WIKA has been an internationally recognised partner for all measurement tasks for most decades. Fascinating includes pressure, temperature, force and level measurement, along with flow measurement, calibration and SF6 gas solutions. In the following article, we wish 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 folks from harm is the highest priority in any workplace. Likewise, the machinery should remain undamaged so that you can 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, alternatively, uncontrolled machine movements are prevented. This can help you work safely, and completely harmlessly, next to and with machinery. In production lines, for instance, the machinery is prevented from pulling, pushing or pressing unchecked, and thereby destroying both components and itself. Another example is port logistics, that WIKA offers 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 correct measured values may also be required to manage 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 provides the right data for the correct functioning of brakes and drives, conveyors, presses and weighing systems. A crucial point here is to reduce running costs. The bigger the caliber of the measured data, the better the data analysis. The planning of a tool change is thus more precise, so that changing it prematurily . doesn?t cause increased costs nor does unplanned maintenance cause longer downtimes. The savings in consequential costs alone shell out the dough many times over.
Added value: Full process control
Reason 3: Optimisation of production conditions
The savings potential, and thus the maximisation of profit, have been mentioned in the last section. Only through the perfect use of materials and machinery can margins be increased. An integral issue in manufacturing plants is machine availability. Besides reducing downtime, the focus is on minimising maintenance costs. Among this are welding tongs. With one of these, the contact force of the electrodes could be precisely monitored through the use of tension/compression force transducers. In this manner, optimum quality is permanently guaranteed and, at the same time, wear is minimised. Higher profits can even 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 as well as saving materials. Force measurement supplies the right data for probably the most accurate process control. Subsequently, machine tool wear is minimal. In Sick And Tired , force measurement offers a great many other areas of application. For instance, spreading fertiliser where this action 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 vehicle?s centre of gravity can thus be calculated exactly, meaning that the safety margin could be reduced. In this case, loads can be lifted further, yet accidents, e.g. due to slipping or tipping, could be avoided.
Added value: Lowering costs
Reason 5: Ensuring quality
Finally, the utilization of force measurement also offers many advantages in the area of quality assurance, which has already been touched upon. On the one hand, the machinery could be optimally controlled by registering the force. However, by recording the values, live as well as saving them for later use, conclusions can be drawn for specific batches. In addition, probably the most precise force measuring instruments meet the highest requirements, for instance, in materials testing machinery or in medical engineering. Incidentally, WIKA also 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. In addition, our brochure on force measurement: ?Force measurement is really a matter of trust? can be available. Do you want to buy force transducers? In our WIKA online shop you?ll find a few of our standard versions. Assuming you 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