Test equipment sourcing specialist Livingston has put facilities in place that will greatly assist customers struggling with the cost and logistical problems presented by carrying out recalibration. It will henceforth offer them the option to calibrate their own equipment by renting calibrators from its inventory.
For smaller companies, involved in installation work or serving the industrial space, it is often hard to justify the heavy investment needed for acquiring calibration equipment, as the stock of test instrumentation being held is not enough to ensure regular utilisation of the calibrator. As a result the calibrator is left idle and the money spent on it is effectively wasted. Likewise, sending single pieces of instrumentation off for calibration is not very cost effective, as there is a considerable mark-up involved each time. It can prove to be far more attractive, both financially and operationally speaking, to simply rent a calibrator once year to re-calibrate all the company’s instrumentation in one short period – especially if it is at a time of year when test activity is quiet (such as the summer holidays).
The Fluke 5522A multi-product calibrator, now available via Livingston, is capable of addressing a wide of different calibration jobs. It can act as a voltage calibrator, resistance calibrator or current calibrator. It sources direct voltage (up to 1.02kV) and current (up to 20.5A), alternating voltage (10 to 500kHz) and current (10 to 500kHz) with multiple waveforms and harmonics, two simultaneous voltage outputs or voltage and current to simulate DC and AC power with phase control (0.1°), resistance (0 to 1000Mohms) and capacitance (220pF to 100mF). The 5522A can also measure thermocouple temperature (10µV/°C) and pressure. Sine, square, triangular and truncated sine waveforms can be accepted and <300ps edge rise times dealt with. Using this device, all multi-meters, current camps, data loggers, recorders and oscilloscopes with frequency levels up to 600MHz can easily be calibrated (with process cards available for coaching users through the process). The device comes with internal and external protection mechanisms that safeguard it against damage and make it easier to transport for on-site or mobile calibration.
“Regular calibration of instrumentation is vital, in order to identify any issues and to avoid potentially dangerous situations arising” says Reinier Treur, Livingston’s Global Marketing Director. “External calibration can be expensive as associated costs like transport need to be taken into account. Furthermore it is time consuming. By renting a calibrator from Livingston, however, companies can quickly complete the necessary calibration procedures themselves in a highly cost-effective manner, without any loss of revenue generation by the instruments involved.”
