Custom force measurement solutions
Whether the application is lifting equipment, weighing technology, aerospace, pressing and cutting, or extrusion and injection, it requires force sensors for precision monitoring and control. Standard load cells, tension links, and force transducers are sufficient for standard tasks. But for optimal performance, safety, and service life, use made-to-order force sensors.
WIKA has an AS9100-certified facility in central Ohio that designs and manufactures custom load cells, load pins, and other force transducers. WIKA Sensor Technology, formerly Tecsis, has been tailoring force measurement solutions for niche applications since 1921.
Why use custom-engineered force sensors
Reliability is the top reason for incorporating custom force sensors in machinery and components. When the measuring instrument is engineered for a control system’s specific parameters, it is much more likely to measure and control accurately, consistently, and for many years to come. For example, customized load cells can reduce the chances of sensor failure caused by overloading, side loading, off-axis loading, and other operator errors.
Customization options for force sensors
The engineers and product specialists at WIKA Sensor Technology can customize force measurement instruments in a variety of ways:
- Force ranges — operational (working range), safe overload (force limit), and ultimate overload (breaking force)
- Shape and size — geometries optimized for an application’s space constraints, mounting requirements, etc.
- Materials — stainless steels, exotic alloys
- Output signals — current, voltage, digital (CANopen® and other protocols for IIoT), redundant outputs
- Electrical connections — connectors and cable types
- Mounting hardware — threads, base plates, load buttons, keeper plates, bearings
- Environmental considerations — ingress protection, operating temperatures
In addition to our state-of-the-art manufacturing plant just north of Columbus, Ohio, WIKA Sensor Technology has facilities around the world. This global supply chain allows us to produce custom-engineer force sensors in virtually any quantity, including a single load cell for prototyping. WIKA also offers comprehensive strain gauge services: placement, attachment, calibration, and repairs.
Specific use cases of custom force sensors
By incorporating custom force measurement solutions, system engineers and OEMs can overcome challenges in weighing, material handling, downforce control, and more.
Healthcare: Load cells for high-tech hospital beds
Robust load sensors in a smart hospital bed’s weighing system allow medical providers to monitor a patient’s weight without having to move them.
Pulp and paper: Force sensor for quality assurance
Paper forming, pressing, calendaring, and cutting are some of the areas in paper manufacturing that benefit from precise force control.
Industrial weighing: Measuring load in challenging applications
Bending beam and shear beam load cells are critical components that allow for indirect weight measurement in silos, hoppers, truck scales, baling presses, stage construction, filling machines, and other applications.
Industrial machines: Precise downforce control in seed planters
WIKA engineered special load cells for a machinery manufacturer’s downforce control system. This custom force measurement solution allowed agricultural planters to exert the exact amount of downforce on the gauge wheel to cut optimal seed furrows.
Aeronautics and aerospace: Flight control systems
A leading aerospace company asked WIKA to create load sensors for a system that could precisely measure the forces experienced by a spacecraft’s flight control surfaces. Our engineers came up with load pins that could reliably measure force in temperatures as low as −85°F (−65°C), could withstand high stress and fatigue, and were tiny enough to fit inside gaging holes.
Power generation: Measuring geotechnic forces
During the construction of a power plant, ring force transducers monitor the ongoing condition of concrete as it hardens. Enormous anchors stabilize the subsoil around hydropower facilities; compression force transducers are essential components that continuously measure the anchor’s clamping force to monitor the site’s geotechnical conditions.
Made-to-order force sensors for your applications
Special requests are our specialty. When you require force sensors that are not available on the open market, contact WIKA. Our experts have decades of experience in collaborating with system engineers, equipment manufacturers, and end users to design and produce force instruments in large or small batches.
- We meet with you to discuss and analyze the requirements, at our location in Ohio, at your site, or by videoconference.
- We define your custom force sensors’ core characteristics, mounting considerations, and operating conditions.
- After settling on the optimal solution, we manufacture the specialized sensors and test them. We also supply the necessary certifications.
Contact us for robust, flexible, and cost-effective force measurement solutions that allow you to optimize performance, improve reliability, and shorten the time to market.