RAL1 Low Profile High Capacity Pancake Load Cell
You can buy just the Load Cells or buy the Load Cells with interface devices such as analog signal conditioners, digital USB or wireless load cell interfaces, displays and software as complete ready to use kits.
Highlights
-
Capacities
RAL1 load cells are available in 5K lb, 10K lb, 25K lb, 50K lb, and 100K lb capacities -
Calibration Mode
RAL1 load cells can be used for Compression or Tension or Both (upto to 25K lbs). Above that we only recommend it be used in compresison mode. -
Accuracy Class & Compensated Temperature Range
+/- 0.02% to +/- 0.05% from -10C to 40CMounting
Threaded Mounting Holes on Each End of Load Cell. No need for additional adapters. -
Construction and Use
Rugged alloy steel construction. Mechanically robust design. Ideal for calibrating pneumatic and hydraulic press applications.
-
UART/USB Output
Use UART to connect with Arduino or other microprocessors. Or use USB to connect with PCsWireless Output
Wireless output via XBee (802.15.4) Industrial Strength wireless or WiFi or BLE for easy connectivity with PCs, Tablets and SmartPhonesAnalog Output
Analog output via 0-5V DC or 4-20 mA output for easy input to DAQ or PLCCertifications
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell have excellent accuracy but are not NTEP or OIML. Contact us for options if you need that.Customize
Call us for larger capacities or other unique needs. We can custom build them to order as needed.
Mounting Options
The RAL1 load cells have two threaded mounting holes on each end. One can attach the cell between two plates or attach ropes/cables/hooks using eye bolts or swiveling rod ends as shown below. The sensors can be mounted in any orientation. Does not need to be verically mounted. The measured force will be the relative force between the two ends of the load cell.
Base Load Cell
Load Cell with Eye Bolts
Load Cell with Rod Ends
Load Cell between Plates
Load Cell Configurations
Pancake Load Cells are based on the classic Wheatstone balanced bridge network design using strain gages. The baseline output is mV/V i.e. if you supply say 10V to the sensor, then the output voltage may vary from 0 mV to 20 mV for a 2 mV/V device. They can be mated and used with digital or analog signal conditioners (digital or analog interfaces) to connect with PCs, PLCs, or simple LCD displays. We offer the following options:
USB Load Cell with DI-1000U Configuration
If you need to do testing and data gathering or want to display values on a PC/Tablet via USB, simply connect the load cell to the DI-1000U Digital Load Cell Interface & use the USB connector on the DI-1000 to connect to a PC via the USB port. The DI-1000U is a signal conditioner & 24-bit digitizer (good enough to handle load cells with 0.02% of full scale accuracy) and handles all the communications functions to talk with USB port of a PC. When connected this way, the load cell appears on the PC as a virtual COM port. Using a standard terminal emulator you can send commands to the sensor to display loads on screen. They can be displayed either one reading at a time or in continuous operation mode. You can also use Matlab, LabView or other popular programs to communicate and get calibrated readings from the load cell. It would be best if used our LoadVUE Pro application to display, log or plot data on a PC.
Suggested Kit:
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell
DI-1000U Load Cell Interface
LV-1000 LoadVUE Pro Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
USB Load Cell with DI-100U Configuration
If you do not need the very high precision of the DI-1000U, you can use our DI-100U digital load cell interface with 16 bit ADCs and Serial TTL or USB output. The DI-100U is sufficient for accuracies of +/- 0.1% of full scale output. Or in other words if you need to measure +/- 1 lb accuracy over 1000 lb range or +/- 0.1 lb accuracy over 100 lb range, then the DI-100U is more than adequate for your application. If you wish to connect a load cell with an Arduino or other microprocessors or microcontrollers, then you can disconnect the S2U Serial to USB converter adapter and directly communicate via UART.
