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Fine Thermocouple

Sheet Thermocouple

Fine and Sheet

Thermocouple

Multi Purpose

Thermocouple

Data Logger

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How to fix our Thermocouples

The method of fixing your Thermocouple will depend on the size and material of the item being measured. We would recommend the following methods.

Generally, the coefficient rate of heat conductivity is: -
Metal: 1000
Ceramics: 100
Plastic: 1

The faster heat is transmitted to the Thermocouple, the better the response and accuracy will be, therefore, wherever possible we should try to use metal (high heat conductivity) as a bonding material.

  Fixing Methods

(a) If the substrate is wetted by solder,  you should use a solder coated Thermocouple. However, care should be taken to use the minimum solder possible to fix the Thermocouple, reducing the size/heat capacity of the joint for the fastest most accurate reading. 
If you use our high melting point solder, (Pb rich solder, melting point 290°C), the solder joint will not melt at standard reflow or wave soldering  temperatures. The use of leaded solder is restricted by the RoHS regulations, however the use of our high melting point solder does not have any restrictions as there are no alternatives. Our cored wire solder (Pb90%, Sn8%, Ag2%) 1.2 mm diameter, melting point 295°C (Please see below for the price of this product)

(b) If the substrate is not wetted by solder, we recommend using a high heat conductivity Ag paste, our Ag paste will cure at  200°C.

(c) If your sample temperature is expected to exceed 300°C, then ceramic adhesive is recommended. If it is possible to drill a 1.0 mm diameter hole with a depth of approximately 3.0 mm, you can insert the Thermocouple and fix using a ceramic adhesive. In this case, the Thermocouple is heated from every side, we would recommend a fine or multi purpose Thermocouple, please indicate this form of bonding when ordering your Thermocouple, we can then manufacture the correct profile for the application. Our ceramic adhesive is supplied in 30g containers, please see below for prices. 

Alternatively you can use  Capton (polyimide) tape, our tape will work at a continuous  temperature of  260°C, and can be raised to 370°C for a short time. This is a good method of securing our Sheet type Thermocouples. However, if you wish to measure a specific point, we would recommend using our polyimide insulated bare wire type Thermocouple, to ensure that the temperature that you are reading is the temperature at the tip and not between the Thermocouple wires. See illustration below.

If you wish to measure the surface temperature of a sample being heated from inside, we recommend using our patented one sided black body Thermocouple. The one sided black body will absorb the IR energy, resulting in high speed high accuracy data.

	Example of non insulated bare wire Thermocouple making contact with metal substrate, resulting in the temperature being measured, not only at the tip, but also between the Thermocouple wires as shown in red.

Price of Capton tape, High melt solder wire, Flux for Thermocouple, Ceramic adhesive