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Enabling A Look Way Beyond Yonder

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Many know Interface is obsessed with space and space exploration. It’s in our company DNA. Going back to our founder, we see his passion and legacy through the adeptly named Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at The University of Arizona.

As NASA revealed in the first photos from the James Webb Space Telescope, we have only just begun to explore the depths of space. It is one of the reasons we are celebrating with our fellow scientists, engineers, explorers, and innovators that have designed, tested and implemented the technologies that are being used by the JWST and in space exploration in general.

Our Interface team is extremely honored to play a role in helping open the world of space exploration. In fact, our scientists, engineers and technicians have been supplying aerospace companies with force measurement solutions that have been used for testing space vehicles, rockets, launch equipment, satellites and mirror equipment to give us all a glimpse into galaxies afar.

The Webb Telescope is something we know something about, as Interface helped deliver incredibly tight system level performance using our Interface Model 1800 Platinum Standard Calibration LowProfile Load Cells and 9840 Multi-Channel Load Cell Indicators many years ago. These products allowed the JW team to carefully monitor structural loads during initial assembly and fit verification. The satellite is designed with such specific load targets that the Earth’s normal gravity would cause structural failure when deployed. Our systems were used to monitor counteractive force setups to keep the system in an effective zero gravity state, as it would experience in space.

Read more about Interface’s space obsession and how we strive to be the best in precision solutions for all aerospace explorers and innovators that take us beyond our wildest dreams!

Interface Recognized as Contributor to Human Flight Success

Force Measurement for Space Travel

Interface and The Race to Space

Launching into Orbit with Interface

Aerospace and Defense

Solutions Provider for Aerospace & Defense

Rocket Structural Testing App Note

Space Dock Capture Ring Force Testing App Note


Aerospace-Brochure

Engaging Interface Calibration and Repair Services Expertise

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A high-quality load cell is a critical piece of technology for the design and testing of products throughout various, highly regulated industries including medical, aerospace and defense, automotive, and industrial automation. To get the most out of a load cell, just like anything else, you need to understand how to care for and maintain it. A poorly maintained load cell can lead to inaccurate data and poor performance.

Interface Calibration and Repair Services provide a valuable function for our customers in recalibration and technical support for the thousands of products manufactured by the leader in force measurement.  When cared for properly, a load cell should to be calibrated once a year or at least every two years under regular use. There are also certain circumstances where a load cell is damaged in use and needs immediate repair. Interface can handle calibration and repair of any load cell on the market, whether we build it or not.

A key differentiator for Interface is the fact that our calibration lab is ISO 17025 and A2LA accredited. These accreditations are typically for major calibration labs, not in a manufacturer’s facilities like ours. Our deep expertise in the development of load cells allows us to provide the highest quality calibration and repair services on the market because we know the product inside and out.

Interface’s Industry Leading Calibration and Repair Process

The Interface calibration team consists of 10 individuals dedicated to an optimized calibration and repair process that gets our customer’s load cells in and out as quickly as possible. The process begins with the front-end team, who manages the customer’s request, goes through the RMA process, and troubleshoots any additional concerns with the customer.

Once we review the product in-house at our Arizona headquarters, the load cell goes through a thorough inspection process to identify any necessary repairs and to ensure the load cell is in working condition for calibration. This includes an electrical test to evaluate if the load cell is in proper condition to calibrate. It’s also important to note that if the load cell can’t be repaired, there is no charge to the customer, and we work to find a replacement unit. The customer also approves any repairs that are necessary before work begins.

The final step in the process is the actual calibration. Our calibration team has many years of experience and know load cells inside and out. We also work with the most advanced equipment, including our proprietary Gold Standard® and Platinum Standard® systems. These devices ensure that the load cells are calibrated to the most accurate capability possible before returning to the customer. More information about Interface Calibration Systems can be found in our Calibration Systems 101 blog here.

Our commitment to building quality calibration systems is evident by the customers who also use them to do calibration in-house. In fact, in nearly every major manufacturing testing lab, you will find an Interface Gold Standard Calibration System and Gold or Platinum Standard Load Cells. This is because our customers are working on some of the most advanced hardware in their respective industries and fields. Engineers and testing labs trust Interface for accuracy, performance and quality.

