Fitting a weighing system to an existing silo, hopper or tank using a conventional load cell system can be expensive, disruptive and sometimes even impossible. UK sensor experts Applied Measurements Ltd offer a solution to these problems by using a simple bolt-on load transducer. This weighing approach is cost-effective and quick to install, causes a minimum of production downtime and is ideal as a retrofitted system. The BOSS bolt-on sensor is a well-proven robust product consisting of a strain-gauged element encased in a protective housing. It is simply bolted to a structural member of the silo and deflects under the changing weight conditions, to give a varying electrical output relative to the load. Bob Davies, general manager at Applied Measurements […]
Transducer News & Views | The Applied Measurements Blog
LowStir Friction Stir Welding System
Friction stir welding is a welding process invented by TWI in 1991. The process involves a spinning tool, in contact with the material to be welded, with sufficient down force to create frictional heat in the material (about 80% of the material’s melting point). This causes the material to become soft, allowing the spinning tool to create the weld. Friction stir welding is now widely used in the aerospace, automotive, rail and ship building industries. Unlike other friction stir welders, the LowStir friction stir welding system includes a unit that attaches to most standard milling machines via an ISO taper, making it an affordable option to smaller enterprises. It is supplied with software to calibrate the system, monitor the welding […]
Custom Torque Sensors Now Available on Standard Lead Times
A UK manufacturer of torque sensors is offering custom designed static/reaction torque transducers on similar lead times to its standard units, with only a small premium on the standard list price. Applied Measurements Ltd, based in Aldermaston, is able to design and manufacture custom torque sensors to meet any customer requirement, including different flange diameters, unusual sizes of square drive, special sealed versions and shorter, more compact designs. According to Peter Lewis, Managing Director at Applied Measurements: “Many manufactured products require fatigue testing to ensure that they can operate for a guaranteed minimum period of time. An accelerated life test, for example, may be carried out on a drive shaft to determine the torque limits. The fatigue testing can sometimes […]
Custom Load, Pressure, Torque and Displacement Sensors for Machine Builders
By providing custom design services for its range of load cells, torque sensors, pressure transducers and displacement sensors, Applied Measurements Limited is helping machine builders and systems integrators to reduce lead times, cut costs and improve quality. “Despite the current economic downturn, we have grown our sales revenues by more than 30 per cent over the last three years,” says Peter Lewis, Managing Director at Applied Measurements Limited. “A major part of this growth is coming from our custom design service for our products, which include load cells, torque sensors, displacement sensors and pressure transducers. We are supplying one-off designs, pre-production prototypes, high volume specials, direct competitor equivalents, as well as modifying or strain gauging existing components.” According to Lewis, […]
New Range of Strain Gauge Based Displacement Transducers
Applied Measurements is pleased to announce the introduction of a new range of strain gauge based displacement transducers, the AML/SGD Series. It is now available with stroke lengths of 0-5mm, 0-10mm, 0-25mm and 0-50mm. The accuracy offered is +/-0.1% up to 25mm and +/-0.15% above 25mm, plus excellent long term and thermal stability. They require a stabilised dc voltage excitation anywhere between 2 and 10 volts and return a high level millivolt signal proportional to the position of the plunger. The AML/SGD Series are constructed using a rugged stainless steel tubular housing containing a spindle guide bearing and spring return mechanism. A light spring force ensures a minimal effect on the application and enables inverted operation when required. Precision construction […]
Underwater Load Cell offers Tension and Compression Measurement
When approached by one of our customers to design a load cell for underwater tension measurement, We looked at our core range of products and decided the DDE style load cell, which features M12x1.75 male threads at each end, would best meet the customer’s requirement, but this model as standard is only rated to IP65. With a small, quick and cost effective re-design we changed the construction to Stainless Steel with two halves locking together with a seal. Internally it was further protected by back-filling with an inert waterproof gel. The electrical termination is a tough IP68 multicore cable that is connected through an IP68 cable gland, to complete fully submersible sealing. The new underwater load cell has been designated […]
High Volume, Low Cost OEM Strain Sensing Beam
The requirement was to design and manufacture a simple strain sensing beam to fit into a very confined space and meet a stringent budget. Following several months of design, development and creation the final product is manufactured from a high grade alloy steel requiring minimal additional machining. A single strain gauge containing a full Wheatstone bridge is bonded to the beam in a specific position to maximise the sensitivity and accuracy. During development a bespoke calibration system was also built to ensure that each strain sensing beam was accurately positioned and loaded for consistent quality. Following the successful acceptance trials and approval by our customer, the strain sensing beam has been put into full production, which is expected to exceed […]
Strain-Gauged Chain Link Measures Tension in Poultry Plant Conveyor System
The poultry plant was experiencing severe chain wear problems causing loss of production. It was suspected that this was due to excessive tension at certain points in the system. The challenge was to identify these areas, which could only be done effectively in a live running situation. Applied Measurements Ltd were supplied with a standard link from the chain, this was modified to enable strain gauges to be bonded to the structure, creating a strain-gauged chain link. The transformation of the link into a load cell was completed by terminating with a four core screened cable, environmental protective coatings and calibration. The strain-gauged chain link was then installed in the standard process chain and fitted with a portable data logger, […]
