Test and measurement specialist HBM Australia announces a new strain gauge measuring amplifier designed to provide
exact results for stress loading.
Part of HBM’s QuantumX measuring
systems range, the MX1615 features universal strain gauge inputs, which enable
it to cover the full range of tasks in strain gauge measurement. Featuring high
channel density, the MX1615 allows 16 strain gauge channels to be connected in
various configurations including full-bridge, half-bridge or quarter-bridge, in
a 3-wire and patented Kreuzer 4-wire circuit. All channels can be be used to
record standardised voltage signals of ± 10 V as well as temperatures with a
Pt100 sensor.
Tinh Ngo, sales and application
engineer, HBM Australia explains that strain values are the only parameters
that are reliably predictive in terms of stress loading of printed circuit
boards. Designed to provide exact results, HBM’s strain gauges are vital tools for
testing printed circuit boards, especially in automobiles, commercial vehicles
or smartphones where even slight cracks can cause the entire electronics system
to fail.
Cracks may form between the
board and the component due to vibration and thermal deformation. This may
happen, for example, when cars drive over cobblestone pavements or commercial
vehicles make their way around bumpy construction sites. Additionally, heat
exposure during summer and low temperatures in winter can also place stress on
the circuit boards.
According to Tinh, manufacturers
are increasingly demanding that their suppliers prove the mechanical stability
of printed circuit boards; strain values are the only parameters that are
reliably predictive in terms of stress loading.
In addition to cars and
commercial vehicles, trains and laptops are also continuously exposed to
vibration and require mechanical loading to be measured. Tinh comments that the
MX1615 can be used by diverse industries from automotive, aviation, energy,
engineering, manufacturing and mining to marine, defence, power and energy,
gas, water and oil.
HBM provides the complete
measurement chain for such applications from the strain gauge to the QuantumX
MX1615 amplifier and Catman AP software for data acquisition and analysis.
The MX1615 allows the user to parameterise
each channel individually with all 16 channels equipped with 24-bit AD
converters. The excitation voltage of the strain gauge channels can be selected
for each channel as a carrier frequency or DC voltage. In addition, the data
rate of 19.2 kHZ and the maximum bandwidth of 3 kHZ per channel cover a wide
analysis range.
The MX1615 can be combined with other modules
from HBM’s QuantumX series in a distributed measurement architecture using analogue
outputs, digitial inputs/outputs, CAN bus or EtherCAT connection. Ethernet
TCP/IP is used to transfer data to a PC.