Copyright TANDM Solutions 2014
PC-BASED XY PLOTTER
Revision 4.0.3
Help Documentation The following documentation is designed to provide assistance in the operation and
installation of the PC-Based XY Plotter Software
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 1 of 30
Contents Quick Start Guide .................................................................................................................................... 3
Installation & Licensing the Software ..................................................................................................... 5
Installation .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Licensing .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Selecting a Test Specification ................................................................................................................ 10
Managing the Test Specifications ......................................................................................................... 11
Creating a New Test Specification .................................................................................................... 11
Editing the Current Test Specification .............................................................................................. 12
Test Specification Manager ............................................................................................................... 12
Test Settings .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Test Name ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Sub Title ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Test Load Instructions ....................................................................................................................... 13
Enabled Channels .............................................................................................................................. 13
Channel Information ......................................................................................................................... 13
Name ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Scale .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Minimum/Maximum ..................................................................................................................... 14
Units .............................................................................................................................................. 14
Offset............................................................................................................................................. 14
Colour ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Channel Selector ........................................................................................................................... 14
Limits ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Limit Overlay On/Off ......................................................................................................................... 14
Pass/Fail Indication On/Off ............................................................................................................... 15
Auto Save .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Manual Testing Mode ........................................................................................................................... 15
Controls Panel Explained ...................................................................................................................... 16
Test Details Panel Explained ................................................................................................................. 16
Saving the Trace .................................................................................................................................... 17
Loading the Trace .................................................................................................................................. 17
Exporting the Trace ............................................................................................................................... 18
PDF Report ........................................................................................................................................ 18
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 2 of 30
Graph Image ...................................................................................................................................... 19
Panel Image ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Clearing the Trace ................................................................................................................................. 19
Resetting the Axis ................................................................................................................................. 20
Clearing the Test Details ....................................................................................................................... 20
Printing .................................................................................................................................................. 20
Selecting Printer ................................................................................................................................ 20
Graph Zoom Functions .......................................................................................................................... 21
Editing the Sampling Rate ..................................................................................................................... 21
Instant Nulling ....................................................................................................................................... 21
Cursor Calculations ............................................................................................................................... 22
Mean ................................................................................................................................................. 22
Peak to Peak ...................................................................................................................................... 22
Slew Rate ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Changing the Software Options ............................................................................................................ 24
User Information Defaults ................................................................................................................ 25
Operator ........................................................................................................................................ 25
Default Test ................................................................................................................................... 25
Import Logo ................................................................................................................................... 25
Test Detail Defaults ....................................................................................................................... 26
Data Acquisition Settings .................................................................................................................. 26
Report Options .................................................................................................................................. 27
Report Title ................................................................................................................................... 27
User Specified Information ........................................................................................................... 28
Chart Setup ....................................................................................................................................... 28
Filter Settings .................................................................................................................................... 29
About Window ...................................................................................................................................... 30
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 3 of 30
Quick Start Guide The XY Plotter software is a fully functional fixed 2 axis graph plotting utility designed to work with
National Instruments USB cDAQ Data Acquisition boards. (cDAQ-USB-9215 BNC Recommended)
1) Double Click on the Plotter Suite icon on the desktop to launch the plotting
suite central launcher.
2) Once loaded the plotter suite will display the currently installed plotting
applications available on the computer.
3) Double Click on the XY Plotter entry to launch the PC Based XY Plotter Software.
4) Once started the software will display an XY graph with 2 clickable buttons as shown.
Clicking these buttons will expand the Controls pane and the Details pane. Clicking these
same buttons again will close the respective panes.
5) The software starts using a default test setup
which can be changed by clicking on the drop
down menu in the Details pane.
6) To start plotting (Pen Down) using the test
specification chosen Single Click the Pen Control
button (above the graph).
7) Click this same button again to perform a Pen Up operation and stop the software plotting.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 4 of 30
8) To stop the pen’s arm from showing the current position overlaid on the graph you can press
the device Power button.
9) To save the trace select “File » Save Trace” in the toolbar to save the data as a text (.csv)
file. This file can be opened in programs such as Microsoft Excel™ or notepad.
10) To print the current trace first select the desired printer by selecting “File » Select Printer”
11) Once a printer is selected you can click “File » Print” to print out a full report or an image of
the device.
12) Select “Tools » Clear Graph” in order to clear the current trace if you desire to do so.
WARNING – all existing unsaved test data will be removed.
