Posts

Interface Supports Wind Tunnel Testing

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the development of an airborne vehicle, like a plane or helicopter, wind tunnel systems are used to gather data across a variety of tests related to the aerodynamics of the vehicle’s design. Whether an object is stationary or mobile, wind tunnels provide insight into the effects of air as it moves over or around the test model. Interface is a supplier of measurement solutions used for aircraft and wind tunnel testing.

Wind tunnels are chambers that test small scale model versions of full systems, or in some cases, parts and components, depending on the size and capabilities of the wind tunnel. They work by allowing the engineers to control airflow within the tunnel and simulate the types of wind force that airplanes and other aircraft will experience in flight. Wind tunnels are also used for testing automobiles, bicycles, drones and space vehicles.

By taking careful measurements of the forces on the model, the engineer can predict the forces on the full-scale aircraft. And by using special diagnostic techniques, the engineer can better understand and improve the performance of the aircraft.

The process for measuring the force and how it reacts to this force works by mounting the model in the wind tunnel on a force balance or test stand. The output is a signal that is related to the forces and moments on the model. Balances can be used to measure both the lift and drag forces. The balance must be calibrated against a known value of the force before, and sometimes during, the test.

Interface’s strain gage load cells are commonly used in wind tunnel testing due to their quality, accuracy and reliability. The instrumentation requirements often depend on the application and type of test. The range of options for both load cells and instrumentation vary based on scale, use, cycle counts, and data requirements.

Instrumentation used in wind tunnel testing can be as simple as our 9325 Portable Sensor Display to a multi-channel data acquisition system. Interface analog, digital and wireless instrumentation solutions provide a range of possibilities. As is the case, wind tunnel testing is typically very sensitive. It is important to calibrate the instrumentation before each test to measurement accuracy.

Types of Wind Tunnel Tests Using Force Measurement Solutions

  • Lift and drag: Load cells are used to measure the two most significant forces that impact aircraft design. Lift is the force that acts perpendicular to the direction of airflow and keeps the craft airborne. Drag is the force that acts parallel to the direction of airflow and opposes forward motion.
  • Side force: This force acts perpendicular to both the direction of airflow and the lift force. It is caused by the difference in pressure between the upper and lower surfaces of the aircraft.
  • Moments: Moments are the forces that act around a point. The most common moments measured in wind tunnels are the pitching moment, the yawing moment, and the rolling moment.
  • Stability and control: Tests conducted to measure the stability and controllability of an aircraft are commonly using force measurement solutions for aircraft design changes or integrating new parts into an existing model.
  • Performance: Particularly important with new designs, engineers use these tests to measure the simulated flight performance under maximum speed, range and fuel efficiency.

The specific tests that are conducted in a wind tunnel depend on the project requirements.

Multi-Axis Sensors for Wind Tunnel Testing Applications

In measuring the forces of a wind tunnel test, multi-axis sensors offer the perfect solution for collecting as much data as possible across every axis, giving the engineer a more complete picture on the aerodynamics of the plane. In fact, Interface has supplied multi-axis load cells for use in several wind tunnel testing applications, for OEMs, testing facilities and part makers.

We offer a variety of multi-axis options including 2, 3 and 6-axis standard and high-capacity configurations depending on testing and data requirements of the user. These sensors can precisely measure the applied force from one direction with little or no crosstalk from the force or moment. Interface products provide excellent performance and accuracy in force and torque measurement.

To match the demands of the volumes of data available using multi-axis sensors in wind tunnel testing, Interface often provides several data acquisition instrumentation solution along with our BlueDAQ software.

Wind Tunnel Test Application

A major aerospace company was developing a new airplane and needed to test their scaled model for aerodynamics in a wind tunnel, by measuring loads created by lift and drag. Interface Model 6A154 6-Axis Load Cell was mounted in the floor of the wind tunnel and connected to the scaled model by a stalk. The wind tunnel blew air over the scaled model creating lift and drag, which was measured and compared to the theoretical airplane models. The output of the 6-axis sensor was connected to the BX8-AS Interface BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System, which was connected via USB cable to a computer. Using this solution, the company was able to analyze the collected data and made the necessary adjustments in their design to improve the aerodynamics of their theoretical airplane models.

