INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Member Login

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips now!

Talk With Other Members
Be Notified Of Responses
To Your Posts
Keyword Search
One-Click Access To Your
Favorite Forums
Automated Signatures
On Your Posts
Best Of All, It's Free!

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

LINK TO THIS FORUM!

Eng-Tips LinkedIn^® Group

Join our
LinkedIn^® Group!

Hook up with past and present colleagues and classmates quickly.

Partner With Us!

"Best Of Breed" Forums Add Stickiness To Your Site

(Download This Button Today!)

Feedback

"...I love this site! It's so nice to know that there are so many people out there who are willing to share their knowledge..."

More...

Geography

Where in the world do Eng-Tips members come from?

Click Here To Find Out!

Eng-Tips Shirts!

Get your
Eng-Tips Forums
SWAG here!

Home > Forums > Electrical / Electronic Engineers > Activities > Circuit Design Forum

Step down converter to load cell, current issue?

Read More Threads Like This One

Dodger6600 (Civil/Environmental)

29 Jun 12 18:54

I have a 25000 lb rated load cell that I need to supply with 12Vdc, I have a battery pack that puts out approximately 37Vdc. The resistance in the load cell is 350 Ohms. My concern is that if I step down the battery pack with a converter from the 37Vdc to 12Vdc, what kind of current am I going to be sending to the load cell? My circuit knowledge is prehistoric but will the load cell only draw the current it needs? I don't want to fry the load cell and put my work back 3 months while it gets fixed. I believe I need about 1A and I know that some converters put out 12Vdc with anywhere to 3A-8A.

xnuke (Electrical)

29 Jun 12 19:06

The load cell will only draw the current it needs based on I = V/R.

xnuke
"Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

OperaHouse (Electrical)

30 Jun 12 12:49

Use something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-Converter-12VDC-25A-...

to hook up to your 37 some volts. This will provide isolation and step it down to a regulated 12V. Adding a 68 ohm resistor in series will drop it down to 10V. Measure the voltage to calculate correction factor or play around with resistors till you get exactly 10V.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!

Back To Forum

Back To Circuit Design