13) If you require to change the graph’s view by zooming in/out on the plot you can do so by
using the buttons shown (found bottom right of the XY graph).
Move cursor Zoom Functions Move Plot
Select “File » Exit” to exit the software.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 5 of 30
Installation & Licensing the Software
Installation
Once you have received your copy of the XY Plotter software you need to run the included setup.exe
by double clicking the icon. You may need to confirm the Administrator Access dialogue box by
pressing Yes when prompted in Windows 7 and 8.
Once the setup has loaded you will be presented with the following screen:
Please select a destination directory to install the XY Plotter and the required National Instruments
software. It is recommended to leave these as default on your system. To proceed press the Next
button. The following screen will show the End User License Agreement for the XY Plotter which you
must accept in order to continue the installation.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 6 of 30
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 7 of 30
Finally you will be presented with a screen showing the added/changed files that will be performed
by the installer. Click Next to start the installation.
In order to complete the installation you will need to confirm the above shown window by pressing
Next.
NOTE: You may be prompted to restart your computer, if so you MUST do so before running the XY
Plotter software.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 8 of 30
Licensing
When the XY Plotter is first launched it will default to launching in evaluation mode. This mode can
be used to evaluate the software before purchase, however after 2 days this evaluation will end and
the software will not be able to load. In order to license the software for unlimited use you must
active it through the Cal-Bay Systems Plotter Suite.
Open the Cal-Bay Systems Plotter Suite by double clicking the icon on your desktop. Once loaded
you should see the following screen.
Right-Click the XY-Plotter software launcher and select Activate.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 9 of 30
The following screen will appear which will show the serial number for the software for the
computer which it is installed upon.
Each computer will have a unique activation code shown which limits the license to a single
machine. In order to complete the registration you can do any of the following:
Contact Cal-Bay by phone to request the activation code required to license your software
Contact Cal-Bay through the online activation form at www.xyplotter.net quoting your displayed
serial number.
In return you will receive the activation code you can fill into the box upon which pressing Confirm
will activate your software for unlimited use. Cal-Bay will also send you a license file by email which
you can keep for your records and will be provided with instructions as to its use.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 10 of 30
Selecting a Test Specification You can select a test specification that includes limits, offsets and enabled channels by Single-
Clicking the test selector control found on the Test Details Pane as shown below
Once selected the current plot will be reset and the new test specification will be loaded. From here
you can continue to press the Pen Control button to start plotting according to the selected settings.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 11 of 30
Managing the Test Specifications You can manage, create and edit tests that are used by the XY Plotter software to customise the
tests to fit your needs. There are several ways you can do this as detailed below.
Creating a New Test Specification
By clicking “Tools » Create New Test” you can create a new test for the XY Plotter software. Clicking
this will present you with a test creation dialogue box as shown.
It is important that the Test Name is unique as this will define the name available in the test
selection box in the Test Details Pane. For further information on this dialogue box and how to set
up limits, channels and off-sets please read the Test Settings section of this help document.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 12 of 30
Editing the Current Test Specification
You can edit the currently selected test by clicking “Tools » Edit Current Test”. This will bring up the
password prompt as shown to make sure the operator is aware that they are editing an already
defined test.
The default password after installation of the software is “calbay” without quotation marks. This
password can be changed by editing the editing the Software Options as detailed in this help
manual.
Test Specification Manager
The Test Specification Manager provides an easier to comprehend overview of all the tests set up in
the XY Plotter software and provides an interface to add, edit and remove tests from the software.
You can access the Test Specification Manager by clicking “Tools » Manage Tests”. Again you will be
required to insert the software password in order to gain access to this feature.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 13 of 30
Test Settings This section of the help documentation describes the detailed use of the Test Specification Dialogue
window that allows for creation and editing of the Test Specifications in the XY Plotter software.
Test Name
The Test Name is a unique identifier for the XY Plotter software to allow the user to select the
created test in the Test Selection control in the Test Details Pane. No 2 tests can have the same Test
Name so you must provide a unique name.
Sub Title The Sub Title is a field which you can provide a small amount of further details about the test which
will be displayed under the title (Test Name) located above the XY graph.
Test Load Instructions The Test Load Instructions box allows you to provide further instructions to the operator when they
select the test for use. If left blank, when the test is selected nothing will happen. If populated with
information, when the test is selected a small dialogue box will appear upon selection of the test to
provide the operator with instructions. An example of these instructions are below.
