TE Wire & Cable Thermocouple Solutions Blog

Recently, I received a number of questions regarding junctions. Most of the questions are related to the effect of twisted vs. parallel junctions on measurement and performance long term.  To answer this question, I approached my friend and colleague at CCPI, Trevor Ford.

Below are some of the questions he answered in his reply. I hope they help you on your next project or simply answer some of the basic questions you might have while working with thermocouples.

Trevor, using your vast thermocouple sensing expertise, would you be able to provide some pros and cons of twisted (weld/no weld)/parallel welded exposed junctions?

Joint solution integrates IIoT, AI and thermocouple technologies,
dramatically advances manufacturing efficiencies and quality 

Long Beach, CA, USA, May 21, 2018 – TE Wire & Cable, the world’s largest manufacturer of thermocouple wire, and Plataine, a leading provider of Industrial IoT and AI-based optimization software for advanced manufacturing, today announced a partnership for Smart Thermocouple solutions for aerospace autoclave composites manufacturers. Plataine’s IoT-based AI software tracks and analyzes the location, status and duty cycles of TE Wire & Cable’s thermocouples, enabling thermocouple users to view analytics, receive actionable alerts, insights and optimized recommendations. 

It has been a while since I posted a blog with some personal thoughts and experiences. For those of you that take the time to read them, thank you. To my loyal followers, leave a like, share, or maybe even provide your thoughts and comments. I welcome the exchange.

The last 12 months went by fast. I think it’s the first sign that I’m getting old. Around this time last year, I was getting ready to depart on my eight-week tour of aerospace customers in Europe. For some reason, I didn’t feel like a superstar while boarding the United Airlines flight to Amsterdam. After visiting over 200 cities in 15+ countries, I did learn a few lessons and made some new friends along the way.  

Thermocouples are the most frequently used temperature sensor in the heat process and control industries, with the majority of applications falling within the range of 500 to 1500°C. There are newer technologies like fiber optic distributed temperature sensing systems, wireless sensing, laser IR temperature sensors, IR Cameras, and thermal noise thermometers. However, most exhibit high error, packaging problems, high price or a combination of these issues.

I have to admit, it’s absolutely amazing to be a part of the composites industry and witness the steady growth, continuous improvement and developing technologies. Business is booming. As reported by JEC*, from 2014 to 2016, the market grew in value to $82 billion USD, or by 11%. Not too shabby. Every indication is the growth will continue.

In the past year, I jotted down a number of wire and cable market trends that I’ve noticed. Let’s review a few recent trends and perhaps we can get a discussion going on how we all must evolve to become more dynamic businesses going forward. Some of these trends are general in nature and some are industry-specific, but relate in some way to the overall wire and cable market.

Last year, I posted a blog titled, “How can I help YOU do YOUR job better?” that included a brief survey. The survey respondents provided us with valuable information to help us formulate a number of our activities in 2017.

TE Wire to showcase high accuracy thermocouple wire and cable solutions for metallurgy applications at Furnaces North America 2016... including the greatest thermocouple wire innovation in over 50 years!

In heat treatment applications there are two important considerations concerning temperature: the furnace temperature and the load temperature. Both are measured with thermocouples. These thermocouples are often referred to as control and load thermocouples.