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Back to School Force Measurement Essentials

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Interface has a long history of collaborating with colleges and universities around the world. From individual engineering students testing the force of launching miniature rockets to supplying onsite test labs with load cells and equipment for R&D, we are a resource for higher education learning and experimentation.

In our view, innovation and exploration have no boundaries. What validates new ideas and manifests problem solving requires modern and reliable tools that support student’s projects and activities. Its key to any program’s success. It is also why we are proud to be known around the globe as a leader in building and designing force measurement products that facilitate these initiatives through higher learning.

It is very inspiring to see new engineering students, future metrologists, and soon-to-be graduates designing new medical devices, creating new spacecraft and interplanetary vehicles, testing materials used for miniature consumer products and of course, building plenty of new robots and AI machines.

In our view, every university or college should have Interface force measurement products on hand to support these types of educational test and measurement research projects. Here is a simplified list of basic sensor products to get started.

Force Measurement Essentials for Higher Learning

  • Precision load cells in diverse designs and capacities
  • S-type load cells (load beams)
  • Miniature load cells and load buttons
  • Multi-axis sensors
  • Calibration grade equipment
  • Instrumentation
  • Wireless sensor technologies
  • Rotary and reaction torque transducers
  • Verification load frames

Our investment in supporting educational programs runs deep into our history as a company. You will find our founder’s name on the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at The University of Arizona. Following in his commitment to education, the Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II continues to support STEM programs including sponsorship of the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

We drive to ensure that students who have a passion for science, technology and engineering have access to the best force measurement sensor technologies. It is why we offer a standard discount to all students and education institutions. You can learn more about our education support here. We know that learning requires the best tools, and we want to make sure that every student has the most accurate, quality and precision load cells available today.

As with all inquisitive minds, we thought it would be interesting to share what are other university and colleges buying for their learning programs and campus labs.

Top 10 products for testing projects and campus lab studies:

  1. 1200 LowProfile Load Cells are our most popular load cell, available in standard and high-capacity features.
  2. 1010 Load Cell model is a fatigue-rated low profile load cell in our 1000 product family, offering various capacities and functions.
  3. 2420 Load Cell is one of our stainless-steel standard and high-capacity load cells in our 2400 model series.
  4. 1500 Low-Capacity Load Cell designs are common requirements for applications where low sensitivity to eccentric load is important.
  5. WMC Sealed Stainless Steel Miniature Load Cell has an environmentally protected construction that comes in a variety of model capacities and configurations. It is great for small spaces and industrial applications.
  6. 3-Axis Load Cells are extremely popular multi-axis sensors designed to provide more testing data and often paired with BSC4 instrumentation. They are ideally suited for aerospace, robotics, automotive, and medical research testing applications.
  7. 6-Axis Load Cells are growing in popularity, for cost benefit and their unique ability to simultaneously measure Fx Fy Fz Mx My Mz.
  8. SSM Miniature Load Cells are one of many popular general-purpose s-type designed load cells. You call learn more about all our s-type models here.
  9. Torque Transducers of all types are used by university programs, engineering departments and metrology labs. There are many different options including rotary and reaction torque solutions. For all options, start here to choose the right one.
  10. Load Washer Load Cells are used because of the unique through-hole designs. They come in various models and dimensions, along with capacity options.

As with any project, the questions of what you want to measure, the applications, and where you are sending the data, are all core to choosing the sensor and instrumentation that is best suited for the learning environment or program.

Speaking of where to send the data for performance monitoring and analysis, the five most favorite types of instrumentation selected by university students and engineering labs include:

  1. DMA2 Signal Conditioner
  2. 9840 4-Channel Intelligent Indicator
  3. 9825 General Purpose Indicator
  4. BX8-AS BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System
  5. SGA AC/DC POWERED SIGNAL CONDITIONER

If you are heading back to school and thinking that it is time to revamp the testing lab or need new force measurement equipment, be sure to reach out to our education application engineers. They have years of experience and can help you get exactly what you need for your project and programs.

Be sure to tune into our Load Cell Basics, for answer to common questions about using these highly accurate sensors for your test and measurement projects. You can find all our Interface videos on our YouTube channel here.

If you are looking to explore more technical resources, be sure to go to our online support area and subscribe to our blogs for weekly updates.

