Smart Tweezers Offset Calibration Board Available in the LCR-Reader Store

Offset Calibration Board for Smart Tweezers LCR- and ESR-metersSiborg’s newest addition to the LCR-Reader Store is the Smart Tweezers Offset Calibration Board.

This PCB emulator allows Smart Tweezers and Colibri LCR-meter users to easily and accurately find the offset capacitance to a varied range of components (02014, 0402, etc.) with a simple measurement. The PCB uses holes at the width of components; when the tips of a device are inserted in the holes, the device will give the actual offSmart Tweezer probes and offset calibration boardset value. This value can then be subtracted from the value of the component being Smart Tweezers ST-5S and Offset Calibration Boardmeasured.

Previously, to find out the parasitic value, users had to approximate the width of the component with the tips. This method was unreliable for accuracy.

The Offset Calibration Board also makes setting the Smart Tweezers’ semi-automatic offset subtraction value easier.

The Smart Tweezers Offset Calibration Board is available in the LCR-Reader Store in all Smart Tweezers and LCR-Reader Pro and Plus task kits as well as alone.

Siborg Releases New Calibration Fixture and Certificates for LCR-Reader

LCR-Reader Calibration Fixture
LCR-Reader being calibrated by the new fixture. When a device is connected, it will show the measurement values on its’ display. These values are then compared to the known values within the calibration fixture.

Siborg has been working over the past year with the Institute of Automation and Electrometry at the Russian Academy of Sciences in creating a Calibration Fixture that will allow periodic calibration of all models of Smart Tweezers, and, most importantly, the LCR-Reader. The calibration fixture was then sent to Navair Technologies in Toronto, Canada to be verified. With this verification from Navair, Siborg will soon be able to include calibration certificates with LCR-Reader, which was a main hindrance in companies using the device.

The calibration unit utilizes a 4-wire connection which has been found to reduce noise between connections and the PCB within the calibration fixture.

Previous calibration fixtures used a 2-wire connector which worked well for older models of Smart Tweezers, including the ST-1, ST-2 and ST-3. The 2-wire connector was not able to handle the measurements within the LCR-Reader and Smart Tweezers measurement ranges. Due to parasitics, it could not measure lower values of capacitance and inductance and higher values of resistance. Therefore, the 2-wire calibration fixture was only able to measure mid-range values.

The calibration fixture uses 14 known components that lay within the range of measurements. When a device is connected, the fixture will signal a different component with each button push. The measurement values are instantly displayed on the LCR-Reader or Smart Tweezers‘ display which can then be compared to the known values of the components to determine accuracy.

“The new fixture makes it much easier to provide periodic traceable calibration now that it has been certified by Navair Technologies. We have now completed two versions of the calibration fixture using both 4-wire and 2-wire connections. The 4-wire is best suited for newer models, including the recent LCR-Reader. The 2jig-wire is best for the older models, including the ST-1, ST-2, ST-3 and STIC. These older models used a 2-wire connection in the handles of the device and could not be properly tested with the 4-wire terminal. This new calibration unit will allow all models to be tested and calibrated.” says the Director of Research and Development at Siborg, Michael Obrecht.

Soon, the calibration certificates will be available in the LCR-Reader Store; there will be 2 types to choose from: a basic calibration certificate that ensures the device has been calibrated, or a more detailed format that shows the measurement results compared to the known values.

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