NOVA™ is a PC-based noise and vibration analyzer designed for Windows® XP, 2000, NT, 98. By combining the best signal conditioning and acquisition hardware with HEM Data’s software designed especially for noise and vibration analysis, NOVA offers a powerful, yet compact, lightweight, portable analyzer. This combination enables HEM Data to offer key functions at an affordable price, that is significantly less than the cost of a dedicated analyzer.

NOVA combines the capabilities of a dynamic signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, digital storage oscilloscope, stripchart recorder, and data logger. By integrating all of these components into a single system, the user only needs to learn a single user interface to perform a variety of tests, reducing the training time in what has traditionally been an area where expert personnel were required to perform the testing.

A major feature of NOVA that separates it from the competition is that its powerful features are available in all domains, including time, frequency, revolution (angular), and order domains. This means that you have a spectrum analyzer that can also do time synchronous averaging, digital filtering, integration, differentiation, correlation, logic, and statistics.

Options to display your data include:

• Plots: Y vs. time, Y vs. another channels, Y vs. angle or revs, X, amplitude vs. frequency, phase vs. frequency, histograms, bands (octaves: 1/1, 1/3, 1/12), Bode, orbit, Nyquist, real vs. imaginary, Hysteresis, Lissajous, waterfall, Campbell and spectrogram.
• Meters: dial, bar, digital and indicator

NOVA’s users have three ways to efficiently start acquiring and analyzing data:

1. One option uses built-in Wizards that leads a user through four dialogs to automatically configure a test instrument. Wizards are oriented toward specific functions such as FFTs, transfer functions, octave band analysis, oscilloscope, logger, replay from disk, etc. as seen in the row of Templates in the NOVA front panel.

NOVA Front Panel

2. A second option is the pre-configured instruments that are application specific and capitalize on the expertise and knowledge designed into NOVA. The application instruments include: dynamic stiffness, impact testing for modal analysis, order tracking, noise analysis, etc.

3. After starting with either of the first two options, the user has the option to then customize the instrument without any programming! This is possible because NOVA is built on HEM Data’s award winning Snap-Master data acquisition and analysis software.

NOVA has a more powerful user interface as seen by the front panel above and the dialog below which allows the user to define the acquisition and frequency analysis with just three entries. The user only needs to define the Frequency Range (bandwidth), number of spectral lines and either the number of averages or total capture period. All other parameters are calculated for the user. It is quite educational to see the interaction of these various parameters. Specifically, knowing the time and frequency resolution before initiating the test is an extremely helpful and practical feature.

Dialog to Define Acquisition and FFT Parameters
Also Show Related Parameters

NOVA Features

• Expert Technology for the Casual & Expert User - NOVA helps steer users of all levels through the complexities of noise and vibration testing using its built-in knowledge and Wizard-based test setup. NOVA even displays the interactions between the test parameters in terms that are easy for the novice to understand.
• Advanced Acquisition Hardware - NOVA works with the latest portable, integrated signal conditioning and acquisition hardware designed for noise and vibration testing. Housed in rugged enclosures with a footprint smaller than a laptop, you can design a system with channel counts ranging from 2 to 64 channels and bandwidth up to 25kHz per channel.
• Powerful Data Analysis - Capitalize on the time and frequency analysis capabilities in NOVA not only to analyze your data, but also to create smart instruments with “Intelligent Processing” to help determine the quality of the data and derive conclusions from the data such as pass / fail.
• Customizable for the Expert User - NOVA is built upon Snap-Masterâ„¢, HEM Data’s powerful data acquisition and analysis program. From customizable data displays to test specific analysis routines and the unique Sensor Database, noise and vibration experts can design specialized tests for any NOVA user.
• To ensure quality data, NOVA incorporates automated calibration and ranging routines to help match the best hardware settings for the data being analyzed.
• Combine NOVA with DAWNTM to acquire data from the in-vehicle network for noise and vibration testing of a vehicle. DAWN supports the following protocols: CAN, ISO15765, J1979, OBD-II, J1939, J1850 and ISO 9141. Combining NOVA and DAWN has the advantage of using the production vehicle sensors to measure the vehicle’s speed, engine speed, various temperatures, and some accelerometers. You, therefore, only need to add the missing sensors required for your test.

Target Applications

• Order tracking to analyze rotating machinery
• Modal analysis, identifying resonant frequencies
• Frequency response (transfer) functions
• Power spectrum & power spectrum density
• Predictive maintenance and diagnosis
• Production line (pass/fail) testing
• Product development
• Identifying noise sources and material’s noise absorption properties.
• Field and in-vehicle testing.

System Requirements

NOVA requires a Pentium with 128 MB RAM, 10 MB hard disk space a mouse, and Windows® XP, 2000, NT or 98. NOVA pricing varies depending on the I/O hardware selected, with typical prices ranging from $8,500 to $25,000. Special upgrade pricing is available for current Snap-Master users.