The development trend of force sensor

The multi-axis wireless weighing sensor and digital technology have changed the force sensor.

 About ten years ago, the force testing and force measuring industries were devoid of imagination. They developed a standardized way to formulate and simulate weighing sensors, torque sensors, and other devices, which worked for many years. However, with the development of technology, Big Data changed the work style of engineers and manufacturers. Therefore, this kind of ancient force measurement and simulation technology appeared to be so backward that it had no way to improve data collection or improve its efficiency.

The digital revolution prompted the manufacturers of weighing sensors to deliberate from all aspects and think about how the clients developed products and how the factories and production lines worked.

There are trends that some force measurement enterprises must follow, otherwise, they will face the risk of disappearance.

Trend 1: multi-axis sensor

The emergence of multi-axis sensors is to meet the need for more data. The many benefits brought by big data and quality data and insights have allowed original equipment manufacturers to aware that more information collected during the stage of design and test will help manufacture more high-quality products with higher efficiency and lower cost.

Multi-axis sensors use a single weighing sensor to measure multiple forces and torques at the same time. They are equipped with multiple bridges, which can accurately measure the force in one direction while minimizing the crosstalk of several other axes. They are available as three-axis or six-axis devices and axial torsion sensors. These devices can simultaneously measure the force on three mutually perpendicular axes, and the six-axis weighing sensor can also measure the torque around these axes. In addition, many force measurement manufacturers also provide some data acquisition and amplifier systems, which make it very easy to draw graphs, record, and display data, no matter whether they have experience or not.

One of the most significant benefits of multi-axis sensors is that they can improve the design and reduce cost and notice people pay attention to the defects which were ignored before in product development. For example, in the past, chair designs were prototyped and tested so that manufacturers could meet specific furniture strength and safety standards. Most of these tests included continuous use of stress tests; it measured cycles of sitting and then standing up repeatedly for several hours of humans of different weights.

What the old weighing sensor measured is the force in one direction changing with time, but this does not explain the whole problem. In fact, if a test cycle fails under all normal conditions, it may be due to undetected loads on the axis, such as bending forces. With multi-axis sensors, laboratories and engineers can account for and measure previously undetermined loads. With multi-axis sensors, testing agencies and furniture manufacturers can see more and higher-quality data than ever before. This helps speed up the design and testing process, and quickly identify defects in the structure. It also helps eliminate over-design issues. With multi-axis sensors, OEMs can make lighter and stronger chairs with less material because they have more data about the overall structure and the forces exerted on the chair so as to eliminate unnecessary materials to reduce costs and further speed up development.

Multi-axis sensors are very suitable for multiple industries, including aerospace, robotics, automotive, and healthcare (orthopedics and biomechanics). For example, multi-axis sensors are very helpful in perfecting the design of prostheses. Automotive engineers use them in wind tunnels, and the military uses them to determine the center of gravity of a spacecraft's aircraft.

Trend 2: digitalization

The digitization of force sensors is another trend that has changed the way OEMs collect and measure data. Many people invest heavily in more advanced digital electronic technologies to efficiently collect more (digital) data.

This has been achieved by adding digital sensors to force sensors and torque sensors. With these new sensors, the connection between the load cell, torque sensor, and receiver can all be done digitally. This saves most of the wiring work when using a large number of load cells.

For example, measuring forces and loads on an airplane once required hundreds of force sensors to be installed along the fuselage. Nowadays, each force sensor does not require a specific wire to transmit its signal back to the receiver, saving time and money.

Another major innovation supported by digital force measurement is the Internet of Things (or Industry 4.0). The goal of these plans is to create a network on which devices, machines, and computers share data and insights to make autonomous decisions. The Internet of Things/Industry 4.0 can be said to be the mainstream trend of force measurement, not to mention the entire manufacturing and engineering industries.

Trend 3:wireless communication

The application of wireless data collection to force measurement is widely increased. For example, the aviation industry uses a Wi-Fi-enabled weighing sensor to measure the jacking force that keeps the aircraft level during maintenance. In the past, more than 20 jacks held the aircraft in place. The wires connecting the load cell on each jack to the data acquisition device and the computer were several miles long, which was a cumbersome task. When it came to wires, all these devices were more prone to failure and risk of damage during testing. In order to solve these problems, force measurement suppliers provide Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connected weighing sensors and torque sensors. These sensors reduce the reliance on wires and make it easier to connect data and results to multiple machines via an IoT network.

Trend 4: miniaturization

Over the past few years, there has been a common trend in all industries to make components smaller and smaller. You can see this trend in mobile phones, cars, and even airplanes. Consumers want to pack more technology and functions into devices of the same size or smaller. Every hardware OEM is trying to reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP) in some way.

Quite a few OEM manufacturers hope to permanently install smaller force sensors in their products. This will allow them to collect force and torque data for products that are undergoing actual use. At the same time, manufacturers install sensors on their products to determine durability and plan maintenance. Smaller wireless sensors are easier to install and cost less. As more industrial networks are established to share higher quality data, more and more sensors will be added to these machines.

Please click here to know detailed information about the force sensor.