Advanced Tubular Technologies can provide software solutions that perform
automatic translation between customer data formats and industry-standard
file formats.
Translation programs provide the final link between proprietary formats
on customer computers and bending cells with measuring centers and tube
benders.
This page describes an actual program that we started to develop and test
while we were installing two Benderlink control systems on-site.
The program took 16 hours to write, including revisions.
(Of course, some applications will take longer.)
Before implementation of this software, data was printed at another location, then
re-entered by hand at the benders. This software provides a much improved
system because it allows
the data to pass directly from the main server to the work cell through a
direct network connection.
Click on the image to the right to see a program that was written specifically for a Benderlink customer. It translates their internal engineering files to the Supravision measuring center format.
(Please note that the Source TU File window is blurred in the
TUSV Translator as a courtesy to our customer. Their format is proprietary.)
If you look closely at the Supravision filename in the first image above, you
will notice that it created
a filename that uses an unusual directory structure. This is
because our translator created a Supravision file using the long Supravision
filename format. If the translation was performed from within the measuring
center itself, the file correctly displays in the Supravision list as soon as the
translation is complete.
The image to the right above shows an additional toolbar "Output File" button that displays
if the operator configures TUSV to allow manual naming of the Supravision file.
The User Interface
We pay careful attention to the user interfaces of our programs. To use the TUSV
program, the operator presses the Input File... button and then browses for the
file.
True Windows 95 Programs
Since the translator is a true 32 bit Windows program, it recognizes long
filenames, and will recognize any network connection automatically. This means
that the program can even load data off a remote server.
Automatic Naming
When the source file is selected, the operator can either name the Supravision
file to receive the data, or allow the translator to automatically create the
Supravision name from data inside the customer file. The operator presses
the Translate button, and the translation is performed in less than a second.
Configuration
The image below (left) shows the configuration options in this translation program.
It allows you to manually or automatically name the Supravsion file. The
exact options in this window depend on each customer application.
Help Menu
The software includes a help page that shows, step by step, how to use the
program.
Click here to go back to the regular Custom Programming page.