Enabled Channels
The Enabled Channels checkboxes allow the test creator to define how many channels will be
displayed on the graph simultaneously. The limit for the number of channels available are 3 Y
channels. This will provide an effective XYYY plotter. Where you have 3 plots of X vs Y1, X vs Y2 and X
vs Y3. The default when creating new tests is to have only Y1 selected for a single X vs Y plot.
Channel Information
The channel information provides access to scaling, range and off-sets for each channel as described
below.
Name
The channel name will define the name displayed on the XY graph axis. This can be any name you
choose but note that the units for the channel will be described in its own box.
Scale
The scale field allows you to define how the raw voltage from the data acquisition hardware should
be scaled to fit the units of operation you would like to be plotted. For example if you want to
convert Voltage to Distance you can insert a value such as 0.5 if for every 1 Volt you are moving a
distance of 0.5 Meters.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 14 of 30
Minimum/Maximum
The minimum and maximum fields will define the range of the acquisition in the units of the scaled
data. So if you are using voltage as your units you will need to define the range of volts that you will
be able to acquire, if using a different unit you must calculate the respective range of the custom
unit to define the range of the test. Once this field is inserted and the test specifications are
confirmed the XY graph will scale the axis to show the full range defined here.
Units
The Units field will allow you to provide a custom set of Units which will display after the channel
name in brackets on the relevant XY Graph axis.
Offset
The Offset field provides you with the ability to set an offset that can be positive or negative for the
channel you are editing. Please note that the offset takes into account the scaling of the channel so
you must insert the offset in relation to your units used.
Colour
The colour box can be used to specify the channel colour that should be used to plot on the XY
Graph. Only the Y channels will have this box since all plots are X vs Y so only 3 colours can be
chosen at once. It is worth noting that the limits set in the Test Specification will be red so the
recommendation is to use a different colour for clarity.
Channel Selector
The channel selector is used for the Y channels in order to define different specifications per
channel. This will allow access to all the above settings for Y1, Y2 and Y3.
Limits
The limits tables are used to define the test limits which alow the software to report a pass or fail
when the plot exceeds the limits specified. In order to set up the limits you will need to understand
how to define them. This is done by providing the trend of the limit lines in the form of coordinates.
An example is shown below:
X Y
-9 -10
10 9
This set of limits will draw a line from the point (-9,-10) to (10,9). You can define further points along
the line if you wish to use a more complex set of limits which will not be linear.
It is important to note that you must specify 2 points that will be at the boundary of your test range.
So if your range is from -10 to positive 10 you must have starting and end points to the limit line that
hit the boundary of the XY Graph.
Limit Overlay On/Off
The limit overlay checkbox allows you to select whether the limits show by default on the graph.
With the checkbox set to On the limits will show when the test is selected.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 15 of 30
Pass/Fail Indication On/Off
The pass/fail indication check box defines whether there will be a visible Pass/Fail indication above
the XY Graph as shown.
Auto Save
The auto save check box can be checked which will enable you to browse for a folder in the field
next to it. Once selected with a folder, every time the XY Plotter software plots a line the trace is
saved to file in that location with a name in the format of
[testname-year-month-day-hour-minute-second.csv]
for example: demo limit test 2014-05-14-12-32-33.csv
This feature is very useful if you plan to perform many consecutive plots.
Manual Testing Mode If you prefer to manually set up a test instead of pre-defining the test using the Test Specification
Dialogue box you can do so by clicking the Manual Test button found next to the Test Selector box
on the Test Details Panel.
By turning on the manual test mode the Selected Test box will grey out to show that you are using
manual controls to define the test.
Once in manual mode you will need to set up the controls found in the Controls Panel as shown.
Similar to the Test Specification Dialogue box you have access to setting the plot scales, minimum
and maximum range, units, colours and offsets. By default the manual mode will have no channels
selected so you must define which Y channels are used during plotting by selecting them using the
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 16 of 30
provided checkboxes in the Y-Channel controls. If you want to return these controls to their defaults
you can press the “R” button which will return the values to the ones shown above.
Please note that every time you make a change to the manual controls the plot will reset to
represent these settings. Hence if you have the Pen Control button in Pen Down mode it will delete
the trace to provide a fresh trace. It is recommended to set up the manual controls before creating
the plot.
Controls Panel Explained Using the Controls Panel you can show/hide limits and cursors and use the manual test controls to
define a test for plotting. By default the manual controls for defining the test will be greyed out. In
order to use these manual controls you will need to activate manual control as described in the
Manual Control section of this documentation.
