Force measurement devices indispensable across industries

Across industries, force measurement devices are used to evaluate the strength of stress, torque, and the impact of gravity between two devices. Devices are also used to measure tension and compression forces, depending on the set-up in that specific industry. For instance, accurate force measurement devices are indispensable to any industrial set-up that involves lifting of heavy machinery, and movement of components from one point to another along the assembly line. Force measurement devices – advances in technology have enabled industries to use very small sensors that can be seamlessly integrated into the existing set-up – can provide information on the effect that placing a certain mass of materials or a huge component will have on the machine below; force measurement is vital to securing the safety of both workers or machinery. Information obtained through the exercise of force measurement will ensure that technicians do not subject the machinery to levels of stress that they are not capable of withstanding.
In the manufacturing industry, force measurement devices are mostly used for testing processes. At a very fundamental level, force measurement devices enable technicians to ascertain whether a wire is strong enough to lift the load or its strength is to be supplemented with other machines.
Sensors and force measurement
Force sensors are devices that offer information on the exact amount of stress being applied on a specific device or component. A force measurement sensor generally has a strain gauge built into it. Advances in digital technology and electronics in the past few years have resulted in the size of the force measurement sensors shrinking, which has, ironically enough, significantly expanded the scope of their application.
Force measurement devices
A number of force measurement devices are available in the market today, the application of which depends on the type of industry they are being used in, besides the specific requirement they are to fulfil. Some of the most common force measurement devices used across industries include
• Load Cells: Probably the most widely used force measurement devices across industries, load cells use an electric transducer to measure a wide variety of physical qualities, such as tension, pressure, compression, and torque. Load cells can use either an electric, pneumatic or hydraulic sign to provide information on the magnitude of the force applied. While load cells generally have a long lifespan and do not require much maintenance, besides being very precise, one of the biggest drawbacks that often restricts the scope of their application is their bulky size, and the additional requirement of signal transfer machinery.
• Spring Scales: It is quite probable that you may have either used a spring scale yourself or at least seen it being used. The most common example of the use of a spring scale is at the neighborhood scrap store, where the spring scale is the device employed by the storekeepers to ascertain the weight of the waste heap. The spring scale is an analog device, which provides information on the force being applied based on the extension of the spring. At the store where scrap is discarded, for instance, the extension of the spring is equal to the mass of the object or heap being measured. Although simple and reliable, spring gauges cannot be used in industries that involve use of heavy machinery. Furthermore, operating in conditions where the temperature is constantly fluctuating impacts their accuracy.
• Piezoelectric force sensors: These are devices that use a quartz crystal to detect any change in the amount of force applied on the object under observation. It is the speed at which these sensors provide information on the amount of force applied that render their use across industries desirable. The force applied on the quartz crystal triggers an electric signal, which is digitized and subsequently stored. Compact and fast, piezoelectric sensors are capable of measuring forces across a wide range. Unfortunately, removal of voltage from the sensors tends to result in the quartz crystals reorienting, which in turn leads to the crystal either expanding or contracting.
• Tensiometers: These are devices used to measure qualities such as surface tension, surface free energy, and density. Tensiometers use a transducer to measure the amount of force required t-o lift a submerged specimen out of a fluid; the result provides information on the amount of weight that the object immersed in the fluid has gained or lost. Tensiometers are particularly handy for measuring the ability of thin materials such as fibers to absorb liquids. Tensiometers can provide accurate information on the extent to which a fiber can either absorb a fluid or repel it.
Advances in digitization, coupled with the sweeping changes in technology that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has ushered in has helped enhance the accuracy and precision of force measurement devices. In the industries of today, force measurement devices work in tandem with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and other smart and automated tools to help drive the efficiency and productivity of the assembly line.