Research was undertaken to gain a better understanding of Control Engineering subscribers’ applications and needs regarding handheld test and measurement equipment.
Executive Summary
• Among those who specify, recommend, or buy handheld test and measurement equipment, 96% do so for in-plant requirements, while 19% do this for OEM needs.• The most common application for handheld test and measurement equipment is continuous and batch processing.• Eighty-three percent of respondents use handheld test and measurement equipment to measure electrical parameters. The next most prevalent purpose is to measure temperature.• Analog voltage is the most commonly measured signal type, followed by 4-20 mA and electric current.• Of those respondents who use handheld measurement and/or analytical equipment, more use multipurpose varieties than use single-purpose types. With calibration equipment, the usage level for single-purpose and multipurpose types are almost equal.• Fluke tops the list of handheld test and measurement equipment manufacturers purchased from in the past 12 months.• Nineteen percent of respondents expect their purchase of handheld test and measurement equipment will grow in the next 12 months, while only 13% expect a decline.• Accuracy/repeatability is the most important factor to control engineering professionals when selecting handheld test and measurement equipment. Durability and “easy to use” round out the top three criteria.• 77% of respondents mention their signals occupy 0– 20 kHz bandwidth with another 42% mentioning 20kHz – 2 MHz.• The vast majority of respondents (89%) mention they specify multimeters, followed by 81% specifying temperature measuring instruments. Slightly more than half of respondents specify oscilloscopes.• Forty-eight percent of Control Engineering subscribers responding do not receive Control Design. Sixty-one percent do not receive Control.
Handheld Test & Measurement Equipment Product Research
