Needle Flame Tester Calibration Condition, Definition and Calibration Method

Needle flame tester is a needle burner of specified size (Φ0.9mm ), Specific gas (butane or propane), Burn test at 45° at regular and directional intervals, The needle flame tester will be evaluated according to whether the test product and the ignition bedding layer ignite or not, and whether the duration and length of combustion are maintained Internal fire risk of small flames caused by faulty conditions. Proper calibration of a needle flame tester is essential to ensure its reliability and accuracy in evaluating the flammability characteristics of materials.

The needle flame tester is designed and manufactured according to the corresponding requirements of IEC 60695-11-5:2004, GB4706.1-2005, IEC60335-1, GB5169.5-2008 and other standards, simulating the small flame produced by the products under the failure conditions, and feeding into the products or materials conduct fire hazard and combustion performance tests. Before use, the IEC 60695 needle flame tester must be calibrated. The calibration process should be carried out by a qualified technician, and the results recorded.

Needle flame tester is suitable for lighting, low-voltage electrical appliances, household appliances, machine tools, electrical tools, electronic instruments, electrical instruments, information technology equipment, electrical affairs equipment, electrical connectors, auxiliary parts and other electrical and electronic equipment and its components research, production and quality inspection departments, also applies to insulation materials, engineering plastics or other solid combustible materials industry.

Needle Flame Tester’s Calibration Condition and Calibration Method: Needle flame tester is composed of needle flame burner, workroom and temperature measuring device. The UL 94 needle flame test apparatus is manufactured in accordance with standard IEC 60695-2-2:1991 (second edition) and IEC60695-2-2 amendment no. 1(1994-03) simulation test item of needle flame tester.

Ambient Temperature: 10℃ ~ 35℃, Ambient Humidity: not more than 85% Load Condition: Calibration under no load condition Other Conditions: There should be no obvious vibration and corrosive gas around the needle flame testing, and there should be no other cold and heat sources affecting the calibration results.

1. Environmental Conditions

Basic Dimensions: The volume of test chamber is measured by steel tape, the aperture of burner is measured by needle gauge, the other dimensions of flame burner and flame ruler are measured by vernier caliper, and the tilt Angle of burner is measured by angle ruler. Timer: The time timer is calibrated with an electronic stopwatch Temperature Gauge: Standard platinum resistance thermometer and multi-function temperature calibration furnace are used for calibration of temperature gauge.

2. Calibrate Tool and Other Equipment

3. Calibration Method for Calibration Items: Needle flame tester size, burner size, burner tilt Angle, timer, flame gauge and temperature gauge. Calibration items can be selected according to the actual situation and customer requirements.

(1) Appearance Inspection: Visual inspection of appearance and parts without damage, clean, equipment can work normally. Test standard comply with IEC 60695-11-5:2004, GB4706.1-2005, IEC60335-1, GB5169.5-2008 and other standards,

(2) Basic Dimensions: The volume of test chamber is measured by steel tape measure and the volume is calculated. The dimensions of flame burner and flame height ruler are measured by needle gauge and vernier caliper. The tilt Angle of burner should be adjustable from 0 to 45 degrees and measured by angle ruler.

(3) Timer Calibration: Use an electronic stopwatch to calibrate the five calibration points of flame firing time at 10S, 20S, 30S, 60S and 120S respectively, and the flame holding time at 30 Seconds. The timer is calibrated at 23.5 Seconds.

(4) Calibration of Needle Flame Test Apparatus: put the copper block and standard platinum resistor connected with thermocouple in the temperature system into the hole of multi-function temperature calibration furnace. Try to put them at the bottom of the hole. Set the needle flame tester at 100℃ and 700℃ respectively. Read the temperature display value of the temperature system three times and take the average value as the actual display value of the temperature system.

	IEC 60695-11-5 Fire hazard testing – Part 11-5 Test flames – Needle-flame test method – Apparatus, confirmatory test arrangement and guidance
	IEC 60335-1 International Standard Household and similar electrical appliances – Satety – Part 1 : General requirements

The needle flame test apparatus is used to test the surface spark discharge capacity of fixed electrical insulation material when it is wet, and to measure its relative leakage tracking index (CTI) and leakage tracking index (PTI). Needle flame tester is suitable for insulation materials, motors, electrical appliances and household appliances used in humid conditions Identification of the resistance of insulation structure to trace. The phenomenon of electric creepage refers to the formation of carbonized conductive path in the part of insulation material with potential difference, which makes it lose insulation function.

