Source for inexpensive strain gauges

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Source for inexpensive strain gauges

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  • #296681
    Brian Smith 1
    Participant
      @briansmith1

      Hello

      Does anyone know of a source for inexpensive strain gauges? I want to play around with some sensors. The cheapest ones I can find on the net are around $6.00 US, yet I read of some that cost pennies, just cannot find them.

      regards

      Brian

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      #32967
      Brian Smith 1
      Participant
        @briansmith1

        Source for strain gauges

        #296684
        Speedy Builder5
        Participant
          @speedybuilder5

          ebay on the Uk site about 36p each (350 ohm)from China. Even the amplifiers are only 3.59pounds
          BobH

          #296686
          Neil Wyatt
          Moderator
            @neilwyatt

            Broken bathroom scales, pound-shop baggage scales?

            #296711
            Muzzer
            Participant
              @muzzer

              Yes, you can find half decent bathroom scales (100kg or so) in places like Aldi, Lidl, B&M etc for under a tenner. These contain 4 strain gauges and the complete amplifier / display etc. The baggage scales (~40kg) are pretty much the same deal except they only have one load sensor. You couldn't buy the bits for that price. The other cheap source is kitchen scales (~5kg) , if you need a more sensitive system.

              When I say "sensor", in fact they usually have a dual strain gauge with elements at 90 degrees. Once you get into the details you will find that's actually what you want. The metal part has to be fairly compact and is typically a sort of spiral shape. I modelled one up not so long ago and in this picture, the element is where the yellow patch is and the force is applied to the blue spot:

              Load cell

              The other thing to consider is that scales usually are measuring a load force, not a stretching or simple bending force, so the load cell element is not a simple beam with a strain gauge on the outside. It's worth picking up a set of scales just to see what the strain gauge system looks like – at as little as a fiver it's hardly an extravagance. Yes I've got a few….

              Murray

              #296725
              Brian Smith 1
              Participant
                @briansmith1

                Thanks Bob…I tried ebay here in Canada…but that did not show up at the time…I will look again

                The scales idea is interesting…have you managed to remove the sensor and attach to another surface?

                 

                regards

                Brian

                 

                Edited By Brian Smith 1 on 06/05/2017 14:54:59

                #296735
                Muzzer
                Participant
                  @muzzer

                  No I didn't – I don't think that would be practical. They are glued on and are very thin, so would almost certainly disintegrate. Possible that heat would loosen them, depending what was used to attach them. Have you checked out the dollar stores, Canadian Tire etc for cheap scales and luggage scales?

                  One helpful piece of info would be what you hope to measure with them. If it's just to measure a force, you could remove the load cell thing from a set of scales and integrate it into what you are making. If you are looking at strain on an existing structure, you could get some gauges from ebay etc and wire them up to the electronics from some scales. But you'd need to use the same type of sensors ie a right angle pair in this case.

                  Murray

                  #296761
                  Dave Smith 14
                  Participant
                    @davesmith14

                    One thing to think about is how are you going to calibrate it all?

                    #296774
                    Muzzer
                    Participant
                      @muzzer

                      That may be another reason for simply reusing the cells from a set of scales….

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