Suggested Kit:
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell
DI-100U Load Cell Interface
LV-1000 LoadVUE Pro Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
16 Bit Four Sensor USB Kit
A lower priced version of the above 4 sensor kit is also available with a DI-400U 4 channel USB load cell interface
Suggested Kit:
Four RAL1 Pancake Load Cells
DI-400U 4 Channel USB Interface
SensorVUE Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
Suggested Kit:
Four RAL1 Pancake Load Cells
Four DI-1000U USB Interface
SensorVUE Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
USB Load Cell with LCD Display
If you don't want to use a PC or PLC and just want a simple LCD display, you can use our DS-3000-Pro Touch Screen LCD Display. The load cell needs to be mated with a DI-100U or DI-1000U and calibrated together as a pair. This pair can be used with the display or with a PC or tablet. This it gives you a load cell, a DI-1000U USB Interface, LoadVUE Pro software (to use with a PC to display, log and plot data and recalibrate if needed) plus a Touch Screen Single Channel Display if all you need to do is just use for operations for a quick display.
Suggested Kit:
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell
DI-1000U or DI-100U USB Interface
DS-3000-Pro-1 Touch Screen Display
LoadVUE Pro Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
USB Load Cell with 4-Channel LCD Display
When you want to display values from multiple load cells on a LCD Display, then use our DS-3000-Pro-4 device as shown below. The DI-400U Four Channel USB Interface connects to four load cells. You can use SensorVUE software to display, log and plot data or just use the DS-3000-Pro-4 display to show individual as well as total load on all connected sensors (up to four).
Suggested Kit:
Four RAL1 Pancake Load Cells
DI-400U USB Interface
DS-3000-Pro-4 Touch Screen Display
SensorVUE Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
Wireless Load Cell Configuration
You can use this load cell wirelessly by connecting it to our DI-1000ZP wireless load cell interface. This configuration allows you to wirelessly connect to a Windows/Unix/Mac computer. On a Windows platform, you can use our LV-1000 LoadVUE Pro software to display, log and plot force vs time data effortlessly. The DI-1000ZP uses the 802.15.4 protocol and offers robust connectivity to about 1000 feet in industrial environments. It comes with a battery backup for cordless operation for a couple of hours. If you wish to connect via WiFi or BLE we offer the DI-1000WiFi and DI-1000BLE that makes it easy to communicate with Smartphones as well.
Suggested Kit:
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell
DI-1000ZP Load Cell Interface
LV-1000 LoadVUE Pro Software
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
Analog Load Cell Configuration
Some users want a high level 0-5V analog DC output in order to work with existing data acquisition systems or PLCs. Ih that case, you can use this load cell with our AI-1000 Load Cell interface which provides an amplified 0.5 to 4.5V output proportional to the applied loads. We can provide the system together with calibration and the formula to convert from voltage to loads/forces when ordered in this configuration. We also offer the AI-1000-CV with 4-20 mA output if you prefer current output. Please contact us for this kit.
Suggested Kit:
RAL1 Pancake Load Cell
AI-1000 Analog Load Cell Interface
Add Calibration
Add Accessories
Application Development
If you are looking to develop your own custom software application, our digital USB load cells and wireless load cell interfaces offer convenient ASCII commands to obtain load information directly from the interfaces/load cells without need for any signal conditioning or data processing. With just a few commands you'll be able to incorporate load/force/weight information into your application. You can also use Visual Basic, Visual C++, Matlab, LABView or any other application development environment to create your custom applications with our interface/load cells.
See our support pages for details.
- How to Write Software to Work with DI-1000U / DI-1000UHS / DI-1000UHS-1K
- How to Write Software to Work with DI-100U / DI-100UHS / DI-400U / DI-400UHS
- How to Write Software to Work with iLoad / iLoad Pro / iLoad Mini / iLoad Mini Pro
You can access Sample Code for Visual Basic, Matlab, Python, Arduino and customize it for your own needs.
