microdia

NEWSLETTER NO 4 6 2015

Thermocouples in the wire & cable industry.

Wire and cable industry extruder temperature control is either made by individual temperature
regulators in ordinary lines or by the lines PLC in modern machines.

Temperature range goes from 50 to 400 depending of the processed compound .

Two kind of thermocouples among the numerous existing types are preferred:

1. J type FeConstantan

2. K type NiCrNi

microdia Your expert in extrusion SWISS MADE www.microdia.ch

microdia Newsletter No 46
Page 2

Extrusion temperature ranges

compound Process temperature Process temperature

C F
HDPE 160 - 190 320 - 370
LDPE 140 - 180 280 - 350
PA 220- 290 420 - 550
PC 250 - 300 480 - 570
PVC 150 - 180 300 - 350
FEP 350 - 380 660 - 720
Rubber 50 - 120 120 - 250

J type thermocouple
General purpose with good sensitivity of 50 V / C
At 200C J type Thermocouple delivers 10.779 mV.

J type junction is made of :

Iron (FE)
Constantan (copper-nickel alloy ( 55% Cu 45% Ni. )

Temperature ranges from - 40 C to + 750 C

K type thermocouple

Sensitivity of 41 V / C lower than J type but more corrosion resistant.

At 200C K type Thermocouple delivers 8,138 mV.

K type junction is made of :

Nickel alloy ( 90% Ni 10% Cr )
Nickel alloy ( 95% Ni 2% Al 2 % Mn 1% Si )

Temperature ranges from - 200C to + 1350 C

Generally used on high temperature extruders running FEP, ETFE, PFA PEEK, PET etc.

microdia Your expert in extrusion SWISS MADE www.microdia.ch

microdia Newsletter No 46
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Thermocouples Identification

J and K types are identified by a color code. Unfortunately British, American,

French and German standards are quite different and confusing.
German DIN standard is widely accepted in Europe and many other countries.

J type.
Iron (+)
Constantan (-)
Most commonly used on
extruders and cross head
were process temperatures
are below 300C ( 572 F).
Iron (+) wire sensitive to
corrosive fumes.

K type.
Chromel (+)
Alumel (-)
Preferred on hight
temperature extrusion lines
processing fluoropolymers.

microdia Your expert in extrusion SWISS MADE www.microdia.ch

microdia Newsletter No 46
Page 4

Important notice.

When replacing a thermocouple, it is important to pay attention to the type J or K.

If the wrong type is used, the temperature regulator will apparently work fine, set
temperature and measured temperature display will match.
BUT the real temperature will be wrong !
Either too high replacing a J type by a K type or too low replacing a K type by a J type.

Example:

At 200C J type Thermocouple delivers 10.779 mV.

At 200C K type Thermocouple delivers 8.138 mV.
At 265C K type thermocouple delivers 10.766 mV.

If by mistake, a J type is replaced by a K type thermocouple, the

thermoregulator set to 200C will stabilize at 265C while displaying
only 200C. !!

microdia Your expert in extrusion SWISS MADE www.microdia.ch

microdia Newsletter No 46
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microdia Your expert in extrusion SWISS MADE www.microdia.ch