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Basics on Load Cell Base Kits

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As resilient and accurate as load cells are engineered, there is risk of damaging a load cell if they are not properly supported through mounting or mating to the test subject or test bench.

Load cell bases are designed to support and stabilize load cells. Load cell bases come in assorted sizes and configurations, depending on the intended application and the weight capacity.

Load cell bases are used with load cells that are frequently utilized in industrial equipment, test machines, and commercial testing labs. They may also be integrated into several types of equipment, such as weighbridges, conveyor systems, structural test stands, and packaging machines.

Interface publishes numerous guides on properly supporting a load cell during a test. However, for our LowProfile™ load cells, we provide complete Load Cell Base Kits to provide the engineered accuracy and necessary support for precision performance as intended in regular use. Bases minimize risks in damaging load cells from improper use.

Load cells with positive overload protection must be ordered with an Interface installed base. The positive overload option is useful when high overloads occur in applications such as: impact loads on weighing platforms; engine malfunctions during rocket or jet engine testing; transient overloads on engine dynamometers.

Interface’s Load Cell Base Kits are a type of mounting plate guaranteed to provide optimum support for the flexure. Using the base, or a support surface with its equivalent flatness and stability, is required to ensure the exceptional performance. They are heat treated and high strength bases, available in all standard sizes of our low profile models.

Standard thread size is the same as the mating load cell. Bases or flat mounting surfaces are required for all low profile load cell installations. A mounting surface that is flat to 0.0002″ T.I.R. (total indicator reading) is required, unless a base is installed.

Use of the base, or a support surface with its equivalent flatness and stability, is required to ensure the exceptional performance of the LowProfile® Series.

The threaded hole in the base is on center, and a plug is permanently installed to seal dirt and moisture out of the space between the bottom hub of the flexure and the flat surface of the base. Center hub deflects under the load until it contacts the base which provides positive overload protection. The center tapped hole is sealed to keep overload surfaces clean.

When the base and load cell are ordered together, the base and plug are factory installed using the proper hardware tightened to the required torque specs. A plug is supplied in between the cell and the base to prevent damage or errors caused by over engagement of mating parts.

There are 14 model options in standard Load Cell Base Kits in both U.S. and Metric Threads. They are available for our standard 1000 and 1200 Load Cell Series of various capacities. We offer 15 stainless steel model options to be paired with our 2400 and 3200 Load Cell Series.

Load Cell Base Kits are an excellent accessory to ensuring the most out of your LowProfile Load Cells provide the performance as designed. For complete instructions on installations, please reference our Support section on the website.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Accessories

Load Cell Basics Sensor Specifications

Interface Presents Load Cell Basics

Technical Library

Force Measurement Installation Guides

Mechanical Installation Load Cell Troubleshooting 101

New Product Release of Interface Force Verification Frames

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Interface, the leader in force measurement solutions, is excited to release three new models of the Interface Force Verification Frame for fast and efficient force measurement product verification.

The Interface Force Verification Load Frame is lightweight and easy to use, providing an on-demand and onsite solution for verifying the accuracy and reliability of load cells. Buyers are able to conduct load cell verification in real-time between calibration services for a wide range of types and sizes of load cells.

The new Interface load frame is lightweight and can be customized with multiple adapters to fit a wide range of different load cells. It is being sold in three different models based on the capacity needs of the user.

  • IFVF-1K model provides a capacity of 1,000 lbf
  • IFVF-2.5K model provides a capacity of 2,500 lbf
  • IFVF-5K provides a capacity of 5,000 lbf

Specifications and options details for each model, along with design file information and our technical user guide are available on the new product page here.

VIEW A DEMONSTRATION OF A VERIFICATION TEST STAND IN OUR NEW ANIMATED APP NOTE 

The mobile, lightweight design allows customers to pick up and carry the Interface Force Verification Frame directly to an in-process force test and conduct point-of-use verification in minutes. The typical process for verification can take a few days to a week or more, slowing down product test and development time significantly.

The wide range of adapters available for the new Force Verification Frame is designed so that Interface and many non-interface load cells can be verified with this system. This provides compatibility with load cells that Interface provides to industry leaders in aerospace and defense, automotive, medical, OEM, testing labs, energy, industrial automation, education, and metrology.