Interface supports wind tunnel testing and all uses of force measurement in the advancements in aeropspace.

Wind tunnel testing is critical to the aircraft industry, as well as other industries like automotive and space. Interface has been providing multi-axis sensors and strain gage load cells to industry leaders and wind tunnel operators. We understand the unique needs of this type of testing and the instrumentation options that work best with our high-accuracy sensors. We also can work to provide custom solutions, load cells for use in extreme environmental conditions. Contact us to get the right solution for your specific testing program.

Additional Resources

Aircraft Wing Fatigue App Note

Airplane Jacking System

Interface Airplane Static Testing Case Study

Taking Flight with Interface Solutions for Aircraft Testing

Aircraft Yoke Torque Measurement

Aircraft Screwdriver Fastening Control App Note

Interface’s Crucial Role in Vehicle and Urban Mobility Markets

Rigging Engineers Choose Interface Measurement Solutions

 

Using Multi-Axis Sensors to Bring Robotics to Life

/0 Comments/in /by

The advent of robotics brought with it the expansion of machine capabilities across many industries. The range of robotics today spans industrial, entertainment, autonomous, medical, educational, defense and consumer robots.

As with all invention and innovation, the demands for more data and precision testing have grown dramatically in recent years. Due to the nature of robotic movement, and the engineering that must be done to make this movement work, testing sensor technologies are advancing to improve robotics capabilities and to make them more accurate.

In the force measurement world, one of the best sensor devices that lends itself perfectly to robotics are multi-axis sensors. Interface’s multi-axis sensors are designed to provide the most comprehensive data points for advanced testing. With our industry-leading reliability and accuracy, Interface’s multi-axis sensors can provide the data our customers need to ensure performance and safety requirements are met in their robotic designs.

Multi-axis sensors can provide several benefits for use in robotics, as they allow for accurately measuring the robot’s position, orientation, and movement. Here are some ways that robots can benefit from multi-axis sensors:

  • Improved accuracy: Multi-axis sensors provide more accurate readings of a robot’s position and orientation, allowing it to perform tasks with greater precision and accuracy. This can be particularly important for tasks that require precision accuracy, such as assembly or inspection.
  • Enhanced safety: Multi-axis sensors help to improve the safety of robots by detecting when the robot is approaching an object or a person and slowing down or stopping to prevent collisions. This can be particularly important when robots are working near human workers.
  • Greater flexibility: Multi-axis sensors allow robots to perform a wider range of tasks, as they can adapt to changes in the environment or the task at hand. For example, a robot with multi-axis sensors can adjust its position and orientation to grip an object from a variety of angles, or to perform a task in a confined space.
  • Faster response time: Multi-axis sensors can provide real-time feedback on the robot’s movement, allowing it to adjust more quickly and with greater accuracy. This can help to improve the speed and efficiency of the robot’s performance.

Multi-Axis Robotic Arm Using Force Plate

In this application note, we highlight a customer that needs to measure the reaction forces of their robotic arm for safety purposes. The reaction loads occur at the robotic arm’s base; therefore, they need a force measurement system at the base of the robotic arm. Interface suggests using our force plate option to install at the base of the robotic arm. The solutions includes 3-Axis Force Load Cells are installed between two force plates, then installed at the bottom of the arm. This creates one large 6-Axis Force Plate. The sensors force data is recorded and displayed through the two BX8 Multi-Channel Bridge Amplifier and Data Acquisition Systems onto the customer’s computer. Read more about this application here.

Sensors must be able to provide the robust data requirements needed in designing and using robotics. Testing for industrial robots, which are used in manufacturing and assembly processes to automate tasks that are repetitive, dangerous or require precision, need exact measurements to clear the path to use. This data from sensors is used in design and production to evaluate reliability and quality of craftmanship. These types of robots are used in a variety of industries such as automotive, electronics, and aerospace.

Safety is primary for service and medical robots, as they are designed to interact with humans and perform tasks in healthcare, cleaning and surgical procedures, diagnosis, and rehabilitation.

Precision and accuracy are what defines the testing requirements for military robots. Whether these robots are used in military applications, such as bomb disposal, reconnaissance, and search and rescue missions or to operate in dangerous environments where it is not safe for humans to work, they must be thoroughly tested for high accuracy in operation.

