Sensor calibrator options released

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 25, 2007

It is not only the standard Win475 high accuracy calibration system for acceleration, velocity and displacement sensors that Calibration Dynamics offers.

In order to have the capacity to calibrate almost any motion transducer on the market, MB Dynamics has developed a range of options for the Win475 calibration system for acceleration, velocity and displacement sensors, with every instrument available through Calibration Dynamics.

The range includes from the Win475 basic (trusted by the US Air Force) and the Win475-TS which measures a transducer's transverse sensitivity.

The standard MB Win 475 is suitable for the calibration of any IEPE/ Voltage or charge mode vibration sensor under 900g.

The MB Win 475 Low Frequency is designed to calibrate any high-sensitivity IEPE/ Voltage or charge mode vibration sensor used from 0.1 to 200Hz and ones that weigh under 4500g.

The most common accelerometers used to measure high- frequency vibrations, shocks, low-frequency vibration and inertial motion are AC-coupled accelerometers.

However, in automotive crash tests, munitions blast testing, trajectory monitoring, flutter testing, motion detection, tilt and orientation, ride quality, brake testing, modal studies, bridge and building monitoring, measuring milli-g's of acceleration, off-highway equipment durability tests, seismic surveys, measuring rigid body motion and making measurements where the data are integrated to yield velocity or displacement then DC responding accelerometers are used.

This is because DC responding accelerometers necessitate calibration and performance verification demands beyond those of AC coupled accelerometers.

Win 475 DC can calibrate these accelerometers DC accelerometers include piezoresistive, variable capacitance, servo, strain gauge and MEMS devices.

The Win475 DC option automatically performs static and dynamic measurements required to calibrate and verify the performance of all of these.

The Win Multi DUT has the capacity to calibrate up to four devices simultaneously and can be used for productivity checks on crash sensors, before and after a test.

Finally the Win 475 TS measures transverse sensitivity ideal for sensors that are used in multi-axial vibration environments.

As vibration sensors are primarily designed to measure motion in one axis, an accelerometer or velocity pick-up's output in mV or pC can become contaminated by motion in other directions.

The transverse effect varies depending on the direction of side vibration; therefore transverse sensitivity refers to such output caused by cross-axis motion, expressed as a percentage of the nominal sensitivity with direction dependence.

The Win475 TS will automatically rotate the sensor and acquire data at different angles about its sensing axis.

It will also measure frequency based transverse sensitivity at any user selectable frequencies from 30Hz to 2kHz and reports the amplitude in percentage of nominal sensitivity and the radial direction of maximum sensitivity.

It will then print amplitude versus frequency plots and typical "figure s" shaped polar plots.

It measures at multiple, user-selectable frequencies and the plots show how the transverse sensitivity amplitude varies.

Finally the Win Heavy DUT is designed to calibrate massive transducers and switches, weighing between 900g and 4500g.