An introduction to electronic weighing
Wrap-Up
I've presented here some background on the theory and application of industrial weighing. I've shown a practical design for a workshop balance that is flexible enough to be applied to many single-load-cell weighing applications and, in the process, shown that Linux and open source software make an excellent choice for engineering applications. I hope this example encourages you to experiment with strain gauges and load cells and come up with your own innovative applications. The complete design is available on my GitHub page, and I can be contacted by email (see my bio).
Finally, I'd like to dedicate this article to my father, who started and ran his own industrial weighing company for many years and taught me much of what I know.
Infos
- Charles Wheatstone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wheatstone
- OIML and ASTM weights: https://static.fishersci.com/cmsassets/downloads/segment/Scientific/pdf/MettlerToledo/11796035_OIML_weights.pdf
- International Organization of Legal Metrology: https://www.oiml.org/en
- HX711: https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/ForceFlex/hx711_english.pdf
- ADS1232: https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ads1232.pdf
- REF5040: https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ref5040.pdf
- HT1621: https://hobbycomponents.com/displays/1053-ht1621-6-digit-7-segmenr-lcd-module-white-backlight
- HT1621 datasheet: https://datasheet.lcsc.com/szlcsc/Holtek-Semicon-HT1621B_C7873.pdf
- STM32F030x4: https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/dm00088500.pdf
- KiCad: https://home.cern/news/news/computing/kicad-software-gets-cern-treatment
- Author's GitHub project page: https://github.com/andrewrussellmalcolm/loadcell
The Author
Andrew Malcolm (MIET, CEng) works as a lead hardware and firmware engineer for Guru Systems (https://www.gurusystems.com/), a fast-growing IoT hardware and SaaS company working on low-carbon-energy projects. In his spare time, he likes to combine software engineering with his first love, hardware engineering. With all the open source tools available, he is never short of things to design. The Raspberry Pi has proved to be a source of inspiration, and to date, Andrew has designed five different add-ons, or HATs. He is currently working on microstepping motor drives for a Pi-based laser cutting machine. You can contact him at mailto:andrewrussellmalcolm@gmail.com.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
PipeWire 1.0 Officially Released
PipeWire was created to take the place of the oft-troubled PulseAudio and has finally reached the 1.0 status as a major update with plenty of improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Rocky Linux 9.3 is Available for Download
The latest version of the RHEL alternative is now available and brings back cloud and container images for ppc64le along with plenty of new features and fixes.
-
Ubuntu Budgie Shifts How to Tackle Wayland
Ubuntu Budgie has yet to make the switch to Wayland but with a change in approaches, they're finally on track to making it happen.
-
TUXEDO's New Ultraportable Linux Workstation Released
The TUXEDO Pulse 14 blends portability with power, thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS CPU.
-
AlmaLinux Will No Longer Be "Just Another RHEL Clone"
With the release of AlmaLinux 9.3, the distribution will be built entirely from upstream sources.
-
elementary OS 8 Has a Big Surprise in Store
When elementary OS 8 finally arrives, it will not only be based on Ubuntu 24.04 but it will also default to Wayland for better performance and security.
-
OpenELA Releases Enterprise Linux Source Code
With Red Hat restricting the source for RHEL, it was only a matter of time before those who depended on that source struck out on their own.
-
StripedFly Malware Hiding in Plain Sight as a Cryptocurrency Miner
A rather deceptive piece of malware has infected 1 million Windows and Linux hosts since 2017.
-
Experimental Wayland Support Planned for Linux Mint 21.3
As with most Linux distributions, the migration to Wayland is in full force. While some distributions have already made the move, Linux Mint has been a bit slower to do so.
-
Window Maker Live 0.96.0-0 Released
If you're a fan of the Window Maker window manager, there's a new official release of the Linux distribution that champions the old-school user interface.