While educational and entertainment robotics involve human interaction, so sensor technologies must match the use cases for teaching students about robotics, programming, and technology. They are often designed to be easy to use and intuitive, allowing students to experiment and learn through direct experience. Robots designed for entertainment purposes, such as robotic toys or theme park attractions are interactive. Robust sensor data makes the robots more engaging and may incorporate features like voice recognition or facial recognition to provide an authentic experience.

Lastly, autonomous robots undergo vast amounts of design tests using force and torque sensors due to the requirements of operating independently, without human intervention. They are often used in applications such as space exploration, agriculture, or transportation.

Interface offers a wide variety of multi-axis sensor options including 2-axis, 3-axis, 6-axis, and axial torsion load cell sensors. The benefits of using multi-axis sensors aligns to the advancements in robotics, as the expectations to do more means more data is needed to thoroughly test and measure every capability and interaction with accuracy.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

BX8 & 6-Axis

Multi-Axis Sensor Applications

Mounting Tips for Multi-Axis Sensors

Recap of Inventive Multi-Axis and Instrumentation Webinar

Dimensions of Multi-Axis Sensors An Interface Hosted Forum

Multi-Axis Sensors

Multi-Axis Sensors 101

 

Digital Instrumentation 101

/0 Comments/in , /by

Digital instrumentation used for test and measurement provides faster data input and output, and more robust analytics. Interface offers several types of digital instrumentation devices that transform load cell and strain bridge input into digital data output in numerous protocols and bus formats.

Instrumentation that utilizes analog output has long been the standard in the industry. As new requirements for use cases and applications grow, test and measurement engineers and professionals find digital instrumentation advantageous because of the lower cost, easy integration and scalability. They also like the advantage of daisy-chaining multiple sensors together on a single cable run.

Advancements in sensor technologies coincide with growing demands to gather more testing data. This is seen through the use of multi-axis sensors, along with requirements for multi-channel instrumentation that can integrate into existing systems already designed with specific digital connections and protocols, as highlighted in using Interfaces BX8 with our 6-Axis sensors. Change is also coming with a strong desire to utilize instrumentation that can easily work within cable free environments or in remote locations.

In addition to improving speed of data output, digital instrumentation offers an abundance of benefits. This is primarily due to the digital signal, as they are less susceptible to noise and are more secure. Digital instrumentation typically has built in error detection. Digital signals are best for transmitting signals across longer distances or when you need to allow for simultaneous multi-directional transmissions. Many people like the ease of integration, both into existing networks as well as with other testing devices.

Types of Interface Digital Instrumentation

  • Indicators and Bidirectional Indicators
  • Portable and Programmable Indicators
  • Battery Powered Indicators and Bidirectional Indicators
  • Single and Multi-Channel Transmitters
  • Controllers and Programmable Controllers
  • USB Output Modules
  • PC Interface Modules
  • Sensor to USB Output Converters
  • Data Acquisition Systems
  • Wireless Instrumentation

Connection options available for Interface Digital Instrumentation include, RS232, RS485, RS422, Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, and Ethernet Protocols. The types of data output protocols available include ASCII, Modbus, CANopen, DeviceNet, Profibus DP Modbus/TCP, Ethernet TCP/IP, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT and several others. See the complete list of connections and protocols in our Digital Instrumentation Overview.

Top selling digital instrumentation models from Interface, with many available in various protocols:

Do you have questions about the type of instrumentation that will support your application?  You can see more of the solutions by visiting our instrumentation selection guide.  Here are six questions begin evaluating your instrumentation options:

  • Where are you going to connect your sensor technology and how?
  • Do you need to store your data?
  • Do you prefer an analog or digital output device?
  • Are you going to plug-in your instrumentation or use hand-held, wireless or Bluetooth connectivity?
  • How will your data output be displayed?
  • How many channels do you need for your project or program?

