Contract Services
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Outsourcing - the cost-effective alternative
PI’s customer support programme includes the provision of measurement services in the field of flow and particle dynamics analysis, including the interaction of flow fields with surfaces through the application of parameter-sensitive paints. PI has extensive technological capabilities in these fields, as well as many years of field experience.
PI’s contract measurement service provides easy access to both our leading-edge instrumentation and our know-how. It delivers high-quality only the measurement results that are relevant to each individual application.
Typically, the service is purchased by two categories of customers:
- those whose measurement needs are relatively modest and do not justify major investment in acquiring an in-house capability and
- those who are considering the purchase of a system but wish to evaluate its usefulness in relation to their particular application before doing so.
The benefits:
- •Time: The detailed knowledge of our engineers in relation to both available technology and the applications for which they are used can result in considerable time savings compared with the process of instrument procurement, training and configuration.
- •Reduced risk of failure: Our engineers work in close partnership with our customers’ staff. Each task makes optimal use of the skills and knowledge of both parties. This ensures the development of a properly configured system that has the best chance of succeeding.
- •State-of-the-art quality: Access to the most up-to-date instrumentation and software and the expertise of people who specialize in using them, guarantees that customers acquire the best possible measurement results possible.
How the service works:
- •An initial discussion and planning period is used to identify specific needs and concerns in relation to the specific requirements.
- •For leading-edge projects an initial feasibility study is performed, to identify critical parameters and to provide the basis for recommendations for full-blown experimental testing.
- •PI then presents a detailed proposal, including a fully configured measurement solution, a timetable, the expected results and the cost.
- •The actual measurement may be undertaken at the customer's site or at PI’s experimental facility, depending on the application.
- •A full report is prepared of the results.
Bespoke Instrumentation
On the other hand, often industry has expensive/irreplaceable equipment which nevertheless needs to be upgraded with bespoke instrumentation replacing an obsolete module or a new module complementing and enhancing existing equipment. Large, heavily used, and expensive industrial equipment might have to be replaced to get some new capability, often causing huge losses on lost production. An alternative which is increasingly being exploited is to upgrade existing equipment with bespoke accessories. These often need the application of technologies such as optical methods, motion control, electronics, firmware, digital image processing, and signal processing. We have extensive facilities for this type of project, based on building bespoke virtual instrumentation based on LabView (from National Instruments Inc.) and welcome any enquiries regarding requirements for bespoke equipment for process control, metrology and quality control.
Products
Some of the equipment we have produced in the past is repeatedly required so we have a modular basic design which can be economically adapted to many applications. Moreover, some of the technology we have produced for research projects has resulted in products which can be offered to industry and universities such as pressure/temperature sensitive paints. Both the light sources and the paints are offered for sale for research or industrial applications in the case of PSP. Some of these items include the following:
Instrumentation:
- Industrial optics components
- Velocimetry systems
- Light sources
- Lenses and optical systems (e.g. high-energy light-delivery systems, endoscopes, etc.)
- Timing/Control modules
Software
- Digital Image Processing
- Data/Image acquisition
- PIV Analysis Software
- Fringe Analysis Software
Parameter-Sensitive Paints
- Pressure sensitive paint
- Temperature sensitive paint
- A combined Pressure/temperature technique is currently being developed and will shortly be available
More information
If you would like to hear more about PI´s contract services or products, please make direct contact with your nearest PI representative. Please refer to the contact us section.