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Essay / Calibration: what is it
Calibration is the process of determining the relationship between readings obtained by a measuring instrument or system and the applicable units of a defined measuring system. To ensure that measurements made or results provided by the equipment are accurate, they must be compared to a reference known to be accurate. This is what the calibration process is supposed to achieve, a comparison between known and unknown measurements. The equipment or device whose accuracy is known or attributed is called a standard. Standards vary from country to country depending on the type of industry. It is important to understand what is being calibrated and how the calibration is performed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay For example, consider a digital thermometer that uses an external temperature probe. Here a testing instrument is attached to the digital thermometer and a voltage equivalent to a specific temperature is applied to the digital thermometer. The result is then recorded and the thermometer is considered calibrated. The formal definition of calibration by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is as follows: “Operation which, under specified conditions, initially establishes a relationship between the values of quantities with the measurement uncertainties provided by the measurement standards and the corresponding indications. with the associated measurement uncertainties (of the calibrated instrument or the secondary standard) and, secondly, uses the information to establish a relationship allowing a measurement result to be obtained from an indication. This definition indicates that the calibration process is purely a comparison, but introduces the concept of measurement uncertainty by relating the accuracies of the device under test and the standard. Calibration Methods Calibration methods can be both manual and automatic, depending on the device being calibrated. Manual This is a complex procedure that is carried out by the user himself. This requires complete knowledge of the system or equipment being calibrated so that the calibration process is accurate and error-free. · Automatic Automatic calibration is carried out by automatic calibrators. These automatic calibrators consist of a control unit housing the electronics that control the system. There are several different formats for calibration sessions: Method #1 – Review and grade first, then discuss. Method #2 - Review together and grade together Method #3 - Review with agents Concept of benchmarking Benchmarking is essentially a process of comparison. An instrument is used to measure or is measured by a calibration standard, and the result is compared to two things: the known value and uncertainty of the standard and the performance specifications required by the customer. The concept is simple, but the work is in the details. Some details include: The value assigned to the measurement standard, which is usually determined from its calibration history. The known uncertainty of the standard, which comes from several sources, including historical calibration reports and internal statistical process control methods that many calibration laboratories have in place for their measurement systems. The environment of the calibration activity which includes temperature and relative humidity. · The methods and equipment used to make the comparisons. · The uncertainty of the measurement system relative to the published performance specifications of the item being calibrated or to customer requirements. Importance of Calibration Calibration is used to.