Kistler expands scope of accreditation with traceable on-site and in-situ calibrations

This minimises downtimes, especially in production environments where the sensors are permanently integrated into the machine. It also allows the entire measuring chain to be taken into account during calibration. Traceable calibrations stand for a high standard and are accepted internationally.

If manufacturers want accurate measurements, they need to calibrate their measuring devices regularly. It is the only way to monitor the precision and stability of the sensors. Especially in industrial production, where the integration of sensor technology for process monitoring is becoming increasingly important, downtimes of the affected machines or lines due to calibrations pose a challenge. An easy way to minimise downtimes is to carry out calibrations at the production system's operating site. They are even more effective if the sensors can remain in the machine (in-situ calibrations).

Traceable calibrations

However, the requirements for calibrations are high. The automotive industry has defined a strict standard with IATF16949. The consumer goods sector, medical technology and aviation are following suit with similar specifications. They exclusively accept traceable calibrations ie calibrations that can be traced back to a national or international standard in a state institute.

Only calibration laboratories accredited by a national accreditation body like the German Accreditation Body DAkkS can fulfil this requirement. Traceable on-site calibrations require an extended accreditation. Kistler can offer this high standard for force measurement chains up to 300 kN with an achievable measurement uncertainty of up to 0.35%.

Kistler's newly expanded calibration service also includes the company's electromechanical NC joining systems. Electromechanical joining systems are a good way of reducing energy costs, increasing plant utilisation and boosting overall production efficiency. More and more companies from the automotive and supplier industry therefore opt for electromechanical NC joining systems in their serial production, explains Christian Streili, service development manager at Kistler.

Precisely definable press-in forces and extremely high repeat accuracies require regular and standard-compliant calibrations. With the extended accreditation, we can now carry out this service on-site and in-situ in a time-efficient manner.