MCU module makes light of instrument design

FMC Technologies uses the RCM4000 RabbitCore to create robust portable equipment for petroleum metering simulation technology

Petroleum companies rely on large amounts of data collection to help maintain production efficiency. Mechanical metering and counter systems have traditionally been used to collect volume, temperature, pressure, and flow data. These mechanical systems are fairly large and require operators to calculate data manually and adjust processes accordingly.
FMC Technologies, a leader in the energy industry, has made advancements in measurement solutions for liquid petroleum.

The company's load controllers and flow computers cut down the amount work needed to gather usable data for controlling values, pumps, and other instruments.

However, when FMC wanted to demonstrate or test the load controller or flow computers, a meter or pulse generator had to be used.

These tools are accurate, but they can be heavy (40 to 400kg) and difficult to set up and use.

With the help of Rabbit and the RCM4000 RabbitCore, FMC was able to find a solution that could be put to the test.
FMC's Simumate solution is a portable meter simulator that allows customers to easily test and demonstrate the functionality of load controllers and flow computers.

At the heart of the Simumate is the RCM4000 RabbitCore module.

Patrick Walsh of FMC explains that the Simumate is a 'diagnostic tool, which essentially is a meter simulator that customers can understand'.

The Simumate allows extensive testing and demonstration setups without using a meter or pulse generator.

The Simumate connects to a PC via an Ethernet connection, and users are able to customise the meter's function via a web page.

The Simumate mimics an actual meter and sends signals that the load controller and flow computer process.

Information such as volume, flow rate, temperature, and pressure is readily available to the customer.

'Based on internal feed back, the Simumate needed to be simple to use, yet capable of handling the sophisticated functions demanded of the application', says Walsh.

'We wanted a very simple operation, such that the user could plug the device to a PC, open a web browser and select how the meter simulation tool should work'.

'The best solution we sought was the use of an Ethernet based system', he explains.

'Rabbit was recommended to me by a senior engineer in the department who found Rabbit through a trade publication'.

Walsh compared Rabbit Semiconductor with other embedded solutions and found that the RCM4000 RabbitCore was the right choice.

The RCM4000 streamlined the design process, with features such as a clock speed of 58.98MHz, 32Mbyte of NAND Flash, 512Kbyte Flash, 512Kbyte SRAM, eight channels of analogue I/O, integrated Ethernet, small form factor and Dynamic C.

Says Walsh: 'With the embedded RCM4000, the Simumate does everything we intended and still has room for expansion'.

'Because of the low power consumption of the RCM4000, we can sustain power for continuous operation of approximately six hours on two NiMh cells'.

'It can also make use of an external wall power supply while charging'.

Walsh also notes that the easy user interface is made possible by using Dynamic C, the included TCP/IP stack, and the included program libraries.

FMC saved time and money by using Rabbit in its solution, which translates into savings for the end customer.

'Rabbit offered an affordable solution with the 'grunt work' already complete'.

'The Rabbit core expedited the design process by providing a powerful canned hardware solution and complete well-illustrated software examples'.

'Its small form factor provided us the ability to easily create a handheld device', says Walsh.

'Furthermore, we are excited about the possibility of swapping out the tethered Ethernet for a wireless solution such as the RCM440W'.