- What is a Calibration Standard, and why do I need one?
- Are EA Labs Calibration Standards backed by literature? How?
- Does EA Labs have Certified Calibration Standards?
- What is a Certified Calibration Standard?
- Do EA Labs Calibration Standards adhere to ASTM, ISO, NIST, or other Nationally or Internationally recognized standards for the use or manufacturing of Calibration Standards?
- How do EA Labs Calibration Standards match up to the major OEM products?
- Can I purchase the same mass as why my OEM would sell me?
- What sets EA Labs’ Calibration Standards apart from the OEM standards?
- What purity is required for calibrating thermal analysis equipment?
Q: What is a Calibration Standard, and why do I need one?
Calibration Standards are used to calibrate Thermal Analysis equipment, among other equipment in the chemical testing world. Calibration Standards come in many varieties such as pure, alloys, chemical mixtures, and gases.
For Thermal Analysis equipment, most Calibration Standards are pure (99.99% or 4N) to highly pure (99.9999% or 6N). Though some are alloys such as Alumel and Perkalloy. Alloys are generally 2 component with both combined having 99.99% purity in the alloy.
Calibration standards for the Thermal Analysis industry are backed by nearly 100 years of experimental testing for the exact material reference point the Calibration Standard is used.
Q: Are EA Labs Calibration Standards backed by literature? How?
All EA Labs Calibration Standards are backed by literature sources that we have sought out before manufacturing the Standards we sell.
We started with the common practices, standards, and publications that the OEMs cite as their sources for information, and we kept going backward through publications to find the original testing literature publication to determine exactly who and when the melting temperature of a substance like Indium was determined to be 156.59 oC
In addition to literature articles, the OEMs often cite the ITS-90 standards for material properties. The ’90’ in the name refers to 1990, when the standard was last revised.
Q: Does EA Labs have Certified Calibration Standards?
EA Labs will be working to provide Certified & Traceable Calibration Standards as soon as possible to match what TA Instruments sells. Please check our shop Calibration Standards to see if they are available.
Q: What is a Certified Calibration Standard?
A Certified Calibration Standard from TA Instruments, according to their website and technical papers confirms the following about the element being sold:
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- 99.9999+% purity or “6N+” purity.
- Certificate of Analysis / Spectrographic Analysis
- Documentation proving the lot’s material characteristics meet the requirements (i.e. Tm of Indium = 156.59 oC, Certified Standard: 156 + 3 oC)
TA Instruments is the only supplier of Certified Calibration Standards at this time.
Q: Do EA Labs Calibration Standards adhere to ASTM, ISO, NIST, or other Nationally or Internationally recognized standards for the use or manufacturing of Calibration Standards?
EA Labs Calibration Standards inherently adhere to all National and International standards for the use of these Calibration Standards for thermal analysis equipment. EA Labs Calibration Standards are not produced or manufactured according to any ISO certification.
In addition, all EA Labs Calibration Standards are recognized to provide the desired material property for all OEM equipment when used in accordance with the operating procedures for the equipment as backed by decades of literature citing their exact property and use for calibration.
Due to this inherent nature of the use of the Calibration Standards, all OEMs provide “non-certified” Calibration Standards because the use and properties are so well established and known that “Certified” Standards are not required.
Q: How do EA Labs Calibration Standards match up to the major OEM products?
For direct comparisons, please see our “OEM Calibrants” page showing our research into exactly what the OEMs are selling.
In general, all OEMs sell a minimum 99.99% or 4N purity calibration standards. This purity is considered the minimum acceptable purity to achieve a desired material property for calibration purposes.
TA Instruments sells Certified Calibration Standards which they promote as 99.99998+% or 6N8 purity. See the description above for additional information on Certified Calibration Standards.
EA Labs sells 99.99+% or better on all Calibration Standards. Certain standards like Iron (Fe) are very difficult to acquire at a higher purity than 99.99% with no guarantee that a higher purity will result in a better calibration.
Q: Can I purchase the same mass as why my OEM would sell me?
Yes!
EA Labs has researched what each OEM sells as their standard product via direct purchase, website description, or through other purchasers.
When you select the Calibration Standard, look for your OEM’s part number, and it will show the closest mass to the standard mass your OEM would send you. Please note that some of our products have a higher mass than what the OEM sells, and a lower rate. Please see below for what sets EA Labs apart from the OEMs.
Q: What sets EA Labs’ Calibration Standards apart from the OEM standards?
EA Labs, in general, sells the exact same Calibration Standard(s) as the OEMs, but this only puts us on par with the OEMs.
The primary differences between an EA Labs Calibration Standard and the OEM standards are:
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- Purity – We only select the highest purity standard that matches literature.
- Form – Almost exclusively wire form for ease of cutting and use in the lab.
- Quantity – We sell quantities to meet your needs not our ease of sale and manufacture.
- Paperwork – we provide physical and digital copies of our CoAs and MSDS.
- Certification Backing – EA Labs backs the quality and use of all our standards during ISO, FDA, or other inspections as Certified for Use – FREE! We will even help you with the appropriate paperwork required by your inspectors.
Q: What purity is required for calibrating thermal analysis equipment?
Most original research cites the use of 99.9999% pure material, but, at times, lists 99.999% or “highest available.” The lowest purity percent we have seen in original research publications is 99.99+% pure.
What is “original?” We use this term to mean that the research article was on novel or new research purposefully seeking to more accurately determine the value of the materials physical property such as the melt temperature. The values from these articles are often cited by other literature for decades.
What is most intriguing about the literature that the OEMs use to validate their numbers were published upwards of 30 years or more ago. Against, starting with the research article cited, and then working backwards because most literature citation currently used are actually citing property values from prior research; the articles were not based on new experiments of the well established values.