For additional help with instrumentation, please contact our application engineers.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Digital Instrumentation for Force Measurement

Ultimate BlueDAQ Software Guide for Interface Instrumentation

Interface Instrumentation Definitions

Instrumentation Selection Guide

Advancements in Instrumentation Webinar

Interface Instructional on Instrumentation Event

Instrumentation

Ultimate BlueDAQ Software Guide for Interface Instrumentation

/0 Comments/in /by

In the new online resource center for BlueDAQ Software, Interface provides helpful instructional guides, video demonstrations, user tips and feature details about the popular software often used with various Interface Instrumentation solutions.

Interface provides various instrumentation products, as highlighted in our Instrumentation Selection Guide, for scale input/output, force and moment value calculation, graphing, logging, and display that are compatible with the BlueDAQ Software.

The BlueDAQ Software contains modules for stress analysis with strain gages. It is designed to be used for multiple axis and multi-component force torque sensors. A benefit is the long-term data acquisition decimation at run time.

BlueDAQ Software is used for configuration of measuring amplifiers, recording of measurement data, playback and export of recorded data and read-out dataloggers for Interface Instrumentation models 9330 and BX6-BT.  You can see a complete instrumentation comparison guide to determine the model that works best with the software requirement needed for a project or lab.

The BlueDAQ software is commonly used with the following Interface Instrumentation Models:

The software and drivers are available for download, at no cost.  Visit the BlueDAQ resource center for quick access.

Instrumentation paired with the right software extends the value of test and measurement projects and work in the lab. As noted in our our recent Advancements in Instrumentation webinar, expectations for how data is viewable, stored and retrievable for detailed analysis is critical. This is confirmed in the recent report on trends in data management for sensor products, which includes:

  • Mathscripting
  • Real-time data manipulation versus post process
  • Remote access to equipment and results
  • Transmission to the cloud and data security
  • Alerts, notifications, automated reports
  • Advanced triggering and logging
  • Mixed and expanding communication protocols: Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP/IP, EtherCAT and ethernet, Wi-Fi, 5G

You can watch product and software demonstration videos and review compatible and comparative instrumentation options that come with BlueDAQ software.

BlueDAQ Software Brochure

 

Force Sensing Keeps Factories Running Feature in Fierce Electronics

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the recent article, ‘May the force be with you: Force sensing keeps factories running, product quality high’ Dan O’Shea at Fierce Electronics writes about the growing demand for sensors in industrial automation applications.

Following his interview with Interface’s Keith Skidmore, Dan writes:

‘While some sensors are more focused on monitoring equipment or measuring environmental conditions around a manufacturing process, force sensors measure mechanical forces occurring in the equipment and processes, and the products being manufactured. They measure things like load, tension, resistance, weight or total pressure applied. By employing this kind of sensing technology, manufacturers can monitor the health of their equipment and improve quality assurance for their products.’

“Testing things by applying a force to them is super common. Many products in lots of industries get tested this way, from aerospace to automotive, through to consumer goods. Chairs, furniture, mattresses, ladders–basically, anything that’s being manufactured, there can be a desire to figure out how strong the various parts of those products are.” Keith Skidmore, engineer and regional sales director at Interface

Read the entire Fierce Electronics article here.

Interface provides industrial automation and IoT solutions to manufacturers, equipment makers and factories around the world. Sensors play a pivotal role in production and optimization through tools and process improvements.

Industrial Robotic Arm

Robotic arms are frequently used in production facilities throughout the manufacturing process. Suppliers of these devices heavily rely on accurate and quality sensors to provide feedback. In this application, the designer needed to test the force of the arm apparatus to ensure it could safely secure packages on a moving conveyor belt without damaging any materials or products. This automated function helps to improve quality of packaging and increase productivity on the line.

Interface provided the model 6A40A 6-Axis Load Cell with model BX8-HD44 Data Acquisition Amplifier instrumentation. The 6-Axis load cell provides measurement of all forces and torques (Fx, Fʏ, Fz, Mx, Mʏ, Mz) and the BXB-HD44 Data Acquisition Amplifier logs, displays, and graphs these measurements while sending scaled analog output signals for these axes to the robot’s control system. Customer installed 6A40 6-Axis Load Cell between robot flange and robot grabber. The extensive data outputs from the multi-axis sensor provided the exact detailed measurements needed for the industrial robotic application.

