Category: News

New Calibration Jig

Siborg Systems Inc and the Institute of Automation and Electrometry at the Academy of Sciences have banded together in creating new calibration jigs with 4 and 2 wire connections allowing for all models of Smart Tweezers and LCR-Reader to be calibrated.

This jig cannot create NIST certificates and needs to be certified itself, but is a helpful tool for periodically checking the accuracy of devices as well as troubleshooting if a device should fail or malfunction.

When connected to a Smart Tweezers or LCR-Reader device, one press of the button allows the calibration jig to systematically cycle through 14 known components. The results are then displayed on the ST or LCR-Reader display to be compared to the known values.

The 4-wire jig is compatible with models from ST-3 and up, including the LCR-Reader, while the 2-wire jig is best for older models.

Siborg Sends 4 LCR-Readers for Verification

Since the LCR-Reader does not come with an NIST traceable certificate, Siborg sent 4 randomly chosen LCR-Readers to Toronto’s Navair Technologies, one of the leading calibration facilities in Canada that offers NIST certification.

Siborg has recieved the results and they provided surprising results. Siborg has claimed that the LCR-Reader offers a 1% basic accuracy, while the results are closer to 0.5%. The only measurement that was away from the estimated values was the 1 Ω measurement which is off due to parasitics between the tips.

View the results here: Navair Results of LCR-Reader

Siborg Adds New Reseller for LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers in China

Siborg Systems Inc. has struck a new deal with Shanghai Cuiyan Electronic Instrument Co., LTD, a premium reseller based in China. This new deal will bring Smart Tweezers and LCR-Reader to China and surrounding areas.

Shanghai Cuiyan Electronic Instrument Co., LTD is a premium reseller of all sorts of products for the electronics industry in China and surrounding areas.

“We are excited for this new deal with Shanghai Cuiyan Electronic Instrument Co., LTD that will bring the LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers LCR-meters closer to customers in China and surrounding area. Customers will no longer have to wait for long shipping and customs times for their devices, they will also have a closer option if their devices need maintenance or repair.We think that the Smart Tweezers family of LCR-meters is a great fit amongs Shanghai Cuiyan Electronic Instrument Co., LTD’s other products and their customers will appreciate them.” says Michael Obrecht, the Director of Siborg Systems Inc.

Siborg Gains New Manufacturer of LCR-Reader Parts in Taiwan

The LCR-Reader from Siborg Systems Inc. is a stripped-down version of the Smart Tweezers line of LCR-meters. Siborg had been working for years creating a device like Smart Tweezers but with a lower price point to appeal to non-professionals. To achieve a lower price, features such as continuity/diode testing, component sorting, semi-automatic offset removal and the ability to change the test signal amplitude were removed.

Though lacking some features, the LCR-Reader not only automatically evaluates for Inductance, Resistance or Capactiance, the device also measures ESR values. Being able to evaluate the ESR is important for electrolytic capacitors. In some equipment, such as e.g. power supplies, with PCB populated with elements,  not all of them in use, no documentation available, the only alternative is to plug in a replacement, time consuming and tedious procedure. Since it is known that for electrolytic capacitros ESR is an issue, it is a good idea to just test them first. It is not even needed to be a precise measurement, because when the elctrolytic  capacitro dries up, its ESR goes from an mOhm range all the way to KOhms. This allows to make quick and easy repairs. Sometimes it just gives a better insight. It works well with any size, down to the smallest parts in new smart phones.

“Smart Tweezers offers the ability for quick and highly accurate evaluations of SMT components,” says Michael Obrecht, the Director of Research and Development at Siborg, “For model ST-5S the basic accuracy is about 0.2%. Our goarl for a few years was to reduce the cost of manufacturing of the device. Recently we introduced the LCR-Reader that is priced at half of the Smart Tweezers ST-5S price and we plan to further reduce the price with the help of Injohnson Precision Industrial.”

Injohnson Precision Industrial Co., Ltd., professionally manufactures a wide range of metal products, precision (CNC) machining, plastic and rubber molded products as well as oil seal and packaging. They have over 35 yeras of professional experience and are constantly devoting themselves to improve technology and create new innovative products. This is the basis of their success that has yielded present plans for a new factory and office in the People’s Republic of China. With this factory, they can offer better and faster customer satisfaction requirements.

