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Test and measurement often face scrutiny in an economic downturn. You need to be prepared to optimize your approach to validation and production test. A modular, software-defined test system architecture is particularly well-positioned to address these demands. This article examines four proven techniques and case studies for testing more with less. National Instruments conducted a worldwide survey asking engineers the cost of their most recent test and measurement systems. Survey results showed that the time it takes these engineers to develop test code typically consumes about 25 percent – but can take as much as 50 percent – of the overall test system cost. Using software development tools optimized for test and measurement applications often greatly reduces costs in this phase. For example, NI LabVIEW is based on intuitive graphical programming that includes built-in I/O and analysis libraries. The productivity gains engineers achieve using LabVIEW have helped the user base grow to millions worldwide. James Underbrink, an engineer at Boeing Corporation, recently demonstrated such productivity gains. Using LabVIEW, he dramatically reduced development time and overall cost for a flyover test application. In less than six months, he completed the project to test several advanced noise-reduction concepts, including chevrons on the engine exhaust ducts, a new acoustic treatment for the engine inlet, and aerodynamic fairings for the main landing gear. The final system used 1,000 tightly synchronized acoustic channels acquired by a system of distributed PXI chassis. Previous projects of similar scope required an additional 15 months and multiple developers using ANSI C. Learn more
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