Pressure transducers are used to measure pressure levels in some of society’s most critical OEM applications, from mobile hydraulics to pump monitoring to railroad pneumatics, performance racing, and more. Without an efficient, accurate pressure transducer, it’s impossible for manufacturing processes to run smoothly and predictably. In the worst cases, uncontrolled or unmonitored pressure levels can put operators and equipment at risk. Ashcroft has many years of experience designing pressure instruments for a variety of settings. We believe the key factors to consider when selecting an OEM pressure transducer are reliability, durability, and repeatability. In this article, we’ll review these features in a little more depth, discuss some of the most common applications for these devices, and compare the specific options Ashcroft offers, including the G2 and the S1 models. When you are finished reading, you will have a solid understanding of what to look for when selecting a pressure transducer for your application, the similarities and differences between these two models and be ready to make a decision about which is best for you. .

Now more than ever, industrial leaders are taking measures to protect the environment. For example, if you are in the HVAC/R business you may be using a more ecologically friendly refrigerant compound like ammonia to help reduce your energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. If this is the case, you need to be aware of certain risks and solutions that can help minimize potential danger. According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerant and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), ammonia is an ideal alternative to traditional chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant compounds because of its low impact on the environment. However, in certain quantities, ammonia can also be hazardous to people and animals. That’s why systems with ammonia and similar refrigerant-based compounds need to have quality components, including pressure sensors. In some ammonia-based systems – such as those used in fuel pump controls – using the wrong kind of OEM pressure transducer could lead to leaks or bursts that cause serious harm to operators and equipment.

For the industry novice looking to understand the basics of pressure measurement instruments, it can be confusing and overwhelming to search through the seemingly limitless number of available transmitters and transducers.

When your organization operates equipment in critical processes – from plants dealing with hazardous chemicals to power stations providing energy for thousands of households – you can’t afford to have any questions about the accuracy and effectiveness of your pressure and temperature instruments. For these critical applications, your instruments need to be dependable and function the way your operators expect. It’s not always enough to perform the normal set of daily checks done by the team. From time to time, you need a more full-scale solution that gives you an in-depth understanding of how your instruments are performing and what needs to be improved. An instrument audit like the one Ashcroft offers in our Critical Application Solution Experts® (CASE®) service could be the perfect solution for helping you keep your equipment in top condition. In this article, we’ll explain what’s involved in our CASE audit and list some of its benefits for plant managers who pursue one.

This article was originally published on August 9, 2021, and was updated on June 5, 2023. The semiconductor industry affects nearly every aspect of our lives today. Your cell phone, computer, television, car and any other electronic device you use each day all depend on semiconductor applications to exist. But these demanding applications require specialized high-purity equipment and instruments to run safely, efficiently and properly. Pressure transducers (and pressure transmitters but for simplification in this article I will refer to them as "pressure transducers") are crucial to the semiconductor process, but only if they are manufactured a certain way to handle hazardous environments. How do you know what makes the best semiconductor pressure transducer?

For applications that may expose instrumentation (such as pressure gauges, pressure switches or pressure transmitters) to clogging or corrosion it is appropriate to isolate the instrument from the process.