How do I build a force sensor?

[sconno05]

I am having trouble with an independent project of mine. I am trying to design a force sensor that can measure the force of a person pushing against something. I am having difficulty with figuring out what sensors I should use and how I can use those sensors along with some sort of logic device to convert measurements into psi on an LED or LCD display.

Any help on this would be most appreciated.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Easiest way of doing it to use a strain gauge a low offset opamp, a micro-processor with built-in A/D (Pic, for instance) and a display of your choice. A parallel interface display if you have many I/O pins available or a serial interface display if there is a UART on the micro.

One alternative is to use a spring with a potentiometer and connect to the joy-stick port on an ordinary computer. That will make things a lot easier, but not exactly portable or easy to handle.

I must warn you that if you have to ask the question you ask, then it will be no easy task for you. There is a lot to be mastered before you come anywhere close to your goal.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org