Thermometry bridge offers flexible calibration

A Hartest Precision Instruments product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 31, 2006

Series of high performance resistance thermometry bridges is the first on the market available in both AC bridge and DC measurement formats so offering the ultimate in flexibility.

The new F600 from ASL is billed as a new high point for thermometer calibration technology.

This new series of high performance resistance thermometry bridges is the first on the market available in both AC bridge and DC measurement formats so offering the ultimate in flexibility.

Accurate to within +/-0.5mK and able to provide resolution of 0.1mK, the F600 will satisfy even the most demanding users working in the most exacting precision applications.

ASL has been building and distributing calibration systems to the world market since 1967 and the F600 will replace the ever-popular F300, which was first sold in the mid 1980s.

Aimed at national and accredited laboratories, major end users with in-house calibration departments, critical process companies and research organisations, the F600 will prove a vital element in any process where temperature and temperature differences are critical to the quality of the end product.

ASL has supplied similar devices to the nuclear and pharmaceutical industries, manufacturers of large turbines and pumps, and sub atomic research establishments where measurements down to thousandths of a degree are required.

The Surrey-based firm is renowned for its work with the world's most demanding temperature measuring industries including NASA, Airbus and all of the international standards setting laboratories including NPL.

The heating, military, pharmaceutical, brewing and petrochemical industries also make widespread use of ASL technology for precision calibration, process monitoring, sterilisation and validation work.

"While we have always been happy to back the performance of the F300, it is time to take advantage of the advances in manufacturing techniques and microprocessor technology to take our technology onto the next level", says ASL's Sales and Marketing Manager Alex Mathie.

"This new format is far more robust and end users will find it more reliable and easier to work with than existing versions on the market".

The AC bridge operates at the lower frequency of 25Hz (50Hz supply) or 30Hz, while the DC version provides a switched DC sensor current able to simulate the advantages of AC/AC bridges.

The F600 allows users to save information and display it on the large scale, multifunction VFD screen as an aid to efficient working.

They can also choose to select or change functions, such as probe current, by using a dedicated switch or from within the on-screen menu.

For multichannel applications, the F600 operates with ASL's existing switch box systems to allow system expansion up to 60 channels.

Modern manufacturing techniques have also allowed ASL to design an extremely robust device that is also much easier to service than its predecessors thus extending the operational life of the calibration tool.

The F600 is designed primarily for fixed applications such as laboratory benches and so complements the company's recently launched F100 precision portable calibration device.

ASL is now part of the Hartest Precision Instruments group (HPI), which also comprises the specialist instrumentation companies Wallace, Tinsley and Sheen.

The group was established recently to create opportunities for growth both within and beyond the very specialised markets served by the individual companies.

More than 80% of the combined business is accounted for by exports with a particularly strong presence in North America, the Middle and Far East.

Integrity of measurement has always been a hallmark of ASL instruments and the F600 continues that tradition.

However, for the first time users have the added flexibility of being able to choose between an even lower frequency AC bridge and switched DC measurement technology to suit their needs.