Needle Flame Tester - QualiFlame™ NFT
Needle Flame Test Apparatus for Fire Hazard Testing
The QualiFlame™ NFT needle flame tester evaluates how electrical components and insulating materials respond when a small fault flame contacts them. The instrument produces a 12 mm needle flame from a 0.5 mm bore stainless steel burner fed with propane or butane. Qualitest supplies it to manufacturers of lighting products, low-voltage switchgear, appliances, motors, power tools, and electronic instruments. Research groups, production lines, and quality inspection departments all run the method. PLC control with a touch interface manages the test sequence.
Testing follows the needle-flame method defined in IEC 60695-11-5. The burner tilts to 0°, 20°, and 45° so the operator can present the flame at the angle a given product standard calls for. Flame application time adjusts across 0 s to 999.9 s in 0.1 s steps, though most product standards specify 30 seconds. The instrument records afterflame duration automatically and accepts a manual stop when the operator judges the event complete.
Flame verification uses a Cu-ETP copper block and a 0.5 mm Type K thermocouple. The block must heat through a defined temperature rise within 23.5 seconds, which confirms the flame delivers correct heat output before any specimen is tested. The chamber exceeds 0.5 m³, giving the draught-free volume the method requires. Bottled lighter gas at 95% minimum purity works as fuel, so laboratories avoid a specialty gas supply contract.
