Validation and Quality Assurance Systems in the Major Appliance Industry - Refrigeration Equipments D. Cazacu1, T. Savu1, V.

Iarca2
1

POLITEHNICA University/Center for Advanced Technologies, Bucharest, Romania 2 ARCTIC, Gaesti, Romania

Abstract Major companies activating in the domestic appliance industry are sharpening the focus on delivering reliable and energy efficient products. Custom test stands that can simulate and analyze the behavior of the different components that make the final product are key factors in achieving this goals. Major refrigerator production lines count on National Instruments solutions in the Quality Control process. Index TermsLabVIEW, major applience, test stand, thermostat.

B. Software Application The software solution was developed using NI LabVIEW.

I.

INTRODUCTION

The thermostat is probably the most important part in a refrigeration equipment. We are presenting an implemented solution used for accuracy and reliability thermostat testing, based on National Instruments products.
Figure 1. Mounting framework

Non Disrupctive Thermostat Accuracy Test Stand Being given the temperature operating domain and the tolerances for a specific thermostat model the testing stand must check the Cut-In, Cut-Out temperatures for 100 thermostats. (Fig. 1). A. Hardware solution The solution uses a PolyScience programmable Refrigerating/Heating circulator with integrated temperature sensors to simulate the working conditions for a thermostat. The circulator uses a standard RS-232 serial communication protocol, the set of instructions being provided by the manufacturer. In addition, the manufacturer provides a LabView driver for the controller. For testing the state of the contacts for each thermostat, a high-density industrial digital I/O NI USB - 6509 board was used. The thermostats were connected to the NI 6509 ( Fig. 2) using a shielded NI SCB-100 connector block. A NI USB - 6009 board was also used to acquire the data from a pressure sensor, the atmospheric pressure influencing the behavior of the thermostats diaphragm.

Figure 2. NI - USB 6509

The operator can choose the thermostat type to be tested from a list with already existing models or can add/edit a new model if needed. After the operator enters all the compulsory data the application generates and starts the temperature program for the specific thermostat model. The temperature cycle is optimized for each thermostat model, minimizing the testing time and power consumption.

The application constantly monitors the contacts connected to the digital inputs of the NI - 6509 board while providing an easy to use user interface for real time temperature and thermostat state monitoring (Fig. 4)

C. Conclusions For each 1000 pieces lot, 100 thermostats are randomly choose and put to the test. Based on the results the lot receives the QC mark and the green light for production assembly. Assuring a reliable test stand was mandatory. National Instruments offered not only the most robust and scalable solution but also helped us reduce the development costs by 60% comparing with other solutions used in similar test stands. REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] ***, NI USB-6509 User Guide and Specifications. National Instruments, March 2008. ***, NI USB-6008/6009 User Guide and Specifications. National Instruments, March 2008. ***, Programmable Model 9712, Users Manual. PolyScience division of Preston Industries, Inc., 2008.

AUTHORS
Figure 3. Intermediate report

Intermediate reports (Fig. 3) are provided after each cycle to prevent fake malfunctions due to operator mistakes. An easy to use colour code was used to mark the results for each thermostat: green - the thermostat operated correctly, blue - the thermostat operated outside tolerances, red - the thermostat did not trigger. The operator can check if the capillary tubes are well inserted into the circulator and if the thermostats are set on the maximum or minimum position. Taking into account that the test is a time consuming one, during the progress the users access to controls is automatically limited for not altering the results by mistake. A final report is automatically generated at the end of the test providing a detailed review of the operational results for each thermostat.
Figure 4. User interface

D. Cazacu is with the POLITEHNICA University, Center for Advanced Technologies CTANM, 313 Spl. Independentei, 060042 sector 6, Bucharest, Romania (email: danielcazacu1@gmail.com). T. Savu, is with the POLITEHNICA University, Center for Advanced Technologies CTANM, 313 Spl. Independentei, 060042 sector 6, Bucharest, Romania (email: tomsavu@gmail.com). V. Iarca is with ARCTIC , 210 13 Decembrie Street, 135200, Gaesti, Romania (e-mail: vladimir.iarca@arctic.ro).