WIKA has been an internationally recognised partner for several measurement tasks for many decades. The product portfolio includes pressure, temperature, force and level measurement, and flow measurement, calibration and SF6 gas solutions. In the next article, we would like to have a closer consider the measured variable of force. These five reasons show why force measurement is of particular importance.
Reason 1: Protection of people and machinery
Protecting people from harm may be the highest priority in any workplace. Likewise, the machinery should remain undamaged so as to minimise downtime and repairs. In this context, force measurement ensures a safe working environment, especially through overload protection. In cranes, for instance, this prevents heavy loads from falling. With construction machinery and robots, however, uncontrolled machine movements are prevented. This can help you work safely, and completely harmlessly, close to sufficient reason for machinery. In production lines, for example, the machinery is prevented from pulling, pushing or pressing unchecked, and thereby destroying both components and itself. Another example is port logistics, that WIKA supplies a globally unique, certified system.
Added value: Safe working environment
Reason 2: Ensuring system stability and production safety
Just collecting data isn’t enough. The right measured values may also be required to be able to monitor processes seamlessly. Using force measurement in linear drives, for instance, thus improves process control together with automation, while simultaneously ensuring quality. Force measurement also supplies the right data for the right functioning of brakes and drives, conveyors, presses and weighing systems. An essential point here is to lessen running costs. The bigger the caliber of the measured data, the better the data analysis. The look of an instrument change is thus more precise, in order that changing it prematurily . doesn?t cause increased costs nor does unplanned maintenance cause longer downtimes. The savings in consequential costs alone pay for it many times over.
Added value: Full process control
Reason 3: Optimisation of production conditions
The savings potential, and therefore the maximisation of profit, have already been mentioned in the last section. Only through the optimal use of materials and machinery can margins be increased. A key issue in manufacturing plants is machine availability. Along with reducing downtime, the focus is on minimising maintenance costs. A good example of this are welding tongs. With these, the contact force of the electrodes could be precisely monitored by using tension/compression force transducers. In this manner, optimum quality is permanently guaranteed and, concurrently, wear is minimised. Higher profits can be achieved through saving time, for example, when containers are weighed ?on the fly?.
Added value: Maximum profits
Reason 4: Improving product quality and saving materials
The application of force measurement in welding tongs ? as explained in the section above ? is a very good exemplory case of improving product quality in addition to saving materials. Force measurement provides the right data for the most accurate process control. As a result, machine tool wear is only minimal. In addition, force measurement offers a great many other areas of application. For example, spreading fertiliser where this step is adapted to the soil conditions is one method to save material. This protects the environment. Furthermore, it is beneficial to know the (supporting) forces functioning on mobile cranes. The automobile?s centre of gravity can thus be calculated exactly, which means that the safety margin can be reduced. In this instance, loads could be lifted further, yet accidents, e.g. because of slipping or tipping, can be avoided.
Added value: Lowering costs
Reason 5: Ensuring quality
Finally, the application of force measurement offers many advantages in your community of quality assurance, which has recently been touched upon. On the one hand, the machinery could be optimally controlled by registering the force. Alternatively, by recording the values, live together with saving them for later use, conclusions can be drawn for specific batches. In addition, probably the most precise force measuring instruments meet up with the highest requirements, for instance, in materials testing machinery or in medical engineering. Incidentally, Trend offers a DAkkS-accredited calibration service for force measuring instruments.
Added value: Exact measured values
Note
Further information on our portfolio of force measuring instruments can be found on the WIKA website. There you will also find info on our calibration service for force measuring instruments. Furthermore, our brochure on force measurement: ?Force measurement is a matter of trust? is also available. Would you like to buy force transducers? In our WIKA online store you?ll find a few of our standard versions. For those who have any questions about force measurement, please ask your contact person.
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The ELMS1 overload protection saves lives
Force measurement in linear drives