Application Note...

PCS400 Pressure Calibration System

Application:

Calibration and Documentation of Pressure Switches

Challenge:

The customer manufactures a series of high precision pressure switches that have specified trip and reset pressure points. Final performance of each pressure switch must be verified, electronically filed and printed.

Solution:

The basic components of the system are a PCS400, a set of PC components and application-specific software installed on the PC. This software used the standard command set of the PCS400 to accomplish the task. These components are connected as shown.

The operator performs these basic steps:

1. Connects the pressure switch (DUT).
2. Uses the keyboard to enter the model and serial numbers of the DUT.
3. Responds to a screen prompt to cause the PCS400 output pressure to rise to the specified trip point of the DUT. If the DUT does not trip at the proper pressure point, an error is generated, and the test is halted so that a manual adjustment can be made to the DUT, and the test can be restarted.
4. Uses the keyboard to cause the PCS400 output pressure to drop to the specified reset point of the DUT. Again, if the DUT does not reset at the proper pressure, an error is generated, etc. the same as described in step 3, above.
5. Upon successfully completing these tests, creates an electronic file for the DUT and prints the data.

Results: The combination of the high accuracy, 1000 psig PCS400, driven by a PC, provides test pressures which are sufficiently accurate to allow this customer to process pressure switches ranging from 15 psig to 1000 psig.

The flexibility inherent in this mode of setup, which uses data files to determine the test parameters, allows changes, additions, and special ranges without the need to make a change to any part of the setup, other than to a data file in the PC.