Calibration World Issue 1-2007 - Beamex - #21

needed include the pharmaceutical, food and beverage and chemical industries.

Weighing instruments are typically very accurate, but they still need to be calibrated frequently to ensure that measurement value and uncertainty meet requirements. CMX calibration management software includes Eccentricity Tests, Repeatability Tests, Weighing Tests, and Minimum Capability Weighing Tests to assist in complying with all calibration requirements. CMX also stores other compulsory information, such as traceability to used weight sets and weights, environment temperature before and after calibration, environment pressure and humidity, date and time, as well as information about who performed the calibration. All of this information can be entered into the PC at the workstation or a mobile Pocket PC. CMX automatically produces traceable and auditable calibration certificates of all performed calibrations.

This new function for calibrating weighing instruments improves the versatility of CMX calibration management software as it is already capable of tracking several other process quantities such as pressure, temperature, electrical, length, flow, pH and other user-defined quantities.

- John Roethke, USA

Standard QD3 Calibration Procedures and History Records are fully compatible and transferable to CMX. This means that upgrading to CMX is very easy and smooth for QD3 users. Product specialists at Beamex do database conversions and normally conversion takes 1 to

2 days depending on the amount of procedures and records. The converted database will be delivered with standard installation instructions. Upon request also standard log

file containing detailed conversion information and validation document is available.

Remember that it is highly recommended that system users are trained in using new CMX calibration management software before the QD3 database is converted and the CMX system has begun operation in production.

- Peter Kigotho, Kenya

The re-calibration interval of calibration equipment, such as Beamex MC5, should be based on the uncertainty needs of the customer, as well as on the stability history of the equipment. For a new unit, the first re-calibration period is generally recommended by the manufacturer.

Customers often use the equipment's uncertainty specifications as criteria for calibration instead of specifications based on their own needs. For the MC5, we recommend a 1-year recalibration interval at first. During recalibration, the As Found and As Left results should be recorded to inform the customer of the stability for that particular piece of equipment. If the stability is good compared to the specifications and needs, the calibration interval can be extended.

CMX's feature for calibrating weighing instruments is based on:

OIML international recommendation OIML R 76-1: 1992 (OIML = Organization Internationale de Métrologie Légale or International Organization of Legal Metrology).

European standard EN45501:1992 + AC: 1993

NIST Handbook 44 - 2004 / 2.20. Scales (NIST = The National Institute of Standards and Technology, US)