Test Details Panel Explained The Test Details Panel provides you with the ability to add
extra information to the plot which will be saved with the
trace when you decide to save it as a .csv file, panel image or
a PDF report. By default the Test Details Panel will only show 3
text boxes for Operator, Part Number and Serial Number. The
Panel is capable to show up to 6 fields but to enable this you
will need to change the options in the Software Options as
described in the relevant section of this documentation.
You can change the logo at the top of the Test Details Panel.
This logo will also be displayed on the generated PDF reports.
If you wish to change this logo you can do so by editing the
Software Settings as described in the relevant section.
Finally you are also given a comments box which you can fill in
to provide further comments to the outcome of your trace.
This can be of any length and will be included in the saved
trace and PDF report. The start and finish time of the trace are
displayed above the comments box and will be automatically
populated when you use the Pen Control button.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 17 of 30
Saving the Trace You can save the currently plotted trace by clicking “File » Save Trace” which will save the trace as a
.csv (comma separated variable) text file. This type of text file is compatible with excel and a variety
of other programs which allows for further data analysis.
Test Name Demo Limits Pass Operator Larry
Part Number 134455-01 Serial Number 49879741
Model GlobaLar Operator
Status Administrator Batch Number 8
Comments: Actuator test passed limits specified in test
Start Time 11:46:48 Start Date 23/05/2014 Finish Time 11:47:31 Finish Date 23/05/2014
Lower Limits X1
Lower Limits Y1
Upper Limits X1
Upper Limits Y1
-8.3 -10 -10 -8.3
10 8.3 8.3 10
XYYY Data X-Channel Y-Channel 1
9.099168 8.835889 9.006638 8.509651 8.709239 8.181918 8.374426 7.950744 7.989593 7.450309 7.621302 7.053483
Loading the Trace You can load a previously saved trace by clicking “File » Load Trace” which will load a .csv file
containing the plot, user specified information on the Test Details Panel and all the limits. This will
allow you to then generate a report in PDF format or allow you to print the trace as described in the
relevant section of this documentation.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 18 of 30
Exporting the Trace It is possible to export the trace shown in a variety of formats to suit your needs.
PDF Report To generate a PDF report of the trace you can click “File » Export As… » PDF Report” which will
generate a report as shown.
The report generated will provide information inserted in the Test Details Pane and the user
specified information that defaults on the report from the Software Options page.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 19 of 30
Graph Image
If you prefer to simply generate an image of the XY graph which you can print at a later date you can
simply click “File » Export As… » Graph Image” which will generate a simple image similar to the
page you would get from a traditional XY plotter.
Panel Image The panel image will be similar to the Graph Image however includes the currently visible controls
and details. You can expand the relevant panes you wish to include in the Panel Image before
clicking “File » Export As… » Panel Image”. An example is shown below.
Clearing the Trace If you wish to clear the XY Graph and start a new trace using the same test specification selected you
can click “Edit » Clear Trace” which will clear the current plot but not the inserted details on the Test
Details Panel.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 20 of 30
Resetting the Axis If you have been zooming in on the trace or moving the trace using the navigation tools described in
this documentation but wish to reset the XY graph scales back to the test defaults you can click “Edit
» Reset Axis”. The displayed range will be the original axis that are set up when you select the
desired test.
Clearing the Test Details If you wish to clear the test details inserted into the Test Details Panel you can click “Edit » Clear
Test Details” which will clear all details including the default operator. Alternatively you can
manually delete the information from the desired boxes.
Printing The XY Plotter software allows you to print a panel image or report similar to the generated PDF
report. When you select “File » Print” you will be prompted to choose Panel Image or Report.
Selecting the desired printout will contact the selected printer and produce a print of the data.
Selecting Printer
You can select the desired printer which you wish to use by clicking “File » Select Printer” which will
provide you with the following prompt.
By selecting your desired printer and hitting the Select button, the next time you print the panel
image or report the chosen printer will be used.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 21 of 30
Graph Zoom Functions You can access the cursor zoom functions by using the control below the XY graph on the right. Note
that you can reset the axis as per the description in this documentation to reset the zoom on the
plot.
Move cursor Zoom Functions Move Plot
Editing the Sampling Rate You can edit the sampling rate of the XY Plotter which changes the underlying frequency of data
points acquired. The range for the sampling rate can be between 0 and 100,000. It is important to
note that the higher the sampling rate the quicker the computer memory will be filled. Also when
saving the trace with a high sampling rate the file size will be much larger. If you desire to use the XY
Plotter for an extended period of time plotting a single trace you should select a low sampling rate.
