12. September 2024
Force Measurement in all its variety
Force sensors, also known as force transducers, detect whether a car seat is occupied or empty, prevent cranes from carrying loads that are too heavy, ensure a uniform material density in dishwasher tabs or the same pressure cycle on the component to be formed in presses. They convert mechanical forces into measurable electrical signals.
The types of force transducers or force sensors are as diverse as their areas of application.
However, the functional principle of sensors always remains similar.
It is not by chance that force transducers are also very commonly called force sensors. This is because they consist of a sensor that measures forces and converts them into an electrical signal. The output signals from force sensors are usually very small and need to be amplified and filtered.
Modern force measurement systems therefore often include amplifiers and signal processing units that convert the signal into a usable format.
Calibration is also an essential step to ensure that the measurements are precise and reliable.
Deviations are typically in the range of 0.05 to 2 percent.
However, it is often not about the exact amount of force acting on the force sensor – but about ensuring that it does not exceed or fall below a specified value.
The situation is different with load cells, which are often mentioned in the same breath as force transducers: They differ from force sensors primarily in their significantly higher accuracy, an unamplified standardized output signal and the specification of the nominal load in a unit of weight.
The geometries of the sensors and their mechanical connection to the machine can be designed very individually.
In contrast, the electrical connection to the machine control system is based on existing standards.
For example, the sensors are usually equipped with output signals that are widely used in industry, such as 0…10 V or 4…20 mA (optionally also available redundantly) or digital interfaces such as CAN bus (CANopen).
A connection to ProfiNet / ProfiBus DP / RS-485 / Ethernet / EthernetIP / DeviceNet / EtherCat is also possible via control cabinet modules.
A typical field of application for force transducers is lifting devices, i.e. all devices that lift and move loads in a free-floating manner. These include cranes, lifting platforms, lifting bridges or wire rope hoists. Overloading a hoist can cause damage to the lifting device, the loads being moved and, in the worst case, personal injury. Force sensors prevent this, or at least significantly reduce these dangers. Typical force sensors used in hoists are load shackles, tension links and load pins.
Nowadays, force transducers are also indispensable in numerous manufacturing processes. There, they ensure that the manufactured products have a consistently high quality and that the processes run constantly. One example is joining technology, which involves permanently joining two or more components together. Whenever rivets, weld seams, screws, press-fit or crimp connections hold parts together, a predefined pressure force is required to guarantee a stable connection and thus a high-quality end product. Force sensors monitor and control the pressure force that acts on the individual parts during the manufacturing process. Of course, this also plays an important role in other manufacturing processes, such as in the chemical industry when pressing dishwasher tablets, briquettes or tablets, so that all pressed products of one and the same type end up with the same consistency.
The measured data can be stored and archived to document the process. This makes it easy to control and reproduce processes.
The range of possible applications for force sensors is constantly growing – especially in an increasingly automated world. They are used by control systems in motor vehicles, for example, to detect the occupancy of seats or the closing forces of windows and doors. Robots use force sensors to perceive touches or obstacles. And active prosthetics in the field of orthopaedics also have integrated force sensors.
Primosensor meets these challenges and develops for or together with customers new, optimised solutions for measuring forces wherever this is needed.
Are you looking for the perfect force transducer? We would be happy to search for the right force transducer in our range or advise you on individual solutions.
A component’s functional safety is a vital product feature in the construction of machines and plants. It requires extensive analysis and documentation, as early as during the development and construction stage. This allows us to determine the probability of failure, which is then categorised in accordance with the safety standards EN 13849 and EN 61508.
A component’s probability of failure and other indicators derived from that probability are called safety data.
Safety data sheets in accordance with safety standards EN 13849 (PL) or EN 61508 (SIL) are available for all our force transducers. To improve safety, our force transducers are also available in a redundant design.
Learn more:
Primosensor GmbH
Lagerstraße 11
64807 Dieburg / Germany
Phone: +49 6071 63467-50
Fax: +49 6071 63467-60
info@primosensor.de
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