Mechanical Metrology Division

The Mechanical Metrology Division (Dimec) occupies the largest constructed area at the campus, with 5,512 square meters. It maintains a laboratory and support infrastructure with an adequate capability, with an anti-vibration suspensio isolated room, with electromagnetic protection, endowed with controlled air conditioning of its physical installations capable of responding to the demands of international rules. It is composed of the following reference metrological laboratories: fluids laboratory force and hardness laboratory; mass laboratory; dimensional metrology laboratory; and pressure laboratory.

Philosophy of Performance

The Dimec laboratories concentrate and give priority to its role of carrying out its functions as Inmetro´s metrological laboratory, whose duty is the custody of the national standards. The participation in interlaboratory comparison programs promote the maintenance of the SI units, as well as disseminate them to accredited laboratories. The Division only carries out tests or calibrations of metrological standards belonging to industrial laboratories, or from other sectors, under exceptional circumstances, such as when the Accredited Laboratories Network is unable to perform the service required. The Division´s laboratories are committed to always keep the highest levels of accuracy and the lowest experimental uncertainties that can be achieved in the measuring process.

Services Offered

The Dimec offer services of calibration of specific instruments, mass standards and instruments for measuring mass, mass density, volume, surface tension, length, plain angle, force, torque and pressure, all of which demanded by laboratories accredited by Inmetro composing the Brazilian Calibration Network (RBC) and the Brazilian Network of Test Laboratories (RBLE), and also by laboratories linked to the Brazilian Network of Legal Metrology and Quality (RBMLQ).

Other Activities

Development of metrological programs of comparison of standards; projects and qualification of measuring instruments; to development of calibration techniques and procedures; elaboration of technical regulations; installation of quality systems etc.

Developed Projects

In the area of development, Dimec, in partnership with metrological institutions from both Brazil and abroad, coordinates the following basic projects in the field of metrology: Structuring of the nationwide traceability of hardness scales; dimensional metrology: creation of Plain Angle metrology; creation of the primary standardization of the pascal (1mPa to 1000 kPa); creation of viscosity metrology ; creation of the API (American Petroleum Institute) screw thread gauge metrology; improvement of metrological reliability of density meters and gravimetric standardization.

Reference Standards

In the domain of mechanical metrology, Dimec is responsible for the custody and maintenance of the national metrological standards, which are systematically traced and compared to the international standards though Key Comparisons under the supervision of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, and to the metrological laboratory standards of other countries, namely the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST-USA) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), of Germany.