What Is a Digital Clamp Meter?
A digital clamp meter is an instrument that measures current, etc. by clamping.
Some meters have a digital display attached to them that measures the current by clamping the wire with a clamp, while others sample digital values (extracting measurement time and measured values as data) at regular time intervals (e.g., 3 times/second) and record the values in memory.
Some meters automatically measure maximum/minimum values and deviation values and have a peak hold function (to fix the display at the maximum/minimum value).
Uses of Digital Clamp Meters
Digital clamp meters are mainly used for measuring current to investigate the cause of a problem or to periodically check equipment, rather than for constantly measuring current values.
When measuring currents on site, the advantage is that the clamps can be used to clamp wires and cables without having to disconnect the wires or cables from the current flowing through them.
Some clamp meters are also equipped with tester functions such as digital DC/AC current, leakage current, voltage measurement, and continuity check resistance measurement.
Principle of Digital Clamp Meters
The principle of digital clamp meters is the same as that of a clamp meter. It measures current by detecting the magnetic field generated by the current and converting it to current.
Some digital clamp meters feature a built-in data logging function that not only continuously measures current values, voltages, etc., but also records measurement data at set time intervals in memory along with the measured time. Some are also equipped with a function to transmit the data via Bluetooth.
The recorded data can be imported into Excel and graphed, or analyzed for trends and causes of malfunctions using dedicated applications. For temporary or emergency monitoring, digital clamp meters can be used for easy and simple measurement.
Therefore, it is often used for equipment maintenance, inspection, failure diagnosis, etc. Since the device itself is lightweight and easy to carry, it is a frequently used instrument in factories and plant facilities.