Hey guys, I’ve been looking for a working strain gauge for the last few years for a project.
previously I had been focused on a few others but noticed they suffered from drift and well… just not acceptable.
My time had gone to other things as well, so yeah…
I was curious to know if anyone knew much about strain gauges and piezoelectric strain gauges?
Hopefully I will provide enough info for you guys to help… thanks again!
I need a pressure sensor that:
temp: greater than 150deg/-20deg
repeatability: if need be, constant pressure applied on and off whenever, over and over.
accurate
can’t be affected by shock and vibrations: the device is exposed to hits and drops over and over again, may also be slammed
price 5$ per gage or less
size is small: 5mm wide or less if possible, by 5 mm long
pressure range: .01g to 150lbs
if so, of what element? sizes available? film or what element must the gage be made of?
and it needs to be repeatedly usable at any given time, repeatedly if need be and it must still retain its accuracy…
I heard that depending on what you needed, there might be a gage for the project in mind…
can anyone clear this up for me or give me any leads on where I should look next? this is super important guys!
Piezoelectric sensors are known for having drift. If you want to get rid of the drift you will need to use real strain gauges / load cellforce sensor.
Your specifications are very demanding. Having a sensor this small, with tolerance to this temperature variation at the price range you are looking for is not realist.
For example, this 100Kg Force Sensor is a pretty good sensor. You will see that the temperature specifications are far from what you are looking for and the price is much higher.
So the first step will probably to check where you can compromise on your requirements.
thats so strange, I kept reading that strain gages and piezos have come along way and are cheap and easy to get…
its not a lot I am asking for… or perhaps I havent done enough research? Is the price the problem? repeatability?
would you happen to have any websites that sell strain gages or have extensive information on them? Usually when I check google there isnt much on them
except papers and the occassional random site…
would you happen to know of any alternative pressure sensors or systems? I can’t compromise on anything unfortunately, those, I think, are the specifications for the project…
I cant use loadcells, too large.
What do you know about regular strain gauges? does changing the element of the gage make it any cheaper? or does it make it more tolerable to use?
let me know if you have any leads please, thanks a bunch!
Hi,
They have come a long way, but everything is relative. Not everybody requires the same precision or have the same budget. For example, laptops have come a long way too. They are pretty cheap and powerful compared to 5000$ laptops of the 90s, but they are not 5$ and are not as powerful as high-end desktop computers.
If you go up in price, you may be able to find something. There are miniatures load cells unfortunately, it is not something we have.
