{"id":7356,"date":"2023-05-12T10:13:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T08:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.delphin.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=7356"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:58:11","slug":"measuring-chain-2","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/glossar\/messkette\/","title":{"rendered":"Measuring chain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One <strong>Measuring chain <\/strong>describes the complete processing of a physical measurement value, from its entry into the system through to its display, storage, or transmission as digital information. In measurement technology, it encompasses all components, from the sensor through signal conditioning and A\/D conversion to visualization in a software interface or control room. The goal of a measurement chain is to represent the actual physical quantity as accurately, reproducibly, and in real time as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Setting Up a Measurement Chain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In industrial measurement technology, a measurement chain typically consists of four main components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Transducer\/Sensor: Converts a physical quantity (e.g., temperature, pressure, vibration) into an electrical signal, such as voltage, current, or charge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signal path: Transmits the sensor signal to the measuring device, e.g., via shielded cables, terminals, adapters, or fieldbus interfaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signal conditioning and A\/D conversion: The measuring instrument performs amplification, filtering, linearization, and conversion to digital values via A\/D converters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Display, Storage, and Further Processing: The digital measurement values are visualized, stored, monitored, and, if necessary, used for control purposes, such as in condition monitoring or test bench applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Measurement Chain for Delphin Products<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Delphin products, the measurement chain is approached holistically: from sensor connectivity through modular measurement and data acquisition hardware to centralized measurement data management and platform-independent visualization. Sensors and signal paths are connected to flexible acquisition modules; the measurement data is stored centrally and is then available for analysis, condition monitoring, alarms, and web-based visualization. Thus, the measurement chain at Delphin covers the entire process from the sensor to usable information for plant operation, service, and optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources of Error in the Measurement Chain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Measurement errors can occur throughout the entire measurement chain; these errors may add up or, in some cases, offset one another. Typical sources of error include sensor inaccuracies, temperature effects, offsets, nonlinearities, interference on the cable, EMC effects, and quantization and noise effects from A\/D conversion. In addition, parameter settings, scaling, filter settings, and sampling rates in the measuring instrument all play a role in determining measurement quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In industrial applications such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/condition-monitoring-system\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"17208\">Condition Monitoring,<\/a> Quality control or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/energy-monitoring\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"17237\">Energy Monitoring<\/a> The overall accuracy of the measurement chain directly affects the reliability of the diagnosis. Therefore, calibrated sensors, proper cable routing, high-quality measurement technology, and clean software-based signal processing are crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sensor compensation and software-based correction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A key approach to improving the quality of measurement chains is software-based compensation for sensor-specific characteristics and systematic errors. In modern measurement and data acquisition systems, this correction is often performed via sensor compensation and freely configurable software channels, which can be used to scale, calculate, filter, or apply correction curves to measured values. This makes it possible, for example, to correct sensor nonlinearities, compensate for temperature dependencies, or store calibration curves that are applied directly in the measuring instrument or in the measurement data management system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since these corrections take place within the measurement chain at the device or software level, users have access to corrected and quality-assured measurement values for visualization, alarms, automation, and reporting. This increases both the accuracy and the reliability of the entire measurement chain in demanding industrial environments.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-7356","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/7356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delphin.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}