Becca Tiwet | Jan 20, 2026 | 4 min read
Modernizing Nuclear Test Infrastructure Replacing Legacy Controls and Data Acquisition Systems to Streamline a Critical Test Process
From the beginning, VoxSomnia has been engaged to deliver more than LabVIEW development alone. Our customers rely on us to design and implement complete controls and data acquisition solutions, combining hardware platforms with custom software, either as standalone services or as a fully integrated package. This approach has been applied across a range of industries, including defense, fluid power, and academic research.
In this project, VoxSomnia partnered with a nuclear research facility to modernize a legacy test system, collaborating with a third-party LabVIEW developer while serving as the primary hardware provider and onsite testing team. The project reinforced VoxSomnia’s role as a full-scope controls and DAQ partner, capable of owning the physical system as well as its integration and validation. The following case study outlines the high-level scope and outcomes of this effort.
Problem Statement:
The research team was unable to work effectively with the old data collection and control system built in the 1980’s. The system was maintained by many different people over the years with very little records kept on upgrades and changes. As the decades went on, the system had become a mess of wires, and the research team decided it would be better to start fresh with modern equipment.
Requirements:
- Create a new control and DAQ system, using NI hardware (a combination of five cDAQs and one cRIO).
- Collect data from over 200 thermocouples, as well as several pressure and flow signals.
- Include outputs for test system control via software.
- Include a safety circuit with e-stops.
- Include redundancies and allow room for growth and expansion.
VoxSomnia’s Solution:
After exploring several different design options, we recommended a wall-mounted, 5x3.5 ft, control panel that would house the entire system. One design constraint was the location of the sensor wire. Due to the size of the testing facility, it was not feasible to run new sensor wire to the test system, and the box must be able to accommodate the existing wire. This required the box to be mounted such that the top of the box was about 8ft off the floor and the sensor wire would be fed in through cut-outs in the top of the box.
The design of the inside of the panel box minimized space claim, as well as minimized thermocouple wire to keep costs reasonable. Other design considerations included grounding and signal integrity. All IO’s were fully tested in our shop, prior to installation on-site, using a thermocouple, a signal generator, and NI MAX. Since we had the control panel in our shop, we also worked closely with the third-party LabVIEW developer to test their code on the actual hardware. Doing this allowed the whole team to get early system verification testing completed before the panel was delivered.
During onsite implementation, our team meticulously removed the existing terminals from the wall and re-labeled all of the sensor wire.
Once the new panel was mounted to the wall, via a custom bracket, the existing thermocouple wire was fed into the box and wired to a pre-labeled terminal. Each thermocouple was recorded so that the software could assign each sensor to a specific DAQ input.
Results:
The research team now has new system with up-to-date documentation that they can now use to work with their third-party LabVIEW developers to create their test executive software and data collection. The team was impressed with VoxSomnia’s attention to detail throughout the project, the functionality of the new system with room for them to grow, and how neat and organized the wiring was.
Conclusion:
This project taught our team that we are more than simply software providers. VoxSomnia is a company that offers high-end control panel design, assembly, and physical installation. This was also the first time we collaborated with a third-party LabVIEW developer (our previous projects have always included our own software), and this experience was invaluable to us as we continue to grow in our own LabVIEW programming skills.
If your company needs a new or updated control panel and/or data acquisition system, schedule your free discovery call with the VoxSomnia team today! We have no sales requirements for initial meetings or quotations, and we love learning about new applications.
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