TEDS 101

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the electronics industry, sensor compatibility challenges can lead to significant issues with efficiency, accuracy, safety and more. When it comes to force measurement sensors, incompatibility issues can railroad an entire project.  This is where the role of Transducer Electronic Data Sheets (TEDS) comes into play.

TEDS is a set of electronic data in a standardized format stored in a chip that is attached to a transducer, therefore allowing the transducer to identify and describe itself to the network and ease automatic system configuration. This self-identification capability for the transducer is needed for maintenance, diagnostics, and to determine mean time between failure characteristics. The chip stores information such as manufacturer name, identification number, type of device, serial number, as well as calibration data. The TEDS can be uploaded to the system upon power up or request. It also serves as documentation for the transducer.

Transducer Electronic Data Sheets (TEDS) provide:

  • Sensor with electronic identification
  • IEEE 1451.4 standard for smart transducer interface
  • Plug and play readiness
  • Storage of sensor information and calibration data
  • Use with new or existing sensors

IEEE1451.4 specifies a table of identifying parameters that are stored in the load cell in the form of a TEDS. TEDS is a table of parameters that identify the transducer and is held in the transducer on a EEPROM for interrogation by external electronics.

A TEDS chip becomes the ultimate tool to allow users to take off-the-shelf sensor solutions and integrate them into a total force measurement solution. The key benefits TEDS provide includes:

  • Eliminating potential for data entry error
  • Simplifying new system setup and speeds up the process
  • Making swapping load cells in and out of a test system seamless
  • Improving safety by ensuring the system has the correct sensors
  • Easily identifying and tagging sensor locations
  • Improving inventory control of sensors
  • Changing sensors out without jeopardizing integrity of the system

TEDS chips can be sold separately or integrated into existing systems such as instrumentation products. Interface offers both options, selling TEDS as a standalone accessory, as well as integrating them into instrumentation solutions, such as:

9840 Calibration Grade Multi-Channel Load Cell Indicator

Model 9840 is suitable for use in calibration labs, field service, or anywhere high accuracy is important. This product’s features include a bipolar 6-digit 2-line display, remote sense, low noise, 24-bit internal resolution, USB port with RS232 communication, mV/V calibration, store calibrations for up to 25 sensors. 6-point linearization, unit conversion and front-panel tare. This unit also has Self-calibration via TEDS Plug and Play ready IEEE 1451.4 compliance.

9320 Battery Powered Portable Load Cell Indicator

Model 9320 is a bipolar 7-digit handheld meter featuring two independently scalable ranges, peak and valley monitoring, display hold, mV/V calibration, and a power save feature. Typical battery life exceeds 45 hours of continuous use and 450 in low power mode. IEEE1451.4 TEDS Plug and Play compliant.

Additional TEDS Ready Interface Solutions

9840-400-1-T 4-Channel Intelligent Indicator

9840TQ mV/V Input Torque Transducer Indicator

9870 High-Speed High Performance Teds Ready Indicator

BX6-BT Portable 6-Channel High Speed Bluetooth Data Logger

BX8-AS BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System With Industrial Enclosure

BX8-HD15 BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System For Discreet Sensors With Lab Enclosure

BX8-HD44 BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System For Multi-Axis Sensors With Lab Enclosure

These solutions make a great addition to any testing environment as they enable quick compatibility and are very easy to setup. To learn more about TEDS or to explore how TEDS can help solve your force measurement challenges, contact us to explore the possibilities.

Interface Sensors Used for Development and Testing of Surgical Robotics

/0 Comments/in /by

Electro-mechanical and software advancements in the medical device and healthcare industry have made all kinds of surgical robotics a reality. Manufacturers and design engineers of these robots come to Interface during the stages of research and development, product engineering and refinement, and testing to perfect surgical use cases. The sensor technologies we provide are preferred in these processes and in final integration due to the fact these devices are highly regulated and require the utmost in accuracy and reliability.

The types of surgeries currently being performed with robotics include what were once considered invasive and a higher risk of failure such as coronary bypass, removing cancer tissue, transplants, laser incisions, and more. With surgical robotics, the medical professionals rely on precision to perform these surgeries with as minimal invasion as possible.

