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One of Ideal Aerosmith’s strengths is finding innovative solutions that satisfy the ever-increasing pressure to reduce costs, increase throughput and improve quality. When we were approached by a prominent tool manufacturer about testing specialized tools, which employ IMUs as core measurement instruments, we were ready to help.
How we solved it.
The tools to be calibrated on the rate and position table don’t have typical mounting features, such as flanges or mounting holes. Instead, they attach to the working surface using a pair of angled magnets. At the same time, an accurate alignment to the rate and position table’s coordinate system is necessary for any IMU calibration.
Optimizing the number of units to be tested on the table presented a separate but related challenge. How could we fit as many tools as possible on the testing table without affecting the calibration outcome? That was especially tricky considering the shape of these tools was not conducive to a tight installation on the tabletop.
Finally, due to the nature of their interfaces, these tools could not pass their measurements through the rate and position table’s slip rings. Therefore, a custom solution was required for this aspect too.
Ideal Aerosmith devised a mounting fixture composed of a base aluminum plate and ferromagnetic blocks with alignment features. This allowed our customer’s tools to be attached in controlled orientations. While the proof of concept was devised for devices mounted in a single plane, an advanced, double-tiered fixture was devised for production testing.
Finally, data concentrators were provided on the underside of the mezzanine mounting plate to convert the tool interfaces to a different format that could be used for data acquisition and processing.
Ideal Aerosmith’s innovation and imagination allowed us to reduce calibration costs while simultaneously increasing throughput.
Furthermore, Ideal Aerosmith leveraged its vast knowledge in inertial sensors and systems to improve the mathematical model used in calibrating these tools. The result was a significant reduction of the residual error exhibited by the IMU accelerometers.