Injohnson offers small and large orders, high quality, competitive prices, prompt delivery and good service. Their products can be custom-made and designed according to requested specifications.

 

About Injohnson Precision Industrial Co., Ltd.,

Mr. J. S. Fu – Presdent and CEO
Injohnson Precision Industrial Co. Lt.d
Taiwan Head Office: No. 107, Kuan-Fu Rd., Bei-Dou (52146),
Changhwa Hsein, Taiwan

Shanghai (China) Office:
Ms. Sunny Wang
Rm 2512, A unit, No. 1088, New Gold Bridge Road, Pudong New Area,
Shanghai, China

 

New Model of LCR-Reader; Siborg Systems Inc. Provides Update

Siborg Systems Inc. and the Institute of Automation and Electrometry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk, Russia, has been working over the past two years in creating a new model of the LCR-Reader.

“Smart Tweezers gives the ability for quick and highly accurate evaluations of SMT components,” says Michael Obrecht, the R&D director at Siborg, “For the ST-5S model, the basic accuracy is about %. Our goal in this project was to reduce the cost of the required components and PCB complexity, and, therefore, manufacturing cost of the device.”

There were two approaches taken aiming for manufacturing cost reduction: the traditional Smart Tweezers approach using a sinusoidal small-signal test and a response of the measured device to a voltage step signal. The first method has eventually led to the LCR-Reader that was released in June-August of  and is currently priced at $200.

Further advancements in technology and available ICs allows the device to have a 100 KHz test frequency. This is integral to testing small inductances and Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) measurements. The ESR value is crucial for testing high value electrolytic capacitances, both tantalum and aluminum.

The ESR values on aluminum and tantalum electrolytic capacitors with non-solid electrolyte can measure up to several ohms. ESR values also tend to increase with frequency due to the effects of the electrolyte. This increase of ESR values can create serious problems in Aluminum electrolytic capacitors. Though these problems are normal, large ripple currents or high temperatures can intensify the aging. The increase can be enough to cause circuit malfunction or even damage the component, despite the measured values staying withing the tolerance range of the circuit.

“We tried various circuit designs to implement a higher test frequency, but this causes battery life issues because they drew too much power. But as technology progressed, better Li-Ion batteries and new ICs (integrated circuits) meant we didn’t have to forfeit battery life for the higher frequency.” says the Team Lead Valentin Litvintsev, at the Institute of Automation and Electrometry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk.

 

LCR-Reader Doubles Sales

After being on the market for a little more than a year, the LCR-Reader has quickly become Siborg System Inc.’s best selling device, doubling that of Smart Tweezers.

“We are quite happy with the sales progress made by LCR-Reader. It started slow, but due to low price and high reliability it caught up with Smart Tweezers sales in the last few months. Despite lower accuracy and limited functionality the device covers main needs for testing Surface Mount Devices and PCBs. In addition, it performs much better for high value capacitors exceeding 1 mF which require using a manual test mode on the ST-5S, the latest model of Smart Tweezers.” says the Director at Siborg, Michael Obrecht.

LCR-Reader’s sales are partially due to availability; the device can be bought from Siborg Systems Inc. on Amazon in the US, UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, France and Spain. It is also available from many distributors across the globe, including:

Van Device Ltd.,
9-10-202 Nihonbashi Kobunacho
Chuo-ku TOKYO, 103-0024 JAPAN
Tel +81-3-5652-2888
Fax +81-3-5652-2889
Contact：Yukari Nemoto
nemoto (at) vandevice (dot) co (dot) jp

CV. KT INTERNATIONAL
Komplek Dian Centre C12
Nagoya Batam 29433 – Indonesia
Sales        : 62 778 432986 , 423775
Acc         : 62 778 432976
Fax         : 62 778 422731
Mobile    : 62 812 7027699
Email        : tamsir(at)ktisolution(dot)com
Email2     : info (at) ktisolution(dot)com

CF System Technology Sdn Bhd
No. 43& Jalan Section 1/28, Taman Kajang Utama, 43000, Kajang
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Telephone 603-87405207
Fax 603-87374986
Contact Person : Mr Raymond Lau We-Han
raymond (at) cfsystem (dot) com (dot) my
peize (at) cfsystem (dot) com (dot) my
Managing Director : Mr. Lau Yu Han
Web www (dot) cfsystem (dot) com (dot) my

