We wish to control two test fixtures from a single user interface. Not just two sockets. Each test fixture runs independent of each other. The test fixtures are each in their own oven soaking the UUTs at hot and cold. Each oven has 2 independent rows of test sockets that would run as a batch. Each row of test sockets share instrumentation so the test sockets in each row would run "sequential", one after the other.
Each UUT test at temperature takes about 10 min. The whole test take about 5 hours.
So at the very top level it is a Parallel model running two independent Batch processes. Each Batch runs 2 independent series of Sequential test on each UUT .
I found in this document
Best Practices for NI TestStand Process Model Development and Customization
This paragraph...
Using the Sequential Model for Parallel Testing
The main advantages of the Parallel and Batch process models are the GUI that controls the execution and the ability to generate cumulative reports for multiple sockets. In a production environment, however, a custom user interface can manage the execution, and the capability of joining multiple UUTs in a report might not always be an important requirement for the test station. In such cases, you can launch multiple executions of the Sequential process model instead of using the Parallel and Batch process models so you can take advantage of working with an easier-to-understand process model. A drawback to using this approach is that you need to properly propagate context, such as the socket index, so that each UUT knows which socket it is on. The Parallel and Batch process models implement this type of information passing by default. You need to add this kind of information to the parameter of a new entry point in the Sequential process model. You can add specific measurements to the sequences to complement the context for the reporting, such as UUTs tested concurrently, test socket, and other information related to the concurrent execution.
How do I do that?
So using the LabVIEW Simple User interface Example as a starting point, how do you independently start a test sequence and “properly propagate context” to each execution in a single User Interface.
I see the user interface front panel divided in 2 sections "Oven 1" and "Over 2" displaying testing status for each oven with two start buttons, “Test Oven 1” and “Test Oven 2”.
Each oven fixture reads a data file that contain the UUT serial number, row and socket so there will be no need for a Pre UUT call back to enter UUT serial numbers.
We have looked at two separate PCs but the 2 ovens are not completely independent and must share some info between them, but that is handled on the LabVIEW side.
Thanks
Omar