The product development process for surgical robotics is extremely meticulous and requires a wide variety of tests to confirm the accuracy of the product. One of the key components to testing in this field is force measurement. As you can imagine, force plays a massive role in surgical robotics. Every action performed needs to be forced tested to ensure that whatever the surgical task, the robot is doing it with precision.

For surgical robotics, minute forces need to be measured because they are working with highly fragile subjects within a human body. To measure these tiny forces, Interface offers a variety of Interface Mini™ Solutions.  Interface Mini Load Cells are used for light touch, light weight, or for less space. Our miniature load cells provide exceedingly accurate measurements similar to our full-size load cells with proprietary alloy strain gages. They are used in R&D, test and for OEM use in robot components.

All our miniature beam load cells, load cell load buttons, load washer, miniature tension force load cells, S-type load cells, and sealed stainless steel load cells are commonly used based on their capacity and designs.  A variety of our load cells can be used in an off-the-shelf application. Our engineers can also work with you to design custom load cells to fit your exact needs, which is common in robotics.

Interface recently developed an application note to outline how force measurement can be used in testing force feedback using a combination of load cells, torque transducer and data acquisition device on a robotic surgical device.

Robotic Surgery Force Feedback

A biomechanical medical company wanted to test the force, torque, and tactile feedback from their robotic arm for invasive surgery. The surgeon’s movements are mirrored by the robotic arm during surgery, and it was essential all haptic force feedback is measured to ensure safety during invasive surgery. A number of Interface’s force and torque measurement products were suggested for this robotic arm. These includes our load button, S-types, Mini overload protected torque transducers and DAQ instrumentation.  Included below are the roles of each device:

Each one of Interface’s load cells or torque transducers played a part in the ensuring the safety and functionality of robotic arms during invasive surgery. The force feedback that was measured from the robotic arm ensured that the robot used the perfect amount of force when using surgical tools that create incisions during surgeries. It also measured the torque being produced, ensuring the robot arm was moving smoothly and at the right speeds. Read the application note for this surgical robot here.

This is just one example of Interface’s work in robotics, and surgical robotics specifically. There are a growing number of devices used in special, precision surgeries that utilize force to perform its task.

Additional Resources Related to Medical, Healthcare and Robotics

Spotlighting Medical Device and Healthcare Solutions

Medical and Healthcare Brochure

OEM: Medical Bag Weighing

Force Solutions for Medical Tablet Forming Machines

Interface OEM Solutions Process

6-Axis Force Plate Robotic Arm App Note

Force Measurement Solutions for Advanced Manufacturing Robotics

Introducing New Interface Instrumentation Selection Guide

/0 Comments/in /by

Interface offers a diverse selection of instrumentation to use with all types of test and measurement programs.  As the options grow, we created a new online resource to assist in selecting the right type of instrumentation based on the sensor characteristics and the requirements for how you will use and report the outputs.

Interface’s new Instrumentation Selection Guide provides an easy and quick evaluation of various models that can be used with load cells, torque transducers and multi-axis sensors. The guide highlights Interface’s range of analog instrumentation and digital instrumentation types including indicators, signal conditioners, combination models, interface modules, DAQ systems as well as accessories.

This new Interface resource enables you to quickly evaluate the instrumentation models based on features and capabilities, including output, number of channels, software, programmability, speed, logging and graphing, resolutions, TEDS ready, and enclosure options.

Start using this new featured guide by visiting Instrumentation Selection Guide.

This new tool was recently featured in our ForceLeaders webinar Advancements in Instrumentation.  During this recorded event, we provided a series of analog and digital instrumentation products ranging from easy to use four channel SI-USB4 USB Interface Modules to the more advanced BX8 DAQ Systems: BX8-AS Interface BlueDaq Series Data Acquisition System, BX8-HD15 Interface BlueDaq Series Data Acquisition System and the BX8-HD44 Interface BlueDaq Series Data Acquisition System. The specialized BX8 instrumentation products are designed for 8-channel synchronized sampling with two pulse encoder channels, ideal for internal calculations of axis load values for Interface’s popular 6-Axis Multi-Axis Sensors. Another new instrumentation solution featured in webinar is the BX6-BT Portable 6-Channel High Speed Bluetooth Data Logger, which has fewer channels; however, is portable and great solution for advanced testing labs that are using multi-axis sensors.

