The pandemic has turned the global supply chain on its head. Manufacturers of materials and finished items are under unprecedented pressure to manage a disrupted workforce, while responding to ever-changing customer demands, in many cases with profound urgency. It’s enough to make one’s head spin. 

Force measurement devices like load cells, torque transducers and data acquisition devices are used across industries to design and test hardware. 

Force measurement is the measure of a push (compression) or pull (tension) against an object. It sounds elementary enough, but it’s a crucial part of quality control testing with more and more applications in today’s globalized supply chain. The needs for force measurement are all around us.

All objects—from toothbrushes to umbrellas to the components of a space shuttle—experience forces throughout their lifecycles. In performing everyday actions like tying a shoelace or ripping open a package, we all exert forces without even realizing it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented surge in demand for healthcare and consumer products. This crisis has demanded stockpiles of supplies and has shifted the supply chain to local production. 

Load cells are an integral part in a force measurement system. Understanding load cell terminology, common sizing techniques, and how they function will help you choose the most appropriate load cell for your application, which will help prevent accidental damage due to an incorrect selection.

Computers and software play a major role in force measurement and quality control. Whether in the engineering lab, quality control inspection area, receiving inspection or on the production floor, the use of computers and measurement software are beneficial to product quality and production efficiency.

Not using the proper adapters to calibrate load cells, truck and aircraft scales, tension links, dynamometers, and other force measuring devices can produce significant measurement errors and pose serious safety concerns.

More and more industrial manufacturers are moving towards automated solutions both to improve efficiency and solve staffing dilemmas. These jobs are often boring, repetitive, and/or prone to injury due to the work environment or the repetitive motion.

The load cell sensor is arguably the most important component in a force measurement or material testing system’s ability to provide accurate, precise and valid measurements. A sensor’s accuracy is often the primary characteristic that is used to specify a load cell sensor for a given application.