DMC, Inc.
Chemical process monitoring

LabVIEW Real-Time solution for Chemical Process Monitoring

Summary

When a major chemical processing facility in the Midwest experienced an unexpected sensor failure, operations came to a standstill. The original sensor was obsolete and had no direct replacement—putting production and safety at risk. The plant sourced an alternative sensor, but it required a completely different hardware interface. DMC stepped in quickly, leveraging the National Instruments CompactRIO (cRIO) platform to design and implement a custom interface solution. Our agile engineering approach enabled the plant to resume operations in record time, minimizing downtime and avoiding costly delays. This project highlights DMC’s ability to rapidly deliver mission-critical automation and integration solutions—especially when timing, safety, and reliability are non-negotiable.

Solution

To solve the sensor integration challenge, DMC engineered a flexible, rapid-deployment solution using the National Instruments CompactRIO (cRIO) platform, which combines real-time processing with FPGA-based customization. The client overnighted their existing cRIO system to our team, and within just two business days, we had reprogrammed it to communicate with a CAN-based Siemens NOx sensor—fully tested and ready to deploy. Beyond solving the immediate issue, we built in configurable logic that allows the client to seamlessly integrate future sensor types without major rework.

The result? A tailored, high-performance solution delivered with exceptional speed, minimal disruption, and long-term adaptability. The client was thrilled with the turnaround time, functionality, and overall value.

cRIO

Learn more about DMC’s LabVIEW programming services and contact us for your next project.

Customer Benefits

  • Immediate Business Resumption: After weeks of searching for a solution, the client contacted DMC and was back up and running in three business days.
  • Future Business Resumption and Cost Savings: The solution DMC created was not only quick but flexible– it enables any future changes to the CAN-enabled sensor protocols to be handled completely in configuration, with no programming changes needed.
  • Technologies

    • National Instruments
    • cRIO
    • CAN
    • NI-CAN
    • Siemens NOx sensor
    • LabVIEW FPGA
    • LabVIEW Real-Time