These new products, along with the vast catalog of Interface instrumentation options can be found in our references below and by using the featured Instrumentation Selection Guide.

Additional References for Choosing Interface Instrumentation Products

More Support Resources for Interface Instrumentation

If you need assistance in exploring sensors you intend to use with the instrumentation, contact our Application Engineers.

Advancements in Instrumentation Webinar Recap

/0 Comments/in /by

Interface experts recently hosted a conversation about what is changing in the world of instrumentation, as it related to sensor technologies and force measurement.  The new event, Advancements in Instrumentation is a continuation of our ForceLeaders Interface Instructional on Instrumentation Event.

The conversation began with a focus on what has changed in the last five years and why instrumentation is such an important topic in T&M. 

TRENDS IN ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION

The number one change in test and measurement that we have identified is the omnipresent use of sensors in things that didn’t use to have sensors. This includes consumer products, home healthcare medical devices, EVs, factory equipment, tools, robotics, just to name a few. With the demands for more feedback, more data, and more required performance monitoring, instrumentation requirements are growing in functionality. 

We are getting smarter in our applications and uses cases, which means we need smarter devices to capture all the information to make intelligent decisions in product design, engineering, and manufacturing. We see this with smart factories, smart vehicles, smart agriculture, smart tools, smart medical technologies, these innovations and advancements need more data to make smart decisions, in design, test, build and use.

Other trends we discussed include the infusion of IoT into test and measurement. As we connect more instruments and devices into our networks, it requires advanced instrumentation and changes in what has been used as basic and standard instruments in the past. We also see customization and programmability needs changing and movement towards more digital interfaces.  Specifically, during this hour-long discussion we dive into digital outputs, amplifiers, communication protocols and advancements in software options, including a quick MathScript demo. Watch the video here.

TYPES OF INSTRUMENTATION HIGHLIGHTED IN WEBINAR

  • Signal Conditioners
  • Data Acquisition Systems (DAQ) 
  • Indicators
  • USB Interface Modules
  • Wireless and Bluetooth Telemetry Systems
  • Portable
  • TEDS Ready

Interface highlighted a series of new instrumentation solutions in great detail. This includes recent releases like our BX8 DAQ Series, Wireless Telemetry System Additions, 9850 Torque and Load Cell Indicator and SI-USB4. We also shared what we are bringing to market this year, including new portable indicators, a DAQ systems designed specifically for torque transducers, advanced multi-channel solutions and new USB indicators for wireless sensors. We also talked about custom instrumentation solutions when you need something designed for a unique use case or OEM application.

Throughout the webinar, instrumentation selection criteria were highlighted to help make the right decisions in pairing your measurement devices to the available instrumentation options. We addressed common questions, do’s and don’ts, and tips that are helpful in evaluating what will work with your project, in your lab or at your factory.

ADVANCEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTATION WEBINAR TOPICS

  • Types of Advanced Instrumentation
  • Selection Criteria for Advanced Instrumentation
  • Recap Digital Versus Analog Options
  • What’s New in Wireless + Bluetooth Telemetry Systems 
  • New Instrumentation Solutions from Interface
  • Trends in Test Data Management + Systems
  • Applications + Uses Cases
  • FAQs

You can watch the entire conversation to learn more.

WHY INTERFACE FOR INSTRUMENTATION

With so many options available, we want to make it easier in choosing the right instrumentation. Here are a few reasons why Interface is a provider of choice when it comes to instrumentation for force measurement.

  • Interface is a single point of contact for measurement device and instrumentation
  • Interface offers a range of solutions from USB Interface Modules to Multi-Channel and Wireless DAQ Systems
  • Interface can partner to design and build complete systems
  • Interface has expertise for technical support
  • Interface has deep use case experience across all the sensors we offer, from load cells to wireless load pin technologies
  • Interface instructional videos, literature, software demonstrations and manuals available online in your Support area of the website
  • Interface provides software with our instrumentation

Additional Resources

Interface Instructional on Instrumentation Event

Recap of Inventive Multi-Axis and Instrumentation Webinar

Instrumentation Analog Versus Digital Outputs

Instrumentation Options in Test and Measurement

Force Measurement Instrumentation 101