Interface customers not only need to ensure their measurements are as accurate as possible to avoid product failure, they also need to prove the accuracy of their testing equipment for those products to pass inspection and make it to the market. We provide both our expert calibration services in our calibration lab, or through high-quality, high-reliability systems available that we build for our customers.

Interface Calibration and Repair Services

  • 50+ Years of Calibration Experience
  • Calibration of All Manufacturers Load Cells
  • 100,000+ Calibrations Performed Annually
  • Custom Calibrations
  • IPerform Service Software for RMA, Tracking and Permanent Archive of Test Data
  • NMI Certified Gold and Platinum Standard Reference Load Cells
  • Interface Gold Standard Calibration Software Used for Data Collection and Analysis
  • Full-Service Machine Shop for Mechanical Requirements

Force Capabilities:

  • NIST/NMI Traceable Calibration
  • 2 gf – 1 Million lbf Calibration Capability
  • (9) Hydraulic & (5) Deadweight Test Stands to Support Your Calibration Requirements

Torque Capabilities:

  • 0.022 – 100K in-lbf Capacities
  • NIST Traceable to 2.2K in-lbf
  • NMI Traceable 2.2K – 100K in-lbf

Interface calibration and repair services are designed with the customer in mind. Our process is fast, reliable and will ensure premium accuracy for our customer’s most complex and high-quality data-dependent design and test projects. Our team of experts work with every customer to ensure personalized world-class service.  It starts with engagement, how can we help?

For more information on Interface calibration and repair services, please visit /calibration-repair/.

Click here to schedule a service today.

Contributor:  Chris Brandenburg, Technical Services Manager at Interface

Calibration Grade Load Cells and Systems

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The Interface brand has become synonymous with premium accuracy, reliability, and performance since we pioneered load cells back in 1968. Because of our reputation and commitment to quality, our Gold Standard® and Platinum Standard® Calibration Grade products are used by engineers and calibration experts in top metrology labs independently and within aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial automation industries around the world.

Why Interface is the Gold Standard in Calibration Grade Load Cells?

Calibration grade load cells meet ASTM E74 standards, capable of 2% lower load limits. These Interface products are handcrafted in design and production for excellence in performance, meeting the most demanding calibration requirements. Accuracy is considered extremely high by precision standards.

One of the key reasons for our product’s accuracy is the fact that Interface leverages a vertically integrated design and production method. We control the entire manufacturing process, which begins with the development of our own strain gages.

Strain gages are the heart and soul of every load cell. By controlling the design and production, we can customize the strain gage in each load cell to fit the specific force measurement needs of our customers.

To develop our Gold and Platinum Standard products, the most accurate and reliable products in our catalog, we add more strain gages to improve performance and allow for a higher tolerance. We also run more intensive tests to ensure premium quality. These products are tested at 30 points and in three different positions to provide a coefficient. This coefficient allows us to use the Gold Standard Calibration Systems to get more precise performance and calibrate load cells against a more precise analysis. The final results lead to the most accurate and trusted calibration systems and calibration load cells.

Interface Calibration Systems and Load Cell Application

In nearly every major manufacturing lab in the U.S. and beyond, you will find an Interface Gold Standard Calibration System and Gold or Platinum Standard Load Cells. This is because our customers are working on some of the most advanced hardware in their respective industries and fields. These customers not only need to ensure their measurements are as accurate as possible to avoid product failure. They also need to prove the accuracy of their testing equipment for those products to pass inspection and make it to the market.

Interface Gold Standard Calibration Systems and Load Cells are used in a wide variety of applications. This includes wing and rocket tests to make sure the structural integrity of the hardware will hold up to extreme conditions and force. Our calibration systems are also used in stent stress testing to prove that an implanted stent will not fail over the lifetime of the patient. If they do, it can lead to serious medical complications and often death.

