Accelerometer and vibration meter calibration
Accelerometers and vibration instruments we calibrate
- PCB Piezotronics and IMI Sensors — ICP accelerometers across the 3-series and 6-series
- Brüel & Kjær (HBK) — 4507, 4508, 8340 and charge-output types
- Endevco (Amphenol), Dytran and Kistler
- Metra Mess (MMF), Wilcoxon and Hansford Sensors
- Hand-arm and whole-body vibration meters from Svantek, Casella and Larson Davis
We are not an authorised service centre for any of these makers and have no commercial relationship with them. Calibration is performed against the standard, not against a manufacturer's procedure, so the make matters far less than the class of the instrument. If yours is not listed, ask — the list is what we see most, not a limit.
Turnaround
- Standard lead time
- 10 working days from receipt
- Express service
- Available on request, subject to laboratory schedule — quoted at booking
- Loan instrument during calibration
- On request, subject to availability
- Send with the instrument
- Accessories that affect the reading — preamplifier, extension cable, windscreen — and the date of the last calibration
Calibration by comparison against a reference transducer on a precision shaker. Sensitivity and frequency response across the working range, for single transducers or the whole measurement chain.
Mounting changes the answer
An accelerometer stud-mounted, wax-mounted and magnet-mounted on the same structure will give three different high-frequency responses. We state the mounting used on the certificate, and we will tell you if the mounting you use in the field undermines the calibration you are paying for.
How you mount it changes what it reads
An accelerometer is calibrated attached to a shaker in a defined way, and it measures whatever the mounting transmits to it. That is not a formality. Stud mounting, adhesive, a magnetic base and beeswax all have different upper frequency limits, and above that limit the mounting resonance — not the structure — is what dominates the reading.
So a calibration certificate that says the transducer is accurate to a given frequency is a statement about the transducer, not a promise about your measurement. If you mount it on a magnet in the field and your interest is high-frequency machinery vibration, the mounting is your limiting factor and no calibration will rescue it. Tell us how you mount it in practice and we will tell you whether the frequency range you are asking us to certify is a range you can actually use.
Sensitivity drift is quiet
A transducer that has been dropped, overloaded or cable-stressed rarely stops working. It usually keeps producing a plausible signal at a slightly different sensitivity, which is far more dangerous than a dead channel — a dead channel gets noticed on the day, a shifted sensitivity gets trusted for a year. Comparison against a reference on a precision shaker is what finds it.
Should I send the cable and conditioning amplifier as well?
Send the cable, yes — cable faults are a common cause of apparent sensitivity change and it costs nothing to rule out. Whether the conditioning amplifier is included depends on how you use the chain; tell us and we will advise before you ship.
Is this accredited?
No. Vibration transducer calibration is traceable but outside certificate 24-LB0054, which covers sound level meters, sound calibrators and measurement microphones only. The certificate we issue says so.