Temperature sensors

Temperature sensors

Meeting the unique demands of complex applications

Temperature is often a critical factor with even a small measurement error being disruptive and often very costly.

Choosing the right temperature sensor and have it work effectively in an application can be challenging. For temperature-sensitive and critical applications, also making sure it’s protected from environmental elements and fully understanding the effect the addition of protection will have on a sensor’s characteristics, along with how they will be mounted and connected, requires extra consideration to make sure they’ll work correctly and accurately once assembled into your design.

We partner with top-tier, world-leading partners that specialise in sensors for high-precision results, with a full range of the highest-quality, most accurate and reliable temperature sensors available including, platinum and nickel RTD’s, thermistors, thermopiles, pyrometers, fibre optic temperature sensors and custom sensors - with options available to suit the most basic requirements through to the harshest of environments as well as complex applications.

Custom assemblies

Our technical field staff and business development teams have the skill and resources to work with you to apply these advanced or specialist technologies to develop ground-breaking designs. Custom sensing assemblies are particularly useful for harsh and high-end applications, and our team of engineers, with more than 25 years' experience designing custom sensor probes and assemblies for a range of applications, will help ensure you choose the right sensor element, design a suitable housing, and add the appropriate cable and connectors;

We offer the following:

  • Highly specialist and accurate harsh environment sensor solutions for the most demanding conditions
  • Improved system performance – Optimise thermally, electrically and mechanically for the specific needs of the application
  • Full package of unique, customisable, high-quality temperature sensors, with suitable solutions for small quantities or mass production
  • Wide range of precision-engineered metal housings, plastic housings, silicone and rubber tubes, and over-moulding
  • Shorter development cycles – First article samples are generally available within a four-to-six-week lead time
  • Total cost of ownership reduced – The probe is supplied complete, tested and ready to install in your system, reducing assembly time
  • Reliability – All designs are manufactured in facilities accredited to ISO9001
  • Customisation options for challenging designs

Our technologies

Discover our range of technologies

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Platinum RTD sensors

Resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensors are sensors exclusively used to measure temperature and are considered to be amongst the most accurate type available. RTD elements usually consist of thin-film technology or wire wound, comprising of a length of fine wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core, most commonly made using platinum (Pt) because it follows a very linear resistance-temperature relationship where the element’s resistance increases with temperature in a known and repeatable manner. This process, R vs T (resistance versus temperature), makes the sensor more predictable than thermocouples or thermistors, making designing electrical interfaces simpler and cheaper.

Platinum RTD’s offer cost-effective, simple-to-operate, long term temperature control with near linear-outputs and very good accuracy, and are well suited to applications within medical, industrial environments, automotive and high voltage equipment.

  • Excellent long-term stability - Requiring less calibration and maintenance, meaning you can ‘fit and forget’ for many years
  • A wide operating temperature range, typically -200°C to 600°C
  • High repeatability and have high immunity to electrical noise

We supply RTD’s from world-leading manufacturers and have technical field engineers with product-specific expertise to advise you on the right temperature ranges or tolerance classes for your application.

We also have a range of nickel RTD’s that offer long term stability, and a high level of resistance to mechanical and thermal shock across a temperature range of -60 to +200°C ideally suited to HVAC, heating and domestic appliance applications.

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Thermistors

Thermistors are resistance thermometers; whose resistance is dependent on temperature with a non-linear R/T function. Making them ideally suitable in applications where a ‘set-point’ or ‘threshold’ in the temperature control needs to be established. Made of metallic oxides, pressed into a bead, disk, or cylindrical shape and encapsulated with an impermeable material such as epoxy or glass. These are commonly used in everyday appliances such as fire alarms, domestic appliances such as coffee machines, irons, hair dryers, ovens and refrigerators, digital thermometers and in many automotive applications.

Covering both standard and customised thermistor temperature sensors and temperature probes, we offer some of the best thermistors on the market. From highly trusted, world leading suppliers that have over 60 years of expertise and capabilities to manufacture miniature thermistors with consistent characteristics using unrivalled glass encapsulation technology that are fully customisable to meet the demands of complex designs.

Advanced sensor technology with:

  • Unique designs with unmatched performance
  • operating temperatures from -60°C to +1000°C
  • Options with silver and gold contacts and waterproof glass coatings
  • Minimal wear during thermal cycles - Providing a clear, stable readings up to +1000°C
  • Ranges that offer zero defect and extreme accuracy
  • High customisation options - Wide range of typical sensors with plastic, metal or epoxy encapsulation including IP68 over moulded probes that can be completely designed to your requirements plus a variety of metal and plastic housing and tubing’s designed for specific applications

Thermistor elements and sensors are unmatched in their performance across harsh environments, such as electric vehicles, automotive, industrial equipment, home appliances, consumer electronics and air conditioners.

