Brands     Vishay Measurements Group     Interactive Guide     Technical Articles     Measurement of Force, Torque, and other Variables


Measurement of Force, Torque, and Other Mechanical Variables With Strain Gages

(continued...)
 


Page 8 of 46
Building a D-I-Y Transducer
 
The first step in achieving a suitable D-I-Y transducer is to arrive at the spring element material and design. With respect to the material, there are many alloys which would suffice for a moderately accurate transducer, but the performance of the transducer can be improved by the exercise of some judgement in material selection. It is important, of course, that the material have highly linear stress/strain characteristics. Other desirable material properties are low hysteresis and minimal creep under sustained load. Machinability of the alloy is also a factor, particularly if the spring element configuration is at all complex. Among the steel alloys, 4140, 4340, and 17-4 PH stainless steel are good candidates, and are widely used by commercial transducer manufacturers since they can be machined in the unhardened condition and then heat treated to develop the desired properties. Although not ordinarily thought of as spring materials, aluminum alloys such as 2024-T8 are also suitable, and often selected for low-capacity transducers.