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Types of Force Measurement Tests 101

Torque Transducers 101

Multi-Axis Sensors 101

S-Type Load Cells 101

Mini Load Cells 101

Force Measurement Instrumentation 101

Load Washers 101

Couplings 101

Load Shackles 101

Load Pins 101

Tension Links 101

Load Button Load Cells 101

Strain Gages 101

Load Cell 101 and What You Need to Know

Calibration Systems 101

Force Measurement Accessories 101

TEDS 101

Shunt Calibration 101

 

Interface Solutions are Designed and Built to Last

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Interface was founded by a visionary and entrepreneur, Richard F. Caris, who believed that if you designed and built dependable, quality, and accurate products, you would also build a sustainable company that will last generations.

His passion is what drives Interface today, sustaining his legacy and commitment to design products that revolutionize industries around the world. Interface, now owned by his two daughters, is a women-owned manufacturing and technology company that started in a garage and now is one of Arizona’s most enduring businesses. The company, started in 1968, continues to maintain its headquarters and productions facilities in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Today, we are the trusted partner and supplier of global test and measurement solutions for testing labs and by makers of robots, rockets, medical devices, airplanes, industrial automation and farming equipment, new energy products, vehicles of all types, along with maritime and entertainment inventions.

Interface’s purpose is simple, we enable innovation that improves people’s lives and keeps them safe.

When it comes to building products that last, we are adamant about control and quality throughout entire process. Every stage, from design engineering, machining, strain gage manufacturing and assembly, our team works to ensure the highest degree of performance possible for everything we manufacture.

It is not uncommon for Interface to get service requests for products that we built decades ago, in fact several decades ago. It is the depiction of what Mr. Caris planned for, and what we continue to strive for every day. Interface is a company that offers products built to last.

Fundamental to Interface, made is the USA has long been a celebrated distinction of Interface’s core offerings, including our LowProfile Load Cells, known as the first precision pancake-styled low profile load cells on the market. In fact, Interface has been engineering force measurement solutions for more than 54 years and has more than 35,000 products to show for it.

Our dedication to our customers around the world to be a total solutions provider in force measurement has driven expansion of our core load cell and torque transducers to include an extensive line of multi-axis sensors, miniature load cells, instrumentation, accessories, custom solutions, OEM products and engineered to order designs.

What makes Interface different? Our core differentiator is precision. We are known for providing high accuracy, innovative solutions, engineering excellence, and quality products that our customers trust.

Additional key differentiators that make Interface a leader:

  • Interface is the world’s largest producer of low profile load cells.
  • Interface makes our own self-temperature compensated strain gages from our exclusive proprietary alloy.
  • Interface load cells are creep tested to the tightest specification in the industry.
  • Interface performs more than 100,000 calibrations every year in the world’s largest calibration lab.
  • Interface LowProfile™ load cell is moment compensated to minimize sensitivity to extraneous loads.
  • Interface’s Gold Standard Calibration System is the industry gold standard’ for test and measurement.
  • Interface is the only major load cell company offering a comprehensive system for customers to calibrate their own load cells.
  • Interface LowProfile™ load cells are individually calibrated and tested through a series of performance tests before it leaves our facility.
  • Interface calibrations are NIST traceable. And our lab has A2LA accreditation for both load cell and torque sensor calibration.
  • Interface can modify and customize force measurement solutions, delivering the broadest variety of available options in the industry.

Read more about our full capabilities here.

Learn more about our dedicated team and the Interface story about a company that has long-stood the test of time. Interface is built to last.

Interface Company Brochure

Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II Sponsors ISEF Promoting STEM

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Interface and the Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II extend an enthusiastic congratulations to all the participants and winners of the 2022 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The 2022 Regeneron ISEF program provided a global stage for the best and brightest young scientists and engineers around the world.

Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II sponsored the Physics and Astronomy competition for the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. The 2022 ISEF prize winners in Physics and Astronomy are Ayush Nayak from San Diego, California, and Alexander Plekhanov from Hillsboro, Oregon.

As sponsors of this event, it is with great honor to continue the legacy of Interface’s founder and his commitment to supporting innovation through science, technology, engineering, and math.

In total, $8 million was awarded to the finalists of the 2022 International Science and Engineering Fair. Participants were evaluated based on their projects’ creativity, innovation, and level of scientific inquiry. The competition featured 1,750 young scientists representing 49 states and 63 countries, regions and territories across the world.

Watch the complete Regeneron ISEF 2022 – Grand Awards Ceremony

Richard Caris founded Interface in 1968 and pioneered innovation in force measurement, along with STEM initiatives, which has continued for more than five decades. His tradition remains active through the Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II and women-owned business, Interface, Inc., leader in force measurement solutions. The Caris commitment to science is visible through the incredible contributions made to the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the Steward Observatory on the campus of The University of Arizona.

