Crystal

Crystal Engineering, a part of AMETEK Test and Calibration Instruments, produces high accurate field-capable Pressure Gauges, Calibrators, and Reference Recorders for applications up to 15000psi, including the nVision Recorder, XP2i Digital Pressure Gauge, M1 Digital Pressure Gauge, 30 Series Field Calibrator.

Crystal specialize in extremely rugged, Intrinsically Safe, hand held pressure measurement devices. We pioneered silicon sensor technology with Active Digital Temperature Compensation and excellent linearity. This paved the way for Crystal to lead the industry with gauges specifying of-reading accuracy instead of ‘of full scale’ accuracy.

Crystal also offer CPF fittings: a patented line of calibration and test medium pressure fittings, equipped with a self-venting weep and replaceable O-ring that allows leak-free up to 10000 psi with only finger-tightening.

Crystal Engineering is based in San Luis Obisbo, CA and specializes its products for testing, calibration and measurement applications in oil and natural gas, offshore drilling, oil refineries, gas distribution, power generation, nuclear power, waste water, water supply , manufacturing, aerospace, and aircraft maintenance.

Pressure calibration used to involve delicate and careful measurements with manometers or deadweight testers. This was never practical or reliable in the field due to environmental factors and changes.

Crystal Engineering was founded and used the combination of two emerging technologies both based on silicon: Large scale integrated circuits (LSI) and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) pressure sensors. This enabled Crystal to design and develop digital pressure calibrators and gauges that are portable and easy to use but with better accuracy and reliability for field use.

LSI allowed low cost analog to digital conversion, as well as low power (i.e., battery) operation, while the silicon sensors offered incredible repeatability, also at very competitive costs.

Crystal core technology is based on MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) pressure transducers. The silicon in silicon pressure sensors are a crystalline structure (hence our name: Crystal Engineering). Unlike metal, crystalline structures have virtually unmeasurable hysteresis, and are manufactured using methods similar to semiconductors, with the addition of micro-machining to fabricate the sensing diaphragm. These silicon based sensors are highly repeatable, but sensitive to temperature, and somewhat non-linear.

Combining the silicone pressure sensors with digital signal processing techniques, and the result is very accurate pressure measuring equipment that’s very linear, and not affected by temperature.

Crystal products are very accurate. Our specifications are in “% of reading” (just like most digital multimeters and deadweight testers) instead of a “% of full scale”. This means that any one of our digital pressure gauges or pressure calibrators can replace several ordinary mechanical gauges or competitive calibrators. Saving you time and money of maintaining equipment.