“Our customers need an easy-to-use test and measurement hardware apparatus that allows them to verify the accuracy and provide a quick check-up of their load cells fast, anywhere and at any time. We are pleased to offer our latest product, the Interface Force Verification Frame which gives customers a simple and efficient point-of-use verification system compatible across a wide range of industry applications and force measurement products.” –  Ted Larson, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing, Interface.

Additionally, customers rely on Interface for calibration services and products. Calibration services and systems preserve the industry-leading accuracy and reliability of Interface products. However, supplemental load cell verification could only be accomplished if customers owned a calibration system or shipped their products to a calibration lab. Now, the Interface Force Verification Frame allows customers to perform their own product accuracy tests quickly and more cost-effectively between annual calibration certifications. It also helps to determine when a product needs to be sent in for repair.

The Interface Force Verification Frame is available today. For more information on the available systems and custom options, contact an Interface Application Engineer at 480-948-5555 or request a quote here.

 

Exploring Aerospace Force Measurement Solutions

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The aerospace industry is responsible for some of the greatest inventions and innovation in our global history. The engineering and manufacturing of a single rocket engine design, using handwritten calculations and with less computing power than a modern smartphone, took us to the moon.

The NASA Parker Solar Probe is the culmination of some of the most impressive technology ever developed by mankind, journeying through the skies and beyond earth’s atmosphere with the ability to reach a top speed of 430,000 miles per hour.

The aerospace industry is an assembly of researchers, design houses, test labs and manufacturing companies that engineer and build vehicles to travel within and beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The range of aircraft and space vehicles include all types from unpowered gliders to commercial and military aircraft, as well as rockets, missiles, launch vehicles, and spacecraft. The term aerospace comes from the combination of the words aeronautics and spaceflight. All of these vehicles go through extensive and rigorous test and measurement programs and processes.

For more than half a decade, Interface has served some of the most prominent aerospace organizations in the nation including NASA, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and more. Our sensor technology has been used to design, test and manufacture airplane frames, wings, landing gear, rocket engines and even the machines that build the components for these products. These projects require the most precise data available, not only to ensure that the airplane or spaceship can fly and land, but more importantly to guarantee its safety for the pilot, crew and passengers.

Interface is humbled and proud to provide critical force measurement solutions and technology to the aerospace industry, in support of science, innovation and exploration.

Interface is often selected by our aerospace customers over the competition because we offer the most accurate and reliable force measurement products on the market. In this blog, we will be outlining how Interface serves the aerospace industry in validating designs, improving performance and maintain the highest safety possible.

AIRCRAFT

One of the most important tests to run in aircraft development is static and fatigue testing on the frame of the aircraft and the wings. Engineers will often simulate the effects of various forces on the aircraft and wings with actuators which act as of wind, weather, debris and more. Hundreds of Interface load cells are used to measure those forces to either validate the simulations or find errors in order to adjust the simulation and design accordingly. Load cells are also used on the machines controlling these forces in the test environment to ensure the actuators are simulating the right amount of force.

READ THIS APP NOTE FOR AIRCRAFT WING FATIGUE TESTING

ROCKETS

For a spacecraft that can weigh up to 1,000 tons, you need a lot of force to get it off the ground and safely out of the earth’s atmosphere. One of the ways that engineers test the thrust force of a rocket engine is with load cells. During these tests, the engine is attached under the mounting plate, which is part of a test stand. Interface load cells are installed between the plate and test stand and when the rocket thrust pushes up on the plate, the load cells relay the force data to the engineers. These tests help engineers make adjustments to the engine to use the precise amount of force to lift the craft into space, but not too much so that it doesn’t burn up too much fuel.

READ THIS CASE STUDY: LAUNCHING INTO ORBIT WITH INTERFACE

AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING

Before the air and spacecrafts are even assembled, the components need to be manufactured in a plant. There are hundreds of machines that are used on the production line for the hundreds of thousands of components needed to complete the craft. Interface load cells and torque transducers can be found on many of these machines. Not only are they used to help test the machines, they are also used to measure various forces on the machines in real-time. Our products are used to provide a wealth of insight to tell the manufacturers if the machine is working properly, needs to be recalibrated or needs repairs.

READ THIS APP NOTE FOR ROCKET STRUCTURAL TESTING

For more information on the numerous applications of Interface products in the aerospace and space industry, visit our solutions page at www.interfaceforce.com/solutions/aerospace/. Here you can read application notes and browse the various products we offer for our customers.

To watch an actual aircraft structural, check out this great Airbus video of an actual test.

Contributor: Randy White, Regional Sales Director at Interface