Needle flame test equipment is an important instrument for safety regulation testing. At present, many needle flame testing on the market are manufactured according to the old safety standards. The quality of needle tester is uneven, and the main items may not meet the requirements of the standards, in order to ensure the needle flame testing equipment to ensure the accuracy of the measurement data, it is necessary to calibrate the main items of the instrument

Needle Flame Tester Operating Steps｜IEC 60695 Needle Flame Test Apparatus Operation Sequence:

1. Angle Adjustment: The adjustment of flame Angle is as follows: Loosen the knurled bolt in front of the combustion seat, Hold the bolt by hand and rotate it to the required Angle, and then lock the bolt.

2. The needle flame tester is attached with a set of flame strength test device, The method used is: first, the thermocouple wire suspended with a temperature measuring copper block is placed directly above the needle, Press the “gas on” button, Press and hold the “ignition” button to ignite the flame (Adjust the meter to about 0.03 scale, it is easier to catch fire). Press the “temperature test” button, Watch the thermometer and the timer at the same time. When the temperature rises to 100℃, the timer will automatically start. When the temperature rises to 700℃, the timer stops automatically. See if the time on the timer is 23.5 Seconds ±1.0S. (Test standard requirement: 23.5 Seconds ±1.0S)

3. Flame Operation: Press the “reset” button to reset the counter, Press the “gas on” button, Then press and hold the “ignition” button, Needle flame lit, Finally, press the “right” button, When running to the flame point, automatically start timing. When it is set The flame will extinguish automatically and the combustion seat will recede automatically after setting the flame firing time. At the same time, the “holding time” starts timing. When the sample flame is extinguished, the operator immediately presses the “pause” button, At this time, the display time is the afterflame time, the midway needs to stop Press “stop”.

4. Flame Adjust: Place the cylinder key in the “set” position, Rotate the black ignition switch to the “ON” position, Open the valve of the flowmeter and press the “gas on” button to turn on the air source. Fire with a lighter and place the flame height indicator on fire Burning at the top of the tower, Adjust the flow meter valve to reach the flame height (12mm±1) required by the standard.

5. Test Sample Mounting: Adjust the height of the sample mounted on the fixture according to the requirements of the standard. If you are looking for the glow wire test apparatus for glow wire test, please visit the related webpage.

6. Test Finish: After the test, open the fan to exhaust the exhaust gas and smoke, Turn OFF the flow meter and turn the black ignition switch to the “OFF” position, Then push the cylinder button to the “off” position and clean the combustion chamber.

Needle flame tester is suitable for testing the flame retardant function of electronic equipment, electrical equipment, mechanical parts, injection molding parts and other electrical products. The IEC 60959-11-5 needle flame test equipment is designed to simulate the small flame generated inside the product under faulty conditions and to identify the risk of fire with imitation technology.

	Fire Safety Test Method – Needle Flame Test Apparatus – IEC 60695-2-2, EN 60695-2-2, VDE 0471 Part 2-2
	Fire Safety Test Method – Glow Wire Test Apparatus – IEC 60695-2-11, IEC 60695-2-12, IEC 60695-2-13
	UL 94 HB Combustibility Test – IEC 60695-11-10, Method A; EN 60695-11-10, Method A, VDE 0471 Part 11-10, Method A , UL 94 OR CSA 22.2 No. 0.6 Part E Horizontal Burning Test
	UL 94V Flammability Test – IEC 60695-11-10, Method B; EN 60695-11-10, Method B; VDE 0471 Part 11-10, Method B and UL 94 OR CSA 22.2 Vertical Burning Test
	UL 94 -5V Flammability Test – IEC 60695-11-20; EN 60695-11-20; VDE 0471 Part 11-20, UL 94, Test Method 94-5V and CSA 22.2 No 0.6 Test C- Vertical Burning Test

1. Dimensions of Needle Flame Tester and Burner: (1) The volume of fume hood/test room for needle flame tester supplier shall be at least 0.5m3 (2) The burner that produces the test flame shall be at least 35 mm in length and 0.5mm in aperture. Pipes with an outside diameter not exceeding 0.9mm shall be composed of 0.1mm (3) Burner tilt Angle should be 0-45 degrees adjustable requirements. The flame ruler is 12mm ± 1mm Timer for Neddle Tester: The tolerance of the timer should not be greater than 0.5 Seconds Flame: 100℃ ±2℃ ～ 700℃±3℃ (+10℃～ 999℃), 23.5S±1.0S(1S ～ 99.99S) Needle Flame Tester’s Calibrate Tool : Timer, Temperature Gauge, Thermocouple

Equipment Definition

Fan and lighting are controlled by independent buttons on and off.｜Needle Flame Test Apparatus Matters need Attention Warm thermocouple is fragile element, please use carefully, it is not included in the product warranty Please push the “temperature measurement” button up before flame test, otherwise it may make a mistake. Be careful to keep the combustion chamber clean, especially at the needle site, to avoid clogging; Clean the combustion chamber after each test in the state of power failure. Holding time cannot be recorded, most likely forgetting to release the “pause” button.

Attention Notification