Control Systems Hardware & Networking
XL Technology Systems designs and builds a wide range of control system platforms to manage all aspects of a TVAC operation. 
- Chamber Thermal Data Acquisition
- Shroud control & monitoring
- Auxiliary thermal zones control & monitoring
- Roughing skids
- Vacuum gauges & instruments
- Contamination monitoring
- O2 monitoring
All control subsystems are locally controlled and are routed to a common program control room control rack with comprehensive, interactive management screens (HMI).
- Thermal Data Acquisition System (TDAS) acquires data from multiple channels of temperature sensors (thermocouples, resistive thermal devices (RTD), and/or diodes) placed throughout the chamber, shroud and payload.
- Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), power supplies, embedded computers, desktop computers & servers, and monitors comprise the hardware components.
- Logging the thermocouple data and alarms is key and all logged data is stored to file in Open Data Base Compliant (ODBC) format, which allows the exchange of data with third party software products such as Microsoft Access. From there it can be saved in spreadsheet format for plotting and analyzing. The data file generated will be able to be stored locally or in any remote computer or server.
The TDAS systems typically consist of one or more 19” rack assemblies. These racks are populated with all the necessary hardware to collect the thermocouple data. The racks “local” computers are embedded in a controller module. A local keyboard in a sliding drawer and a 19” color touch screen monitor are provided to interface to this embedded controller. An Ethernet switch is used for communication between the rack, any auxiliary control PLCs and the TDAS PC workstations located around the chamber and in the program control rooms.
The TDAS system control and monitoring computers are PC based and use a Windows XP, Vista, or newer operating system.
Chamber, thermal conditioning units have local controllers. Program control room has remote control through computers via Ethernet. Other remote control locations and/or network server locations are possible.