Alternative Load Cells
We offer a range of S-beam Load Cells for tension and compression force measurement. The S Beam load cells can be used to measure pull or push forces. They range in size from just 20 mm or less than an inch height and capacity as small as a few pounds of force to several inches in height and up to 40,000 lbs of push or pull force. These load cells can be calibrated to be used in compression only, tension only or in universal mode. Just specify the right calibration when buying the load cell you need.
RAS1
This is the most versatile S-beam Load Cell we offer
Capacities: 25 lb to 40K lb
Accuracy Class: 0.5% of full scale
Comp. Temp Range: -10C to 40C
RSB6
Low Profile Pancake Load Cell with Through Holes
Capacities: 550 lb to 11K lb
Accuracy Class: 0.02% of full scale
Comp. Temp Range: -10C to 40C
Watch and Learn
FAQ
Because of its distinctive pancake structure! It has a cylindrical body with a hub and spoke construction inside the load cell.
Pancake load cells are designed for high capacity tension and compression force measurement. They have a threaded hole at each end that makes it easy to attach eye bolts or rod-ends into which hooks or pins can be inserted. You do not need to buy another adapter to use the load cell in both directions.
The pancake load cell is a resisitive load cell device. It is built using strain gauges arranged in a wheatstone bridge network. A strain gauge is basically a resistive element that is piezo resistive i.e. it changes resistance in response to changes in strain (change in length over original length). Applied forces lead to induced stresses that lead to displacement and strain. The change in strain leads to a change in resistance. So with an applied inout voltage one can measure tiny changes in voltage and use this to infer the applied force.
We offer signal conditioners that allow you to connect to a computer (PC. Mac or Linux) via USB (DI-100U or DI-1000U) or wirelessly via XBee, WiFi or BLE protocols (DI-1000ZP/DI-1000WiFi/DI-1000BLE).
We also offer sensor interfaces with UART output (DI-100U) to connect to a microcontroller to develop an embedded application. Our analog signal conditioner (AI-1000 and AI-1000-CV) make it easy to get analog 0-5 V voltage output or 4-20 mA current output. Or simply connect to our touch screen LCD display to show values on a simple physical display.
We offer free LoadVUE Lite software to display force/weight on a Windows 8/10 PC/Tablet. The LoadVUE Pro software allows you to display, log & plot force/weight data, recalibrate sensors and get remote support. SensorVUE extends support to an unlimited number of sensors as well as all types of sensors we offer. ControlVUE software extends the functionality offered by SensorVUE and adds the ability to control external devices based on sensor values through a USB Relay with one to eight channel. Our sensors and interfaces allow you to write your own code as well! We also offer customization and custom softrware development services to meet your specific needs!
Yes. We offer calibration service on new sensor purchases as well as recalibration service for previously purchased sensors. We use NIST traceable reference standards to perform and validate the calibration and provide a free calibration certificate as part of the service. We are NOT ISO certified.
You can register on our website, login and see all prices, download spec sheets and solid models. You can also send us an email with your contact information and shipping address and we will be happy to send you a formal quote.
We give you a 30 day guiarantee for you purchase. You can exchange or return your purchased products for a refund of the purchase price of the product. Any calibration service fees, shipping and payment fees cannot be refunded. Feel free to try out our products risk free and see for yourself how easy we make it for you!
We need between one and two weeks usually to ship your order for items in stock. This is because we have to make your sensor, interface and calibrate them together, make sure the quality meets all specs and then pack and ship it to you. We offer expedited processing options if you are in a rush and need to get sensors sooner. If out of stock or if sensors are needed in volume, we could take 4-6 weeks or longer. Please contact us to get an estimate of price and lead time for your particular needs.
We believe teaching young kids and encouraging R&D is crucial to make this world a better place. We support teaching and research activities in educational institutions with a 10% education discount on purchased products in exchange for sharing write ups, pictures, video clips and other material we can use in our marketing materials on and off line.
