Control panel for a Febetron with instruments and a rotator switch

Refurbishment of the Control System for a Pulse Generator

How did the Febetron of ETHZ get a Second Life?

Customer's Challenge

After thirty years of operation and several modifications, the control system for the Febetron 705 (generator for high-energy electromagnetic pulses) had problems with spare parts availability and with reliability. So a new control system had to be built.

Outcome

For the laboratory, the execution of experiments has been simplified, the measurement parameters can be controlled more precisely and the spare parts situation is relaxed, since only modern components are used.

Implementation

The newly developed control system is based on standard components such as a PLC (Programmed Logic Controller) and a PC-based data acquisition system. It replaces the old control system and also includes additional functions such as a control of all parameters and the automation of measurement processes. The old control system with all its modifications was reverse engineered and converted into a modern system concept.

For this single piece, LabVIEW was used for programming of the control software on the PC, also to achieve easy modifications by the experimenters themselves. Basic and safety functions were covered by a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

The most important competence has proven to be that of system design, both for the reverse engineering of the old control system, which had been modified several times, as well as for the assembly and installation of the new control system.

Customer

The Laboratory for Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich operates a Febetron for its own researchers and visiting researchers to study chemical reactions.