September 9, 1992 -- Vadnais Heights, MN - Apeiron, a member of the
National Instruments Alliance Program, announced today the availability of
its Laser Thread Measurement System (LTMS, patent pending), which features
computer control via the new LabVlEW graphical software for Windows. The
LTMS is an automated, laser-based instrumentation system that will help
meet all inspection requirements for a wide range of threaded fasteners
including those of military specification Mil-S-8879C. Users can take
advantage of the LTMS on the factory floor as well as in a quality
laboratory.

The LTMS is the first of a series of products developed by Apeiron to
provide noncontact measurement for manufacturers. The LTMS uses laser
triangulation to provide critical dimension measurement for complex
manufactured parts. The company is focusing its initial product design
efforts on thread measurement for several reasons - first, the difficulty
of making these measurements accurately with other techniques; second,
Laws, regulations, and customers requiring these measurements for safety
and quality; and third, the cost of making these measurements with
existing gauges.

Using LabVIEW and instrumentation interface hardware from National
Instruments, the LTMS quickly and automatically measures key thread-form
characteristics, including pitch diameter, root radius, and lead flank
angle. The measurements are highly reproducible. The LTMS also digitizes
and analyzes the data, and electronically stores the results by lot
number.

LabVIEW is critical to the success of the LTMS due to the variety of
end-user requirements and the complex hardware interfaces required, such
as motor controllers and sensors. Using LTMS and LabVlEW, product
development time is reduced and responsiveness to customer demands is
increased.

With the intuitive graphical user interface tools in LabVIEW, Apeiron
developed an easy-to-use operator interface for the LTMS. The user can
measure, display and store the full range of thread dimensions in under
five minutes. The LTMS automatically compares the actual measurements to
specifications and alerts the user to any problems. Users can easily
access data stored in the system to generate lot traceability and
production reports.

Another unique feature of the LTMS is its 3D visualization and plotting
capabilities, made possible by the inclusion of SurfaceView, a special
add-on to LabVlEW for Windows. SurfaceView provides LTMS customers with a
way to visually identify flaws in the thread-form surface. Identifying
these flaws is particularly useful when measuring the dies used to
manufacture threaded parts. The SurfaceView feature is an option to the
basic LTMS system.

Why LabVIEW? 

"Apeiron selected LabVlEW as the integration and interface software for our
measurement systems primarily because of the efficiency we realize in
program development," explains Ken Liles, director of product development
at Apeiron. "The LabVIEW graphical programming environment gives us the
tools necessary to efficiently integrate the various hardware components
used by our products. The concurrency and data flow paradigms of LabVIEW
fit well with our product requirements, since we are integrating sensory
hardware with data analysis operations to produce precise measurements,
not just graphical profiling. In addition, with LabVIEW we can quickly and
easily change system operating parameters based on individual customers
specifications."

Pricing, Availability, and for More Information 

The LTMS is available now from Apeiron, with prices starting at $50,000.
For more information, please contact Apeiron at 450 Oak Grove Parkway,
Vadnais Heights, MN 55127, (612) 483-3364, Fax: (612) 483-3478.

LabVIEW for Windows is available now from National Instruments for $1,995.
The full development system includes the Data Acquisition VI Library, GPIB
VI Library, Instrument Driver VI Library, Analysis VI Libraries, and CIN
(Code Interface Node) Toolkit. A base package, available for $995,
includes all of the VI libraries except the Advanced Analysis VI Library
and the CIN Toolkit. The VXI VI Library sells separately for $495. For
more information please contact National Instruments Corporation, 6504
Bridge Point Parkway, Austin, TX 78730-5039, (512) 794-0100, Fax: (512)
794-8411. Call toll-free in the U.S. and Canada at (800) 433-3488

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