Raketvetenskap is the consulting company of Daniel Svanberg based in Helsingborg. It was founded in 2007 with initial focus on software and testing on windows platforms but has gradually expanded into embedded systems, electronic design and industrial automation.
Historically most projects have been performed on fixed price basis but I also do assignments by the hour. Project ranges from single hours consultancy or troubleshooting to development projects spanning over several years.
See linkedin for CV
I've worked professionally with software development since 2000 and have a wide experice of different tools and platforms. Some of the more frequently used environments are Visual studio, Delphi, Labview and Codesys.
Most of my assignments include some sort of hardware integration such as measurement systems or robotics but the more administrative features (e.g. HMI, data archiving, user control, reporting, scheduling etc) is usually what requires most work.
With the pharmaceutical industry as a frequent customer, structured and documented testing of software is a large part of the daily work.
Raketvetenskap designs bespoke electronics and manages all steps from component selection and PCB CAD to fully assembled boards with costum firmware. I'm your one-stop-shop to turn your idea into a working prototype.
Board printing and assembly is normally done by trusted partners for a professional result but individual SMD board can also be assembled inhouse when required.
See also product section for examples of devices produced.
The customer had a process where one of the service points was to verify the time of a 1 cm vertical movement, i.e a short drop. Historically this has been performed with a measurement equipment developed in the mid 90:ts based on an accelerometer attached to a National instruments DAQ system and a Labview application running on a windows NT 4 desktop computer. The equipment was setup on a dedicated trolley to facilitate transportation. As age takes its toll the risk of interruptions increases and none of the hardware could be obtained anymore. Neither could the Labview source be easily adapted to new hardware, in fact it couldn’t even be opened with contemporary Labview version without a two step intermediate conversion.
As a replacement a standalone matchbox sized electronic unit was developed using an microcontroller with piezo resistive accelerometer. In all its simplicity it shows the time in milliseconds from being dropped until a hard stop is reached.
The equipment analyses batches of inhalers autonomously according to different methods created within the system. I've previously built this type of software using Embarcadero Delphi but in this case the customer preference was to use the more controlled environment of Siemens WinCC scada system. Audit trail and user access control was crucial requirements.
Besides the WinCC parts I was also responsible for the sequence engine on the PLC. The sequence engine controls the order of operations based on the 70+ parameters set from the WinCC operating panel.
A VB6 application most recently updated in 2008 and running on windows XP / Oracle 12 was required to become compatible with W10 / Oracle 19 along with bug fixes and new hardware support. The software operates a pallet sized analytical equipment consisting of several pumps, multiport valves, stepper motors and a balance.
VB6 as development environment was decommissioned almost two decades ago but it can still be used to create applications for W10. It's successor by name, VB.net, is a quite different platform that would require a rebuild of almost all modules and a complete revalidation. Hence it was decided to stay with VB6 and replace the hardware drivers/API calls, user authentication and database connection. The installation packaging was also replaced with WIX since the native VB6 tool previously used isn't compatible with W10.
Raketvetenskap has created a few products integrated in instruments sold by FIA
(PCB and firmware supplied by Raketvetenskap)
Originally an instrument designed to measure risetime of flow (i.e. flow step response during valve opening), Stig has evolved into a portable general purpose flow and pressure logger with millisecond resolution. The instrument support up to 4 different pressure ranges by accommodating different pressure sensors and has a companion PC application for direkt transfer of data.
Stig PCB includes charging logic, USB mass storage, realtime clock, RS232 communication and Isolated auxiliary digital I/O for synchronizing with external equipment. The instrument is operated through a touch display.
For more info visit www.fia.se (risetime version)
Metivent is pc application for TSI mass flow meters. It enables the user to collect flow vs time profiles and change settings not directly accessible on the flow meter itself, such as start and stop trigger and gas calibration mode.
For more information and order see: Metivent Software - AB FIA Online Store
(PCB and firmware supplied by Raketvetenskap)
The instrument controls vacuum flow actuations while logging critical flow and pressure parameters. The PCB is equipped with up to 7 pressure sensors and supports output on USB mass storage and paper slip printer.
The equipment is operated via an 7" touch screen display which shows all relevant data in realtime.
For more info visit www.fia.se
Raketvetenskap is the literal Swedish translation of rocket science. The Swedish form isn't a commonly used expression but it was a phrase I liked to use and most people understood the nod to the English idiom so it ended up as the name of my company. Initially it felt a bit silly and pretensions but it turned out quite well since the name had the ability to easily stick to mind with anyone who heard it.
Raketvetenskap - Bringing rocket science down to earth