WIKA has been an internationally recognised partner for all measurement tasks for many decades. The product portfolio includes pressure, temperature, force and level measurement, and also flow measurement, calibration and SF6 gas solutions. In the next article, we would like to take a closer look at 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 is the highest priority in any workplace. Likewise, the machinery should remain undamaged in order 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 makes it possible to work safely, and completely harmlessly, next to and with 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, for which 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 and 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 reduce running costs. Elite of the measured data, the higher the data analysis. The look 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 pay for it 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 completely mentioned in the last section. Only through the optimal 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. A good example of this are welding tongs. With one of these, the contact force of the electrodes can 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 be achieved through saving time, for instance, when containers are weighed ?on the fly?.
Added value: Maximum profits
Reason 4: Improving product quality and saving materials
The use of force measurement in welding tongs ? as explained in the section above ? is a very good example of improving product quality in addition to saving materials. Force measurement provides the right data for the most accurate process control. Due to this fact, machine tool wear is only minimal. Furthermore, 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 way to save material. This protects the environment. Furthermore, it is advantageous to know the (supporting) forces acting on mobile cranes. The automobile?s centre of gravity can thus be calculated exactly, which means that the safety margin could be reduced. In this case, loads can be lifted further, yet accidents, e.g. because of slipping or tipping, could be avoided.
Added value: Lowering costs
Reason 5: Ensuring quality
Finally, using force measurement offers many advantages in the area of quality assurance, which includes recently been touched upon. On the main one hand, the machinery could be optimally controlled by registering the force. However, by recording the values, live and also saving them for later use, conclusions can be drawn for specific batches. In addition, the most precise force measuring instruments meet up with the highest requirements, for example, in materials testing machinery or in medical engineering. Incidentally, WIKA offers a DAkkS-accredited calibration service for force measuring instruments.
Added value: Exact measured values
Note
Further details on our portfolio of force measuring instruments can be found on the WIKA website. There additionally, you will find information on our calibration service for force measuring instruments. In addition, our brochure on force measurement: ?Force measurement is really a matter of trust? is also available. Would you like to buy force transducers? Inside our WIKA online store 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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Force measurement in linear drives