Founded on the belief that advances in science are key to solving global challenges, Regeneron ISEF supports and invests in the next generation of leading STEM thinkers who are generating ideas and acting as catalysts for the change needed to improve the well-being of all people and the planet.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Society for Science announced that Robert Sansone, 17, of Fort Pierce, FL, won the $75,000 top award in the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF). Other top prizes went to projects in the fields of energy storage, biomedical engineering, and robotics. In addition to the Top Award winners, 442 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including “First Award” winners, who each received $5,000.

For a full list of finalists who won awards, please visit HERE and HERE.

Interface is the world’s trusted leader in technology, design, and manufacturing of force measurement solutions. Our clients include a “who’s who” of the aerospace, automotive and vehicle, medical device, energy, industrial manufacturing, test and measurement industries. Interface engineers around the world are empowered to create high-level tools and solutions that deliver consistent, high-quality performance. These products include load cells, torque transducers, multi-axis sensors, wireless telemetry, instrumentation, and calibration equipment. Interface, Inc., was founded in 1968 and is a U.S.-based woman-owned technology manufacturing company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

A Visit to The Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab

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In 2015, Interface’s visionary founder Richard F. Caris had many legacies, one of which is the donation he made to The University of Arizona’s (UA) Mirror Lab. This endowment was a testament to his unwavering commitment to innovation, exploration, and science. Because of his deep personal interest and generous donation to the lab, UA named it the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab.

At the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, scientists, engineers, and technicians are developing large, lightweight mirrors with unparalleled surface accuracy. The actual mirrors are helping to advance science and discovery around the world with the new generation of optical telescopes that can explore the universe through optical and infrared light. The actual mirrors developed at the lab represent a sweeping departure from the old conventional solid-glass mirrors.

Buell Tomasson Jannuzi, Jeffrey Kingsley, Ted Larson, Ken Vining in front of GMT Primary Mirror Segment 5 (S5). Photo Credit: Damien Jemison UA

Interface’s Chief Engineer Ken Vining and VP of Product Management and Marketing Ted Larson recently took a trip to Tucson, Arizona, to get an up close and personal view of the advancements that have been made over the last four years at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab. The experience is breathtaking for anyone that gets the opportunity to visit the lab.

Although the lab has been using Interface’s load cells long before 2015, the purpose of the Caris donation was to aid in the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) with the lab’s revolutionary mirror casting capabilities.

These primary mirrors for the GMT are described as “a marvel of modern engineering and glassmaking.” Five of the seven 8.4-meter segmented mirrors have been cast thus far. The first mirror is complete and the other four are in various stages of production.

Completing any telescope project is a significant time commitment. In the last four years, a few segments have been cast. The project is expected to run until 2027. Although completing the GMT is a long-term endeavor, the lab is starting to think about future projects.

During Interface’s recent visit, our engineers made sure to provide careful guidance on product selection to promote future achievements and inventions.

“The Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab team has all these ideas they’re thinking about and we knew if they engaged Interface early, we could help them solve a lot of problems.” – Ken Vining, Chief Engineer at Interface

While our experts were touring the Mirror Lab, they also discussed our new Interface University Program that provides special incentives for students and higher education programs. Interface knows that when programs learn with the best force measurement products, they can advance their learnings and encourage future innovations.

One of the additional benefits from the onsite visit was advancing Interface and the Mirror Lab’s collaboration in providing additional technical education, support, and resource to UA engineering students and Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab personnel. Interface has developed a variety of topics for educational seminars, including humidity’s effect on load cell performance, the basics of metrology, how to properly calibrate a load cell, and the impact of high elevation on load cells.

In case you’re curious about the last topic, elevation doesn’t have much of an effect on load cell performance. However, a telescope of this magnitude can test the boundaries like no other.  It is 18,000 feet at installation altitude, which gets a telescope above the ‘dirty’ parts of Earth’s atmosphere. If you are looking to learn more about the Interface University Program, contact us here.

Interface was founded in 1968 by Richard F. Caris.  You can read more about our history here.  If you would like to tour The University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, you can get tickets online.  Tours are Monday through Friday at 1 pm, and as available at 3 pm. Click here for tickets and information.

About UA:  Established in 1885, the University of Arizona, the state’s super land-grant university with two medical schools, produces graduates who are real-world ready through its 100% Engagement initiative. Recognized as a global leader and ranked 16th for the employability of its graduates, the UA is also a leader in research, bringing more than $622 million in research investment each year, and ranking 21st among all public universities. The UA is advancing the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships and is a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $8.3 billion annually.  https://www.arizona.edu