Force

The newton is an SI derived unit and is defined in terms of the SI base units of kilogram, meter and second. Miller Instruments can report force in units of newton, kilogram-force or pound-force on a calibration certificate. Although pound-force is not an SI unit the relationship between the newton and pound-force is known thus measurement traceability to the SI may be established.

Standard weights are used at Miller Instruments to calibrate force gauges which provide measurements with lower measurement uncertainties than those carried out using methods that compare the device under test to another force gauge. Our scope of capability is up to 200 lbf or in term of the newton, approximately 890 N.

The various gauges or load cells that we calibrate may be calibrated in tension or compression. The load of course is the same, it’s the application of the load that determines whether the load is a tensile or compressive load. Force is a measure determined by gravitation acting on a mass and since the gravitational force varies from place to place on the earth’s surface the force will change as well. The acceleration of gravity in Miller Instruments’ laboratory is known to within 5 parts per million thus errors due to gravitation are virtually eliminated. Mass is the same regardless of where it is measured. We retain a good control of the mass used in the calibration process by having the capability to calibrate weights in our mass standards calibration laboratory. Careful attention to alignment is provided during the calibration to keep the error due to misalignment to a minimum.

Our complete accredited scope may be seen on the National Research Council’s CLAS website: scope >

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