This furnace costs less than half of a large furnace and works with indium, tin, zinc, and aluminum cells to cover all ITS-90 fixed points from 156.5985 °C to 660.323 °C. The cells themselves, using a smaller volume of 99.9999 % pure metal, also cost much less. But cost is only a part of the issue.
The 9260 makes using fixed points easy. Simply insert the cell at the end of the day and let it sit overnight. The next morning, initialize the built-in software routine for your specific cell. Come back in an hour, verify the stability of the cell, and you can take measurements for the rest of the day from a near-perfect temperature source!
The built-in software lets you choose between using melting-point curves or freezing-point curves for each metal. The ITS-90 calls for freezing points, but melting points are easier to realize, and the difference in uncertainty (less than 2 mK for most applications) is generally insignificant. In fact, the difference between using traditional cells at their freezing points and Fluke Calibration’s mini cells at their melting points is not significant for most labs in most applications.
Comparison blocks are also available for the 9260 for high-precision comparison calibrations at high temperatures. Two blocks are available with a variety of pre-drilled wells in addition to blank or custom blocks. Well depth is 229 mm (9 in).
