In most instances of developing and implemented an automated test system, the method and cost of calibrating equipment is not addressed or even understood at the time of the purchase. This issue becomes more of a concern when a very specialized piece of equipment is purchased and the only firm capable of calibrating it is the original manufacturer. This results in higher calibration costs (which is born by the Quality and/or Manufacturing departments) and also involves a lead time in shipping the unit back to the Manufacturer. Assuming an out-of-state manufacturer and UPS Next Day shipping (both ways), the annual calibration cost can be on the order of $500/year.
RT Automation has addressed this issue with the design of the MeasureOHM® product by utilizing a Fluke 8808A 5.5 Digit Multimeter (included as part of the product) to make the 4 Wire electrical resistance measurements. As a result, the only device requiring to be calibrated is the Fluke 8808A Multimeter as the MeasureOHM® software simply obtains the measurement reading from the Fluke 8808A multimeter via serial communication. There are numerous firms (in large cities – local) capable of performing the calibration service for the Fluke 8808A multimeter and typical pricing is on the order of $100/year. Additional savings on the calibration service may be obtained by directing the calibration firm to ONLY calibrate the resistance measurement capability of the Fluke 8808A multimeter.
