Calibration baths can vary in size depending on their purpose, application and the sector they’re used within. Across the life sciences, pharmaceutical, healthcare, aerospace and other industrial sectors, a calibration bath can be micro, small to medium or even industrial scale.

The typical 5L, 7L and 12L baths are usually suitable for calibrating a moderate number of sensors or probes. These smaller models are ideal for mobile calibrations where equipment might need to moved from one site to another. However, for more mainstream applications, size really does matter!

In this blog we’ll delve into how optimising the size of your calibration baths can improve productivity, throughput, efficiency and ultimately reduce cost per calibration.

With a calibration bath operating a uniformed temperature enclosure and housing fluid that can be precisely stabilised, sensors placed within it can be calibrated against the reference standard of the bath and validated accordingly.

Immediately, most baths will offer the flexibility to calibrate numerous sensors simultaneously. The question, however, is knowing when to size up. Bigger baths do usually mean better throughput, and this can produce a whole host of other benefits too. There is always a balance in ensuring that these larger batch sizes don’t compromise on technical performance which can feed into a higher overall measurement uncertainty. The larger the temperature calibration bath, the harder it can be to maintain the repeatability, uniformity and stability required for a precision calibration.

When it comes to temperature calibration baths, Withnell Sensors are here to guide you, soon enough we’ll have found your ideal volume, and you too can understand which volume meets your process needs.

Shared strengths, the importance of performance first

As temperature and humidity specialists, we’re partnered with a variety of market-leading brands to help you with the common practices and processes involved in all aspects of temperature measurement.

One of our leading partner brands is Kambic Metrology. We trust their entire metrology equipment range and utilise many of their units in our own UKAS accredited laboratory, based in Chorley. We have tried and tested many of their portfolio of temperature calibration baths, running these through various calibration cycles with different loggers and conducting routine validation. When we increased the volume size of the calibration bath we conducted a detailed assessment to ensure that the larger volume did not impact overall performance, we wanted to avoid a higher measurement uncertainty for calibrations!

Withnell Sensors uses both the 22L and a 50L calibration baths in the ultra-low temperature range. Their scale is impressive whilst still environmentally friendly and precision led. All baths are designed to maintain a lower level of GWP than the EU standard requirements.

For over 25 years Kambic have designed and produced industrial solutions that meet the exact needs of customers. The same can be said about the size-up capability of their calibration baths, with 7L, 22L, 50L and 200L specifications all available through Withnell Sensors!

Featuring the Kambic 22L and 50L calibration baths specifically, Withnell Sensors enjoys flexibility and throughput!

These two working volumes are impressive, collectively, this is because they allow for the calibration of various temperature sensors and instruments in bath sizes that can dramatically increase process efficiency. Together they share:

• High precision achieved through a 2-cylinder system
• Uniformed vertical flow
• High performance micro-processor control loop for control
• User friendly control panel, intuitive software and USB interface
• Ability to pre-programme calibration cycles for increased automation
• Standard, low temp and ultra-low temp bath

The standard 22L and expansive 50L volumes can flexibly accommodate the different shapes and sizes of measuring devices (probes, loggers, sensors) deployed across various applications, including pharmaceutical, food production, aerospace, laboratory and continuous storage.

Whether you’re working with the Kambic 22L or 50L calibration bath, you can reap the benefits of ultra precise set points, meticulous uniformity and exceptional stability during critical calibration workflows

Size does matter, and a bigger bath is advantageous, here’s why

The key difference between the two baths is simply volume and capacity. The 50L bath boasts the suitability for larger batch calibrations without sacrificing accuracy.

The increased volume capacity of the bath means that Withnell Sensors lab can calibrate nearly 3 times as many loggers in 1 batch using the larger 50L Kambic Bath. Using the software to pre-programme the calibration cycle automates the process for further efficiencies. Due to the larger volume of fluid to be heated/cooled the cycle can take longer in a larger bath, however the precision engineering ensures that stability, uniformity and repeatability are all superiorly maintained. When conducting routine mapping of the 50L Kambic ULT calibration bath, we assessed the uniformity at -90°C and reported an average of 0.004°C which is a similar value to the same point on the 22L bath. This demonstrates the extent of the precision and accuracy when holding the fluid at a defined setpoint.

By increasing the amount of devices you can calibrate at once, you can begin to assess how important frequency and speed are to your workflow. The capacity directly effects workflow efficiency, it’s often the case that you can calibrate more loggers in less batches – saving both time, energy and labour.

These aspects are specifically valuable in production environments, service provider labs and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Here, speed and throughput are critical to wider business aspects like revenue, profitability, safety, sustainability and compliance.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, for instance, stalls in calibrating temperature data loggers can indirectly lead to batch release delays or slow down quality control cycles. Differently, in a contract research organisation a larger batch load could mean improved capacity without increased staffing or overhead.

Ultimately, the scalability provided by a 50L calibration bath enables various applications to proactively increase their calibration capability. All of which also benefit from better turnaround times. It’s not as simple as ‘going big or going home’, however, and there are some aspects to consider before opting for a 50L calibration bath (or bigger!..)

What to consider when choosing a large-scale calibration bath for your facility?

• Available space and floor layout
• Power requirements
• Batch size and frequency of calibration requirements
• Fluid handling and safety
• Environmental controls e.g. HVAC systems

The benefits of calibrating in volume

The chain of advantages is simple, a bigger space in the bath will mean that more probes can be calibrated simultaneously which achieves a faster turnaround and therefore a better ROI.

A batch approach will reduce downtime since there’s fewer cycles and higher volume operations can mean that there’s reduced labour costs because time is also saved.

Treating calibrations as batches improves the scheduling of work and the efficiency of the workflow itself. You can opt to calibrate multiple of the same devices at once, grouping devices that require the same standard of calibration such as setpoints.

In summary, if you’re looking for more advanced workflow management and better utilisation of time, then a larger temperature calibration bath is a great choice.

Real life case study – Withnell Sensors’ very own calibration laboratory!

Withnell Sensors is home to its very own independent UKAS calibration laboratory, that delivers services across temperature, humidity and voltage.

We have a range of calibration baths used in the different areas of our lab. This includes several 22L baths and an additional Kambic 50L temperature calibration bath. All of our equipment is deployed in our facility to help us achieve the very best in cost, turnaround times and precision results. These are all benefits you can reap too when you choose us to complete your annual, planned and ad hoc calibration!

As only one aspect of our extensive calibration business, Using the 50L Kambic bath has allowed us to increase our batch size to handle up to 50 loggers further streamlined with our automated calibration cycles and custom software. Our team have seen less downtime, fewer cycles and much higher productivity!

We recognise the decision between compact and high-capacity equipment can be difficult. Which is why our expert engineers are on hand to help you find the right solution, offering unbiased guidance and support.

So, does size matter?

The answer is simple, if you need to calibrate high quantities in the best timeframe as well as optimise your process, then absolutely size does matter. Regardless of the litre size, precision comes as standard with every model of the Kambic calibration bath. Let’s discuss your sizing requirements today!

Browse all our calibration baths here

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