- TCC
- Out-of-the-box performance
Out-of-the-box measured performance
Here at ifm, we want you to be as confident in your temperature instruments as we are in ours. We thoroghly test each TCC sensor to ensure we manufacture the most stable, reliable and accurate temperature products on the market today.
ifm's calibration lab is accredited by A2LA to the international standard ISO 17025, the most rigorous quality standard in the measurement industry. The equipment used in this lab is traceable to NIST standards and duplicated on our production line. In the calibration lab, we tested out-of-the-box performance vs. datasheet specifications for the TCC family to ensure accuracy and reliability in our products. Then, we compared the performance of the TCC against products from three other major manufacturers.
Out-of-the-box measured accuracy
We placed 15 new, unstressed instruments from each manufacturer in our test equipment at 5 temperatures: 5 °C, 20 °C, 65 °C, 95 °C and 123 °C. Each dot in the chart indicates a datapoint and the horizontal lines indicate the manufacturer's specification on their datasheets. The very small deviation of the TCC indicates the high level of precise control within our manufacturing processes.
Out-of-the-box measured repeatability
Repeatability is an indicator of how trustworthy the measurement from a sensor is at any given moment. Here, it is represented as the difference between the average accuracy of all the samples and the individual measurements. The TCC's repeatability is less than 0.015 °C so you are assured the instrument provides repeatable measurements time after time.
Impact of ambient temperature on out-of-the-box accuracy
Changes in ambient temperature can cause drift in the electronics of sensors, potentially affecting accuracy of the measured value. Ideally, ambient temperature should have no impact on the measured value’s accuracy. Manufacturers specify the allowable deviation due to increasing or decreasing ambient temperatures. We refer to this specification as "temperature coefficient", but other manufacturers may use different terminology.
To test the impact of ambient temperature, we replace the RTD element in the tip with a fixed resistor, simulating a stable process temperature. Then, the sensors are placed into a thermal chamber and exposed to ambient temperatures of -50 °C, 25 °C, and 85 °C to measure the variation of the process temperature. Each dot represents a measured point and the horizontal bars indicate published datasheet specifications.