger the RD298.

The RD298 also supports peak recording in fixed time slots, (as shown above). In this mode the highest and lowest signal level present on each input is recorded for each time slot. The time slot length may be set between 10 seconds and 1 hour and as many as 262,144 slots may be recorded.

Security

The RD298 stores all data and status information in high performance sector erase FLASH memory. This memory requires no power to retain data and offers special hardware protection against accidental erasure.

The instrument can be configured by connecting it to a PC running the data analysis and set up software supplied free with each RD298. During the configuration process the operator can set the levels for warnings and alarms, determine the sensor types to be used and set up user passwords for subsequent access to data.

Before the software will communicate with the RD298 the user must supply the factory password for the individual instrument and any user passwords that may have been set to restrict access to data, resetting, calibration or other functions.

The complete electronic and transducer package is enclosed in a robust extruded aluminium case and encapsulated in polyurethane compound; it is completely impossible to tamper with the hardware without leaving clear evidence of such action.

Packaging and Environment

The RD298 has been designed to function reliably in difficult environments. The electronic components are assembled using surface mount technology and the latest automatic assembly equipment. The complete electronic and transducer package is enclosed in the metal case and encapsulated in polyurethane. The securing bolts pass right through the body of the instrument to guarantee a reliable mechanical installation.

This construction technique, in combination with the absence of cables for power or sensors (unless additional external sensors are used) results in a very high immunity to electrical interference and very low levels of RF emission. The RD298 may safely be used in close proximity to sensitive instruments or in difficult electrical environments.

The RD298 is sealed to IP67 (including connectors) and is capable of operating at temperatures between &emdash;20 and + 70°C. (-40 to +85°C to special order.)

Software

The RD298 is supplied with software that runs on a desktop or portable PC using either the Windows 95 or Windows NT4 operating systems. Additional operating systems may be supported at a later date.

The software allows the operator to configure the RD298 and to extract and examine data records from the instrument.

Reports

Reports may be viewed on screen and selected data exported to other applications. Five different reports are available: summary data, events summary, event details, time slot data and log data.

Summary report parameters: date, time, number of warnings, number of alarms, max x|y|z, min x|y|z, humidity, pressure, max pk x|y|z, min pk x|y|z, rms x|y|z, max/min temperature, range

• Events summary report parameters: date, time, duration, significance, range, temperature
• Event Details report parameters (text or graphical): sample time, sample number, max/min x|y|z
• Time slot report parameters (graphical): date, time, max pk x|y|z, min pk x|y|z, max ext1|ext2, min ext1|ext2, internal temperature, humidity, pressure, external temperature
• Log report parameters: date and time of: password changes, set up changes, battery changes, data clearing operations or resets.

Graphs

Any set of report parameters may be graphed against time and detailed graphs of individual events may be plotted on screen, printed or saved as files.

Options

A low cost version of the RD298 for OEM applications is available. This version is fitted with 384kb data memory, 10 g to 100g ranges on acceleration (no velocity ranges), does not support time slot based recording and is fitted with connector A only.

Please note that as manufacturers of the RD298 Shock Log, we are happy to discuss your specific needs and requirements. In certain circumstances, modified units may be manufactured to suit your OEM applications.

Included Accessories

• Serial communications lead to PC
• Moulded plastic carrying case for Shock Log and accessories
• Software on CD ROM
• Operators Manual
• Spare alkaline battery
• RD298HPT - Humidity, Pressure and Temperature Transducer