Interface Gold Standard and Platinum Calibration Grade Products

Our product line includes a wide range of Gold and Platinum Standard Load Cells and Gold Standard Calibration Systems. These products are uniquely suited for a wide number of applications and industries. Read how Interface Defines the Gold Standard in Calibration Systems here. The calibration grade products in this lineup include:

Calibration Grade Load Cells:

Calibration Systems:

For more information on Interface Gold and Platinum Standard Load Cells and Calibration Systems, contact our Application Engineers or visit www.interfaceforce.com.

Contributor: Ken Bishop, Sales and Custom Solutions Director, Interface

Calibration Systems 101

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Even with the most accurate load cells available, the toll of constant use over long periods, and in some cases accidental misuse, can impact the reliability of the output. Calibration of force measurement products is vital in performance management, and necessary for safety and compliance with ISO and industry-specific standards.

In a recent Interface customer survey, 21% of respondents are calibrating load cells in-house. This is one of the reasons why Interface provides world-class load cell calibration solutions in several design configurations, as well as custom products, for a wide range of rigid and portable systems. Interface calibration offerings include complete systems for desktop and portable configurations, load frames, signal conditioning boards, intelligent digital indicators, calibration grade load cells, and calibration adapters.

The Interface Gold Standard® Calibration Systems, using the Interface Gold or Platinum Standard® Load Cells, ensures a metrology system of the highest accuracy and lowest uncertainty available.

The GS-SYS Gold Standard® Calibration System Load Frame consists of a four-post rigid load frame, proprietary load feedback loop, signal conditioning hardware, and fully-automated calibration software for the highest accuracy and lowest uncertainty available. Portable versions of the GS-SYS system are also available for calibrating load cells and test equipment.

Features of the system include:

  • 2 channels with an option available for 3 and 4 channels
  • 9840 Intelligent Indicator
  • Less than 0.04% RDG uncertainty
  • Testing and reporting per ASTM E74 and/or ISO 376 standards
  • Automated reports, graphs, and performance parameter calculations with custom reporting options
  • Innovative fixturing allows for tension and compression calibration without changing the setup
  • Proprietary load feedback design for accurate and reliable load control
  • Data archiving

A fully automated Interface Calibration System can reduce calibration time by 50% to 90% and can be set for automated calibration runs to be completed in less than five minutes.

The top calibration grade load cells from Interface are the 1800 Platinum Standard® Calibration Load Cell in ranges of 1.1K lbf to 55K lbf, 4.89 kN to 245 kN, followed by the 1600 Gold Standard® Calibration Load Cell with options from 500 lbf to 200K lbf and 2.22 kN to 900 kN.

Interface also has a compression-only calibration load cell, the 1601 Gold Standard®, in capacities of 1K lbf to 100K lbf and 4.45 kN to 445 kN.  The 1606 Gold Standard® Low Capacity Calibration load cell is also used in metrology labs, with products available in 50 lbf to 300 lbf ad 222 N to 1.33 kN sizes.

Interface also offers calibration software included with our calibration products. The ICS-202 Gold Standard® Load Cell Calibration Software will provide exact load output at specific load points. Calibration results from other runs can be compared, measured, and displayed with current run results.

Interface provides the most accurate and reliable load cells in the force measurement industry. We are able to do this because we control the entire load cell development process from design to production, including manufacturing our own strain gauges. Controlling the complete process ensures outstanding product quality which is confirmed through our stringent calibration requirements before any Interface product is shipped to our customer.

Interface load cells are capable of lasting a very long time. In fact, we recently received a calibration service request on some of the very first load cells that we have ever manufactured, decades old. To ensure load cells last as long as possible, Interface recommends customers calibrating their load cells on an annual basis. The frequency of calibrations should also be determined by the following factors:

  • Measurement quality and allowable tolerance range
  • Subjected level of stress on the equipment
  • Stability of past calibrations
  • Required measuring accuracy
  • Quality assurance requirements

Whether you rely on Interface for calibration maintenance services or perform the services in-house, we have calibration solutions to meet your exact needs including load frames, signal conditioning boards, and intelligent digital indicators.  Contact our specialized Application Engineers to discuss the best options for your requirements.

Download or view the Calibration Systems Brochure

Contributor:  Jay Bradley, Sr. Electrical Engineer, Interface