Multichannel Analysis

There is often confusion between multichannel data acquisition and multichannel analysis. If I had a pound for every data acquisition system out there, I’d be rolling in it. However, for reliable measurements of sound & vibration, you need to be aware of issues such as filtering, anti-aliasing, simultaneous sampling, linearity, conditioning, the list goes on.

 

Whether it’s for multichannel measurements of sound pressure for a fast calculation of sound power, or whether you need to take simultaneous measurements of sound and vibration at various points on a vehicle, to track down sources of noise, a well specified multi-channel analyser is essential.

 

We’re almost spoiled for choice here, with two system platforms available, offering up to 192 channels of synchronous analysis, with a range of application software.

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The Pro-series of systems from 01dB-Metravib is the first, covering all types of signal and frequency analysis of noise or vibration signals.

 

Running on the NetdB platforms, the software offers real-time FFT analysis, and 1/n octave digital filtering.

 

The software is completely modular, with many options including transient analysis for impact testing, sound intensity analysis, sound power determination, order tracking, and various external links to other software such as Matlab.

The software is the established dBFA Suite, which also runs with other acquisition platforms including Symphonie (2-channel), dB4 (4-channel) and other hardware such as Agilent VXI and NI-DAQ devices.

 

The software configures the hardware as a data recorder, a real-time analyser or a transient analyser, and data can be post-processed and exported to many popular formats.

 

The NetdB12 hardware forms the basis of the range, in the PRO-111 package.

This configures the front-end as a stand-alone data recorder with 60GB hard drive. Control is via  PDA across WiFi. Stored data can then be transferred via Ethernet to a PC for post-processing.

 

Signals can be monitored via headphones or SP-DIF interfaces.

 

For real-time analysis, a patented Ethernet protocol ensures data integrity, and additional channels can be added with further 12 or 32 channel boxes

 

Dedicated application software performs measurements of sound power according to, for example, ISO7779 and several prestigious clients are already using the system

At the premium end of the range is the mighty ArtemiS from HEAD acoustics, which is among the finest NVH software available. Developed from the ground up as an integrated application within Windows XP/Vista and Office environment, ArtemiS has unrivalled ease-of-use and is the analyser of choice on most major automotive NVH departments.

 

The new DataRec4 front-end offers a moduler structure, to build your system up to many tens of channels with 32bit recording, and signal conditioning. The HEAD Recorder software makes setup a breeze.

 

For a lower channel count, the OctoBox+ is a USB front end with up to 8 channels, plus two additional digital channels, which allows combination with a digital binaural head. Again, two channels of tacho are also included.

 

Portable and battery powered, OctoBox+ is a great introduction to the world of ArtemiS

Most of our software will also interface to other front-ends, either directly or via file transfer, and many common formats such as UFF, WAV and UDF are supported. So even if you already have a multichannel acquisition system, you can still come to us for analysis software

If your budget doesn’t stretch to the premium software, then consider one of the Spectra series from Sound Technology.

 

Four applications are available ranging from SpectraRTA, which is well-suited to studio applications, up to SpectraLAB, which is a full function sound & vibration analysis package. With real-time displays of FFT and 1/n octave vs time, and noise & vibration calibration, this software is amazing value for money, with base versions starting at only £350!

 

The software uses your PC sound card as hardware, so the quality will depend on that, but these days, pro-audio sound cards are often better than some manufacturers’ data acquisition hardware!

 

If you would like to try any application for 30 days, free of charge, let us know, and we’ll send out a CD or give you a download link from our server