So i have a few questions in regards to the below product listings!
Im curious to know, although these are “Directional” will they read in a negative voltage if force is applied in the opposite direction?
im hoping that its a yes, im trying to cram one of these, plus hopefully some sort of small voltage amplifier into a shift knob.
Another question i have is, can they be modified at all without the destruction of the component, IE turning the ends down in a lathe or tapping threads into the top and bottom opposite of where the holes are already!
Working on my own little project in building myself a load cell shift knob for automotive use
I found this section of the wikipedia article really helpful:
The load cells we have are in this same Wheatstone Bridge configuration. The arrangement means that when pushed one way, one voltage divider gets slightly higher than VCC/2, the other slightly lower, and when pushed the other way, they do the opposite.
A specialised high-precision ADC is needed to see this tiny difference in voltage, we’ve got boards set up for just that:
As long as your drilling doesn’t interfere with the centre section (where the actual strain gauges are), you should be fine to drill and tap to your hearts content. Make sure you keep it cool though, as resistances are affected permanently by big swings in temperature.
What will your project be doing at the end of it all? I imagine you’re either looking to log shifting forces, build a shift-by-wire system, or make some sort of simulator controller.
thats wicked to hear! i did have my suspicions that it would work, just didnt want to bite the bullet without some more information!
i did have one of those amplifiers in my cart too! just a little worried it may be too big, but if thats going to be my only option then so be it!
will be for automotive use so no more than 16v
thats correct James! logging will be possible as a byproduct but yes i want to build a shift by wire! so no more use of the clutch for my racecar! (there is shift knobs like this available, they cost on average ~$1200) im not to comfortable with that price, all this will cost me is some learning, testing and a few dollars! so worth the time to try figuring it out!
That amplifier is the smallest I’ve seen, and it’s the one we make in Newcastle so we like it a lot, but it’s open source, so you could potentially design your own board with the same schematic in order to miniaturise it (and maybe the HX711 IC comes in smaller packages too?).
ill definitely still get it and hopefully fit it in my application! if it doesnt fit do you guys offer custom services like that? as much as im good with cars, not so much with electronics haha!
