Diamond Doorknob on an Outhouse Door

Most of us have heard this expression; in manufacturing it typically relates to using a very high-quality component in producing a very low-quality product. Strain-gage-based transducers can face the same fate. You can use the best quality strain gages, but if you install them on poor-quality spring element material you will get a transducer with bad performance. Selection of material for the transducer spring element is paramount to good performance. Typical “good” spring materials in use are:

Low Modulus
2024-T4, T81 or T-351 aluminum alloy
BeCu 25
6 Al/4 Va titanium

High Modulus
4140 alloy steel
4340 alloy steel
17-4ph stainless steel (must be vacuum furnace grade)
15-5ph stainless steel

All but the aluminum alloys will require heat treatment to achieve the desired spring properties. Contact MM Applications Engineering for recommendations.