Strain gauge data acquisition board?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the search for a compact, battery-powered strain gauge data acquisition board suitable for measuring force on multiple beams. Participants explore various existing products and custom solutions, focusing on the requirements for size, precision, and functionality.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks a small, self-contained strain gauge data acquisition board that can operate as a Wheatstone bridge and display force measurements.
  • Another participant suggests a product from Omega as a potential solution, though it may not meet size requirements.
  • A third participant proposes using a LabJack product as part of the solution, indicating it might be suitable for the application.
  • Concerns are raised about the size of suggested products, with a participant mentioning the need for a device that can be battery powered and calibrated to a precision of 1 Newton.
  • One participant introduces the unconventional idea of using a Wii balance board, noting its built-in strain gauge bridge and affordability.
  • Another participant supports the Wii balance board idea, highlighting its ability to drive multiple strain gauges and Bluetooth readout capability.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the suitability of various products, with no consensus on a specific solution. Some ideas are proposed as potential options, but concerns about size and precision remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not reached a definitive conclusion on the best approach or product, and there are unresolved questions about the precision and functionality of suggested devices.

BWimer
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Ok, so what I am looking for, as the title suggests, is a strain gauge data acquisition board. Currently, we have been using all sorts of National Instruments stuff to obtain our goals. To this point they have worked fine, but now we need to seriously downsize for a new lab device we are creating.

Essentially, I am looking for a small, battery powered board that will act as the wheatstone bridge, and then display the force from the strain gauges onto a digital display. If anybody has used the little "handy boards" I would love to find something like that, but just for strain gauges.

We are using 2 shear strain gauges to make a full wheatstone bridge configuration right now. Basically, we're measuring the force on a beam. So does anyone know of a very very small self contained strain measuring device like this? Does one exist? Or are we going to have to make them/manufacture them ourselves? Oh, I should mention that in our set up we are going to have 6 beams to measure the force on. If such a board exists, are there any with multiple inputs? Thanks for any help or info!
 
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Welcome to PF BWimer. I thinking maybe something like this?
http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=BCM-1&ttID=BCM-1&Nav="

From http://www.omega.com/toc_asp/subsectionSC.asp?subsection=E04&book=Pressure"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, I'm afraid those all might be too "big" in a sense. Here is a little more of what I was thinking of:
http://www.electrostandards.com/ProductDetail/?productid=12

Something like that, that we can battery power, hook shear strain gauges too, calibrate in some way shape or form (needs to be precise to 1 Newton), and have going to a display. The Cellmite 4327 is about the only thing I have seen that comes close to doing this. Anyone know of anything similar? Even if it was custom made, because that could be a route we have to go down...
 
For an unconventional idea: I read that the Wii balance board has a pretty good strain gauge bridge build in, at an unbeatable price...
 

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