It is also important to note that the sampling rate is not the only variable that defines the speed of
plotting. In the Software Options page you can select a smoothing factor that will directly divide the
sampling rate by 0-10 providing an average of the data acquired. The overall plotting rate will be
sampling rate divided by smoothing factor.
The chosen sampling rate and equated plotting rate will be shown above the XY graph as shown in
the image below.
Instant Nulling It is possible to perform instant mechanical nulling upon your device which will allow you to
automatically calibrate your system. In order to use this you will need to move the physically
measured device to a position that results in the plot being at the most bottom left of the XY graph.
Once you have the physical equipment in this position you can click instant nulling to set the off-sets
and range automatically.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 22 of 30
Cursor Calculations It is possible to perform some simple cursor calculations using the XY plotter and the cursor functions. In order to use them you must first show the cursors by clicking the Show Cursors button found on the Controls Panel. When the cursors are visible you can move them to the desired position and select the calculation you wish to perform. The available calculations are detailed below.
Mean
The mean calculation will calculate the mean X and Y value between the cursors to allow for pin
pointing an average location of a plot. You can select this by clicking “Tools » Cursor Calculate
Mean”.
Peak to Peak
The peak to peak calculation can provide both the X and Y range between the 2 cursors to provide
you with an understanding of the range of the plot. You can select this by clicking “Tools » Cursor
Calculate PK/PK”
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 23 of 30
Slew Rate
You can calculate the slew rate between the 2 cursors (rise/run) by selecting “Tools Cursor Calculate
Slew Rate”.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 24 of 30
Changing the Software Options There are a number ofenvironment options which allow you to set defaults and main program
variables for your tests. These settings will persist between use of the program. In order to access
these settings you will need to click “Tools » Options” at which point you will be prompted for the
software password (default = calbay). Once the options page loads you will see a screen as follows:
By selecting the relevant category on the left you can change the various options detailed in the
following section of this documentation.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 25 of 30
User Information Defaults
The user information defaults category provides you with options to change the details that are
displayed on the Test Details Panel. The following describes each option.
Operator
The operator box allows you to select the default operator which will be displayed in the Test Details
Panel. If left blank you will need to insert this manually for each time the program is loaded or when
the test details are cleared.
Default Test
The default test inserted here will automatically load every time the program starts. If a test is
selected that does not exist the XY Plotter software will default to the first test in the list.
Import Logo
In order to provide you own company logo in the Test Details Panel you can click the Import Logo
button. This will prompt you for a .jpg or .png file which it will import into the application. The
picture will be scaled accordingly to fit both the Logo box in the Test Details Panel and for the report.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 26 of 30
Test Detail Defaults
The test detail boxes allow you to provide the names for the Test Details which the user can
populate during plotting. By default this will show the Serial Number Part Number, however these
can be anything you desire. By populating the blank boxes next to the name you can have the
program insert this information by default. This can be useful if the information is the same for each
plot. Finally the Visible checkbox can switch these test detail controls on/off to limit the number of
boxes shown in the Test Details Panel.
Data Acquisition Settings
The data acquisition settings are available for you to modify the underlying information that controls
the data acquisition hardware. It is not recommended to change any of these settings unless you are
familiar with the control of National Instruments hardware. If you desire to change any of these
settings and are unsure of how to do so please contact Cal-Bay.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 27 of 30
Report Options
The report options allow the user to define the PDF and printed report title and user specified
information shown at the top of every report.
Report Title
The report title field will populate the report title as shown below.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 28 of 30
User Specified Information
The user specified information fields are used to provide static information that is used for all
reports and is shown below.
Chart Setup
The chart setup options allow you to change the scale overlay of the XY graph. If you desire to have a
more “graph paper” style plot with further lines on the graph you can make the minor grid lines
visible. You can also select the desired grid line colours here for each axis.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 29 of 30
Filter Settings
The filter settings page provides access to the smoothing variable which directly affects the plotting
rate of the XY graph. The higher the smoothing factor the more stable the plot will become. It is
recommended to have a high smoothing factor and to use the sampling rate to compensate for the
lowered plotting rate.
PC Based XY Plotter User Guide Rev 4.0.3 Page 30 of 30
About Window The software about window can be accessed by clicking “Help » About”. This screen will provide
information on the version of the software you are running which is useful if you need to contact
Cal-Bay for support purposes.