Sierra Blog

Exciting News! We have redesigned Sierra’s site (sierrainstruments.com) with you in mind.  We do “understand flow is tough,” so the user experience and user interface of our new homepage are geared toward helping you find any flow meter or other products you need-in just 3 clicks. We are also rolling out our new FastShip™ platform […]

7 Need to Know Terms for Successful Specification of a Mass Flow Meter or Controller Whether you have been on the job for decades or just starting to purchase or specify a mass flow meter or controller to measure fluid flow in your application, there is key terminology to understand. Here are seven terms you should […]

2018 is now in the history books, and 2019 has begun with gusto. Can you feel the electric energy of a fresh start in the air? This time of year is a perfect time to reflect on the previous year and to set goals building on the success of the previous year to ensure an […]

When Sierra-Asia was founded in China in 2002, we were small but motivated. We understood that China’s fast-pace growth and development plans called for having boots on the ground. It was true then and it’s true now. Establishing a team of customer-oriented technology experts that exemplify Sierra’s core values of QDPICS™ has been a big […]

If you’ve ever conducted gravimetric PM emissions sampling, you know how tedious and time-consuming it can be to manually load and unload the single filter holders before and after each test. Sierra CP, our Automotive Test Systems Division, has a solution. The Automatic Filter Changer (AFC) is a compact and portable safety and automation tool that […]

To solve problems and build solutions in the modern world, an engineer must have clear focus, an ability to think critically under pressure, and a willingness to work long hours. When skills are developed over time and knowledge is refined, meaningful innovation can and does come to fruition. However, what allows one to rise above […]

Generating electricity in a natural gas power plant is a complex process due to the multiple steps involved with the different types of fluids being used and optimized. Dr. John Olin, Founder of Sierra Instruments, explains how thermal mass flow meters, vortex flow meters, and ultrasonic flow meters can improve the flow energy management in power plant applications in this latest video […]

Streamline, simplify and save time and money by plugging the innovative Compod upgrade into the face of any SmartTrak 100 mass flow meter or controller. SmartTrak is not only a true multi-gas digital mass flow controller, it can control your process too. If you need more functionality to control a positive shutoff valve, have a pulse output, or […]

In today’s world where everyone is watching the bottom line, you need high performance, cost-effective instrumentation—and capillary thermal mass flow meters and controllers have been proven to meet this criteria in a wide range of process applications. Thermal mass flow technology is an industry standard for mass flow control of gases because it measures flow directly, […]

Thank you to the readers of industry publication, Flow Control Magazine, who voted for Sierra’s InnovaMass 240i/241i iSeries multivariable and volumetric vortex flow meters in Flow Control’s 2016 Innovation Awards. Sierra was awarded an honorable mention. Sierra’s tradition and spirit of innovation spanning over 40 years drives everything we do, we are happy that the readers of Flow Control […]

Learn more about the product featured in this video:  InnovaMass 241i Insertion Vortex Flow Meter Need more information on measuring steam? Learn more about maximizing steam productivity and reducing the overall cost of ownership for additional energy savings when measuring steam. A new “Minute Flow Tip” will be posted to our YouTube channel every month. […]

At Sierra, we get very excited about flow measurement and control as you can imagine, and sometimes we want to spread the information we have quickly without a whole lot of fuss. That’s the spirit behind our video series called “Minute Flow Tips.”  In just a minute or so, we discuss a specific flow application […]

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Sierra FlatTrak 780S. Its mission: to assist NASA in exploring strange new worlds and to boldly go where no flow meter has gone before. On the surface, thermal mass flow meters may sound more technical, rather than interesting. However, they’re used in a wide variety […]

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that oil prices have hit a rock bottom $40 a barrel, the lowest since 2009. How does this affect the oil companies? Well, the consumer gets the benefit of the low pump price which does loosen discretionary spending, but the oil & gas companies are hurting-spending less money on capital investment […]

Innovation doesn’t happen overnight, but when it does, it’s groundbreaking. In gasworld magazine, Sierra Instruments CEO and President Matt Olin shares  the dedication it took for his father and Sierra Founder Dr. John G. Olin to develop what is today a line thermal mass flow meters with the greatest accuracy. Thermal technology uses the physics of heat […]

Find the Right Meter for Your Application—Instantly Let’s face it, specifying the best flow instrumentation for your application can be a daunting task. That’s why we created a new Full Line Flow Product Catalog with all Sierra’s products, key specifications, and application benefits in one, easy-to-use brochure. Quickly specify the right flow meter for your […]

Sierra’s Founder, Dr. John G. Olin, looks at the Principles of Operation, Installation, Calibration and Best Applications for Thermal Mass Flow Meters… Read the full article in Chemical Engineering Magazine.

It’s alive! No, I’m not talking about Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. But you’d be surprised by what researchers have discovered in the area of therapeutic hypothermia, or using hydrogen sulfide to slow the body’s demand for oxygen. A recent episode of NOVA, “Making Stuff Colder,” highlights research being conducted by Mark Roth, a biochemist for the […]

What do you do when you have an entrepreneurial bent and a revolutionary idea for flow meter advancement? You start your own company, of course. That’s exactly what our founder, John G. Olin, Ph.D., did in 1973 when he founded Sierra Instruments in Minnesota subsequently moving it west to California. It’s that entrepreneurial spirit, as well […]

As you might have guessed, Sierra has a passion for flow measurement and we are always striving for ways to improve our flow meters and processes to give you the best accuracy possible for your application. Today, we are pleased to announce the release of our new InnovaSonic 210 Portable with Bluetooth Wireless Android Tablet […]

Thanks Flow Control magazine for the great coverage and helping to spread the word to our customers about new technology to improve flow measurement accuracy, which always improves plant efficiency and saves customers money in the long run. John G. Olin, PhD, founder of Sierra Instruments and inventor of a number of flow industry firsts, […]