The Challenge – To Measure the Centre of Mass of a Coach or a Bus.
Applied Measurements were recently commissioned by bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton, who are part of the Alexander Dennis group, to design and manufacture a system for measuring the centre of mass of a bus. Determining this factor is a critical part of vehicle design and engineering, ensuring that buses and coaches have the ultimate levels of stability while in motion.
The Solution – Enter the ET24 Wireless Telemetry Load Cell.
The ET24 telemetry load cell is designed for under hook and lifting gear weighing applications and can be used with any standard lifting shackles. These wireless telemetry systems can be used as a single-channel set-up, using one sensor and display, or for multiple load cells in a single application.
In the case of Plaxton, a multi-channel system was set up using two ET24-5T and two ET24-12T telemetry lift link load cells, two inclinometers (angle sensors) and a T24-BSu base station. ET24 telemetry load cells were attached to each corner of the bus to monitor the load and the two inclinometers were used to measure the incline. Once the bus was lifted, instantaneous measurements were picked-up by a T24-BSu wireless telemetry base station and the data was transmitted straight to the PC or laptop.
The T24-BSu USB Base Station
The T24-BSu USB base station receives the data from the telemetry load cells and relays it to a PC or laptop via the USB port. This simple USB connection means no additional wires are required as the power supply is drawn directly from the USB port. The T24-BSu base station configures the telemetry system using the free user-friendly downloadable T24 Toolkit software, which offers basic logging to excel.
As Plaxton required readings from multiple telemetry load cells, their system was configured using the T24Log24 software. The T24Log24 software enabled engineers to view and log up to 24 channels of data simultaneously throughout the test and made it possible for Plaxton to analyse the information later.
Benefits of Using the ET24 Wireless Telemetry System:
- Wireless transmission up to 200 metres – no cables required.
- Use multiple load cells in a single application.
- Immediate simultaneous readings.
- High accuracy outputs +/- 0.3% of reading.
- Free user-friendly T24 software allows the user to view, log and download the data to csv file for manipulation in excel.
- Easy USB connection from the T24-BSu base station to the PC or laptop.
The ET24 telemetry load cell can be supplied in 1 – 2 weeks and can be pre-calibrated with various receivers. Contact us to discuss your weighing application today on +44 (0) 118 981 7339 or email info@appmeas.co.uk