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Thermopiles

Thermopiles are composed of several thermocouples connected usually in series or, less commonly, in parallel and convert thermal energy into electrical energy for contactless surface temperature sensing.

These give a non-contact alternative to thermistors, but still with exceptional sensitivity and fast response times and stable response characteristics along with being hermetically sealed as standard and a small size package, makes these easy to install into applications such as patient monitoring, non-contact thermometers and appliances.

Featuring:

  • Non-contact measurement
  • High-sensitivity and fast response
  • -20OC to +100oC operating range
  • Consistent accuracy
  • Hermetically sealed package

We also provide a variety of filters to help maximize performance in specific applications.

Pyrometers

Pyrometers

 

These remote-sensing, infrared thermometer sensors are used to measure the temperature of distant objects by determining the thermal radiation emitted from their surface.

Highly engineered for precision, power conversion and measurement for even the most demanding applications such as monitoring systems for the petrochemical and metal manufacturing markets, these sensors provide cutting-edge technology that’s accurate and offers high dependability, delivering real-time measurement via in-situ probes.

    We cover a range of pyrometers suitable for almost every application need, offering you the most reliable, rugged and accurate options available from leading manufacturers.

    Our portfolio covers:

    • Metal applications pyrometers
    • Non-metal applications pyrometers
    • Petrochemical sensors
    • Semiconductor and  thin-film pyrometers
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    Fibre optic temperature sensors

    The fibre optic sensor technology has an optical fibre connected to a light source to allow for detection in tight spaces or where a small profile is beneficial and are based on the light absorption/ transmission properties of gallium arsenide (GaAs).

    We partner with top manufacturers of fibre optic temperature sensors to bring configurable sensors of a high standard to our range. These sensors operate between temperatures of -100 to 330C with built-in calibration for high accuracy (±0.05°C) measurements and are perfect for applications within the energy, research and medical industries.

    • Bringing high accuracy and a high-temperature range for different etching and wafer fab processes
    • Low noise solution
    • High reliability with low failure rates
    • Immune to electromagnetic interference
    Custom temperature sensor probes

    Custom temperature sensor probes

    For more challenging designs, customisation is usually a requirement. We can advise and guide you on the best solution for your application, delivering a custom-designed temperature assembly and probes with a fast turnaround.

    Provide a full range of highly accurate and reliable sensors perfect for sensitive/critical applications that need to detect changes in temperature quickly – along with the flexibility of a variety of customised options, tailored to your application.

    We have decades of experience designing custom wireless temperature and meat probes, and can advise you on the best element, housing, cable and connector solution for your application, delivering:

    • Improved system performance – Probes are optimised thermally, electrically and mechanically for the specific needs of the application
    • A wide range of elements - Sourced from industry-leading partners covering thermistors (NTC and PTC), RTDs, thermocouples and thermopiles
    • Custom packaging options - Precision-engineered metal housings, plastic housings, silicone and rubber tubes, and over-moulding
    • Total cost of ownership reduced – The probe is supplied complete, tested and ready to install, reducing assembly time
    IoT Technology Centre

    Our IoT and Wireless Technology Centre will advance your ability to deliver innovative technology solutions for complex applications – from sensors to the cloud.

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    IoT Wireless Technology Centre

     

    Creating custom solutions and navigating adding challenging connectivity to an application requires specialist expertise and capabilities. Our team of hardware design and software application engineers have extensive experience, ensuring we can bring your concept to life.

    Covering proof of concept and feasibility studies for development, through to working prototype realisation and initial production management, our team delivers you complete project support.

    Our approach

    When it comes to developing custom solutions for tomorrow's technologies, we trust our approach to deliver the best possible outcome.

    Our engineers will skilfully guide you through each stage of your project, working with you to understand and identify a solution that meets your technical and commercial needs before designing and integrating your solution.

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    CONSULT.

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    Working together to create the right solution.

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    From modified to fully customised components.

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    Technological expertise across your application lifecycle.

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    Solutions and expertise

    Our solutions and expertise are centred around six key markets

    Over the years we have built up considerable knowledge and knowhow, providing tailored solutions for our customers.

    • Transportation
    • Medical
    • Industrial and Connectivity
    • Renewable energy
    • Aerospace and Defence
    • Security

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