Temperature sensing: Precision data converter for thermocouples

Given the fragile nature of the analog signal from a thermocouple, users frequently like to convert it to a more robust analog platform, such as 4-20 mA, or a digital format. Data Translation , a provider of data acquisition test and measurement equipment, has released TEMPpoint, a series of high accuracy temperature measurement instruments, each with its own 24-bit A/D (analog to digital) converter.

The company says each TEMPpoint instrument is a stand-alone box offering 48 separate 24-bit resolution inputs, each with its own A/D converter and cold junction compensator (CJC), as well as a USB or Ethernet port for connecting to a PC.

Key features are designed to support high measurement accuracy:

48 dedicated 24-bit A/D converters for ultimate resolution;

48 dedicated CJC circuits guarantee ultra-high (+/-0.01%) accuracy;

1000V Channel-to-Channel galvanic isolation for superior signal protection;

Anytime auto-calibration guarantees accuracy;

Automatic linearization of B, E, J, K, N, R, S, and T standard thermocouples; and,

Expansion to hundreds of channels by adding boxes to the network.

A TEMPpoint unit offers internal software capabilities that allow the user to acquire temperature measurements from up to 48 thermocouple or RTD channels, display, analyze, and save data to disk, all without writing any code.

TEMPpoint is available in four separate versions: Thermocouple inputs for USB, RTD inputs for USB, Thermocouple inputs for Ethernet (LXI), and RTD inputs for Ethernet (LXI).

—Edited by Peter Welander, process industries editor, PWelander@cfemedia.com , Control Engineering Weekly News

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