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The 6430B and 6440B Precision Component Analyzers provide thorough and accurate testing of any passive component to high resolution.
In particular, for capacitor manufacturers, the instruments provide capabilities for both fast automatic production testing and complete design characterisation.
Users include designers of passive components, manufacturing test, designing and testing materials as well as circuit designers who are evaluating component characteristics.
The resonant frequency can be automatically calculated for any component together with its equivalent series or parallel circuit at that frequency.
Both instruments are designed for high performance testing of components, with a basic accuracy of 0.02%, at a low price. 6430B is the entry level instrument covering to 500 kHz whilst the fully featured 6440B covers to 3 MHz.
To evaluate a component performance at high speed over a specified range of frequencies, multi frequency mode is used.
In this mode the operator decides which parameter is to be measured and at what frequencies. The 6430B and 6440B does the rest, creating an easy to read table on the large LCD display. Each test can have a simple Pass/Fail display.
Impedance (Z)
Phase Angle (Ø)
Inductance (L)
Capacitance (C)
DC Resistance (Rdc)
AC Resistance (Rac)
Quality Factor (Q)
Dissipation Factor (D)
Admittance (Y)
Conductance (G)
Reactance (X)
Susceptance (B)
To characterize a component graphically the user can select any of the available measurement functions and create a graph of the parameter value against frequency or AC drive level.
The user is also able to toggle between the major and minor term, for example impedance and phase angle. Either linear or logarithmic scales can be selected.
Following the first sweep the user can use the FIT key, which automatically scales the vertical axis to provide the optimum display for the device under test (DUT).
A marker is also displayed which can be positioned at any point on the graph using the navigation keys. The MAX and MIN keys position the marker at the peak or trough of the graph. The marker position is displayed at the bottom of the screen showing the vertical axis value, its minor term and the frequency or drive level.
Whether it’s a single parameter, table of results from multi frequency mode or a logarithmic graph of component performance, the 6430B and 6440B will output the results directly to a printer.
The GPIB interface is used to control the instrument and read back measured values for quality control or for archiving purposes.
Output lines are also available to control a bin handler interface. Component tolerance levels may be pre-set and stored. A 25-way D connector mounted on the rear panel gives easy access for connection to external component handling equipment.
The 6430B and 6440B deliver fast automatic testing of capacitors in a production environment. The user is able to select measurements from any of the instruments range and perform up to eight different tests on each component.
Tolerance bins can be selected for each of the tests. The instrument selects the overall bin after completing all the tests. The measured results can be output over the GPIB or to a printer.
The test sequence is triggered by external input, GPIB or the front panel. Once the test sequence is complete the bin is selected and the measured data is made available on the GPIB. This process takes place at very high speed allowing a dual frequency test to be completed in approximately 180 ms.
Pass/Fail data in statistical form is available to the user and can be viewed on the LCD display, printed to a local printer or exported over the GPIB.
As the market leader with over 50 years experience of developing component analyzers you would expect Wayne Kerr to provide the best performance in the industry. However, what you might not also expect is that their products are able to offer high performance and accuracy at very competitive prices.

Overload Protection Unit 1J1100
High precision measuring instruments can be sensitive to charged capacitors and if connected can lead to costly repairs and unacceptable downtime. Wayne Kerr Electronics have identified this problem and developed a solution that protects the test equipment from charged capacitors.
In this event, the protection unit blows fuses, which can be easily and cheaply replaced, whilst the test equipment remains unharmed and continues to provide reliable accurate performance.
The protection unit will protect the test equipment from up to 25 Joules of charged energy.
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Website © PDS Instruments Ltd 2008