I would like to make an apparatus that I could put my hand on to measure the amount of force that is applied to body parts. The force measurement needs to go up to around 80lbs. I have seen load cells and Force sensor resistors on the SF site but don’t know which to use or which would be best. I’m very new to this process as all I’ve done so far is make an LED blink. Very excited! Thank you for any help.
Scott
Hi Scott.
If you’re just looking to see a relative idea of how much force is being applied, FSRs are a inexpensive, easy to use and compact way to do that.
If you’re needing an accurate measurement, you’re probably going to want to go with load cells.
Is there a load cell that can be comfortably placed on body surfaces and then have moderate force applied?
The load cells we carry can be found [here, but I don’t think any of those would be suitable for your application. Other vendors that carry load cells may have something that would work for you.](Search Results for load cell - SparkFun Electronics)
Using body parts for load cell mounting will run into two related problems.
The first is that the mounting surface (your hand) isn’t too good.
The cells rely on a rigid, sturdy mounting point for repeatable, linear performance.
It’s similar to how you’re not supposed to use a bathroom scale on carpet only much worse.
The other is that the load cells ‘assume’ that the load is being applied from a single direction and single angle.
This is the direction that the load cell and associated instrumentation had been originally calibrated.
With something as dynamic as a hand, the load cell will be subjected to all sorts of angles and off-axis loading.
If you wanted to measure, say, squeeze strength of a hand or how hard a highfive slapped, a single cell might be ok since you know how the load will be applied.