Lokmita, UAB
Taikos 141
Kaunas LT-51132
Lithuania
Phone: +370 37 351 729
Fax: +370 37 351 729
Email: info(at)lokmita(dot)lt

SPE Group
Novosibirsk, Akademgorodok, 4а Inzhenernaya Street, Suite 212
Phone/Fax:: (383) 330-82-95
Contact: Pavel Fedorov
fedorov (at) spegroup (dot) ru
www (dot) spegroup (dot) ru

Import-Export Dept.
INDOCHINA EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES.,JSC
No.1 – LK6B, MoLao Urban, HaDong Dist, Hanoi, VN
Tel: (+84)-4-7 303 5666
Fax: (+84)-4-7 303 4666
Contact Jessica (Ms.)
Mobile: +84-904.766.151
E-mail: info (at) dongduong-vn(dot)com
Skype: Jessica.nguyenngat
Website: www(dot)dongduong-vn(dot)com/
indochina-vn(dot)com/

LCR-Reader Now Available in Lithuania from New Distributor

The LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers LCR-meters have been picked up by a new distributor in Lithuania; UAB Elintos Matavimo Sistemos. This new deal brings the Smart Tweezers line of LCR-meters further into the European market.

UAB Elintos Matavimo Sistemos has been operating since 1996 as a supplier of measurement equipment and power sources for industrial enterprises. They are constantly expanding their range of products and services to meet the needs of the industry. They currently offer a wide range of measurement instruments and equipment including test and adjustment systems and power sources; verification and calibration services and consulting on the products they offer.

“We are happy to have UAB as a new distributor. UAB offers a wide range of test and measurement equipment; we think that the LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers will be a good fit for their customers. This deal will bring Smart Tweezers to customers in Lithuania and surrounding Europe, and will provide a closer to home option for customers, whether they are just getting their devices or require maintenance or repair.” says Michael Obrecht, the director of Siborg.

For more info please contact: UAB „ELINTOS MATAVIMO SISTEMOS Terminalo g. 3, Biruliškių k., Karmėlavos sen. LT–54469 Kauno raj. Lithuania Tel.: (8~37) 45 27 90 Fax.: (8~37) 35 01 35 Mobile: (8~698) 8 77 94 E-mail: info (at) elintosms (dot) lt

 

LCR-Reader Gains New Distributor in Taiwan

Siborg Systems Inc. has gained a new distributor for LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers LCR-meters; King Hor’s Enterprise Co. Ltd. in Taipei.

King Hor’s Enterprise Co. Ltd. are a supplier of precise electronic instruments and equipment for over 30 years. They provide full customer service and first stage product analysis. King Hor’s Enterprise is currently expanding into custom textile exporting.

This new deal will widen Smart Tweezers and LCR-Reader’s markets in Asia, and will lessen wait times for customers when ordering new devices or sending their devices in for maintenance.

LCR-Reader Update; Colibri

After a full year of availability, the LCR-Reader from Siborg Systems Inc. is getting an update. The newer model, the LCR-Reader Colibri.

The Colibri offers the same high basic accuracy of 1% and features as the LCR-Reader with fully automatic measurements. The main difference between the two models, is the ability to change the test frequency manually. Unlike the LCR-Reader which only the test mode is changed when the button is pressed; the Colibri cycles through the modes with different frequency selection. IE: Automatic, L, 1kHz (default), 100 Hz, 10kHz, C, 1kHz, 100 Hz, 10kHz, etc. The device is also able to be reset by holding the button down for a few seconds.  The Colibri also comes with precision tips; slightly sharper gold-plated tips that allow for a more focused grasp on components.

LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers LCR-meters Cyber Monday Sales Price

Siborg Systems Inc. is offering a sale price for LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers LCR-meters for Cyber Monday, on Monday, December 1, 2014. The sale will begin at 12:00 am Eastern Time Monday, and will end 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Orders can be made online at Smart Tweezers Canada, Smart Tweezers US and LCR-Reader, as well by phone (519-888-9906) or fax (519-725-9522).