Thermocouple type K, ribbon surface, 8 mm tip

The Pico SE004 Type K Ribbon Surface Thermocouple with 8 mm tip is designed for engineers, laboratories and test teams that need responsive contact temperature measurement on surfaces.

Pico Technology specifically describes ribbon surface thermocouple probes as ideal for metal surfaces because of their minimal heat loss and fast response.

The SE004 combines a Type K thermocouple sensing element with a flat 8 mm ribbon-style contact tip, allowing the sensing area to make effective contact with suitable surfaces during temperature testing.

Key manufacturer information includes:

• Order Code: SE004
• Thermocouple Type: Type K
• Probe Type: Ribbon surface thermocouple
• Accuracy Class: Class 1
• Published Class 1 Accuracy: ±1.5 °C
• Ribbon Tip Diameter: 8 mm
• Tip Temperature Range: −10 °C to +250 °C
• Probe Length: 120 mm
• Cable Length: 1 m
• Primary Application: Surface-temperature measurement

Designed for Surface Temperature Measurement

The SE004 is intended specifically for measuring the temperature of solid surfaces.

Its ribbon-style sensing tip is particularly suited to:

• Metal components
• Machinery surfaces
• Heated plates
• Equipment housings
• Pipes and suitable flat surfaces
• Electronic and mechanical assemblies
• Laboratory test pieces
• Engineering prototypes

Unlike air or insertion thermocouples, the SE004 is optimized for direct contact with a surface.

Ribbon Surface Tip

The main sensing feature is an:

• 8 mm ribbon surface tip

The ribbon configuration provides a relatively broad contact area compared with exposed-wire thermocouples.

Pico states that this style is particularly effective on metal surfaces, where the ribbon design provides:

• Minimal heat loss
• Fast response
• Effective surface contact

Good physical contact between the ribbon tip and the test surface is important for obtaining representative measurements.

Fast Response on Metal Surfaces

Pico specifically highlights fast response as a benefit of its ribbon surface thermocouple design.

This can be useful for monitoring changing surface temperatures during:

• Heating cycles
• Cooling cycles
• Thermal testing
• Equipment start-up
• Component evaluation
• Laboratory experiments

Pico does not publish a numerical response time for the SE004, so the product page should describe it as fast response without claiming a specific response time in seconds.

Minimal Heat Loss

The ribbon probe is designed to reduce heat loss during contact measurement.

This is particularly useful when measuring metal surfaces because a bulky temperature probe can influence the temperature at the measurement point or lose heat to the surrounding air.

The ribbon-style tip helps provide a more appropriate contact arrangement for surface measurements.

−10 °C to +250 °C Tip Temperature Range

The actual manufacturer-specified operating range of the SE004 ribbon tip is:

• Minimum tip temperature: −10 °C
• Maximum tip temperature: +250 °C

This is the correct practical temperature range to display on the product page.

Although Class 1 Type K thermocouple tolerance standards cover a much wider thermocouple temperature range, the physical SE004 ribbon tip itself is rated only from −10 °C to +250 °C.

Users should therefore treat +250 °C as the maximum specified temperature for this probe.

Class 1 Type K Thermocouple

The SE004 uses a Class 1 Type K thermocouple.

Pico specifies:

• Accuracy: ±1.5 °C
• Class: Class 1

Pico thermocouples are manufactured to industry thermocouple tolerances referenced to:

• IEC 60584-2:1993
• BS EN 60584-1:2013

The accuracy specification should therefore not be replaced with generic Type K figures such as ±1.1 °C or ±0.4% unless those values are specifically published for this probe.

120 mm Probe Length

Pico specifies:

• Probe length: 120 mm

This provides useful reach for surface-temperature measurements while allowing the operator to position the ribbon tip on the measurement area.

1 m Cable

The SE004 appears in Pico's current Type K thermocouple accessory table under the:

• 1 m cable configuration

The current RevineTech description of an 8 m cable is incorrect.

The “8 mm” in the product name refers exclusively to the surface tip diameter.

Recommended for Pico TC-08

Pico Technology lists the SE004 as a recommended thermocouple accessory for the USB TC-08 Thermocouple Data Logger.

The TC-08 provides:

• 8 thermocouple channels
• Type K thermocouple support
• Multi-channel temperature logging
• PicoLog software integration
• Long-duration temperature recording

Using several SE004 probes with available TC-08 channels can support multi-point surface-temperature monitoring.

Surface Contact and Measurement Accuracy

The quality of a surface-temperature measurement depends not only on thermocouple accuracy but also on the physical contact between the probe and the measured object.

Factors that may influence measurements include:

• Surface condition
• Contact pressure
• Probe angle
• Surface curvature
• Air movement
• Temperature gradients
• Thermal conductivity of the test material

For repeatable testing, the ribbon tip should be positioned consistently at the same measurement location.

Typical Applications

The Pico SE004 is suitable for:

• Metal surface-temperature measurement
• Machinery temperature monitoring
• Laboratory thermal testing
• Heated-plate measurements
• Equipment surface testing
• Engineering development
• Product thermal validation
• Process-temperature measurements
• Component testing
• Heating and cooling experiments
• Research and development
• Multi-channel TC-08 temperature logging