Annual load cell and torque sensor calibration ensures your instruments are working accurately.

Calibration is the comparison of a load cell or torque sensor to a reference standard with a known accuracy.  The goal of calibration is to determine the accuracy of the instrument, establish traceability, and establish a direct relationship between a known applied load, the reference standard, and the output of the sensor.

Sensing Systems and Micro-Measurements, a worldwide leader in strain gage technology, jointly published a case study discussing a collaborative project between Sensing Systems, the Department of Defense, and various medical schools. This project would not have been possible without the technological capabilities of Micro-Measurements' strain gage product line.

Sensing Systems manufactures submersible load cells and torque sensors for all marine applications and requirements. We have pioneered underwater sensing technologies and can adapt any of our standard load cell or torque sensor designs to function in marine environments. We also offer standard underwater load cells and torque sensors across all measurement ranges that are capable of operating in up to 7,000 feet underwater, or 3,000 psi. All standard load cell geometries - S-Beam, Shear Pin, Pancake, etc. can be made to operate in underwater environments as marine load cells.

When space, cost, and performance are critical, an existing part can be redesigned to operate as a load cell or torque sensor within an existing system or test setup requirement.

How to Select the Right Torque Sensor for your Application

Torque measurements are critical to process control and monitoring. Tightening torque of threaded fasteners, motor output horsepower measurement, and industrial automation processes are just a few of the common applications requiring repeatable and accurate torque measurements.

Strain gauges may be used in "smart bridge" technology to detect structural problems early.

Strain gauge technology has practically unlimited uses in the field. It can be used to test vehicles, ship hulls, dams, and oil drilling platforms. A simple civil engineering application using strain gauge technology is to install strain gauges on structural components in a bridge or building to measure stress and compare them to analytical models and stress calculations.

Question: What do the following force measurement applications have in common?

• Concrete batch plants.
• Destructive and non-destructive testing in laboratories.
• Pile testing.
• Mooring testing.
• Rolling mills.
• Monitoring bridge loads.
• Earthquake induced loads.
• Power plant foundation loads.
• Mine shaft roof simulations.
• Impact testing.
• Hopper tanks/bins.
• Aerospace/rockets.

Controlling a prosthetic arm naturally and with dexterity has long been a goal of the medical community. Previous prosthetics had only two sensors which limited their ability to open and close the hand. Lack of mobility is a serious challenge for a tool designed to grasp and manipulate. With the most recent technological development from Sensing Systems, however, all that has changed.Sensing Systems Corporation successfully developed tri-axial fingertip sensors that have been placed in bionic arms and are controlled by the user’s brain. These sensors are attached to the patient’s nerve endings and dedicated electronics that transmit electrical signals to and from the brain, commanding the artificial limb to move in a more natural life-like manner while restoring the user’s sense of touch. These revolutionary fingertip sensors also have applications beyond prosthesis.

The torque sensor market in North America is strong and growing, and much of the increased demand has to do with the automotive industry's demand for better fuel efficiency. Other reasons torque measurement is increasing in the automotive sector are trends toward electrical power steering and condition-based maintenance.

The use of specialty industrial applications often requires creativity when it comes to measuring the forces involved in the application. One example of this is with friction stir spot welding (FSSW). This is a type of welding where two "parent" materials with low melting points are acted upon by a rotating tool that plastically deforms and forges the two parent materials together.