Vishay Precision Group, Inc. today announced that its Micro-Measurements brand series of high-resistance miniature foil strain gages has been selected as a 2012 Design News Golden Mousetrap Awards finalist in the "Automation and Control" category.
Design News' annual Golden Mousetrap Awards recognize engineering innovation and creativity in product design. This year, awards were given in five major categories: Electronics and Test, Automation and Control, Design Tools: Hardware and Software, Materials and Assembly, and Automotive. Finalists were chosen by Design News editors.
VPG Micro-Measurements brand high-resistance miniature foil strain gages are used in structural design and failure analysis to determine the stress state of an article under applied loads. They are also used in precision transducers to detect physical phenomena like weight, force, pressure, displacement, and acceleration. In these applications, the strain gages provide a dual benefit: their small size and a high level of resistance that is difficult to achieve in standard strain gages.
The reduction of power consumption is a key objective in any design; and the higher the resistance of electrical circuits, the lower the power consumed. While standard strain gages offer resistance to 5,000 ohms, VPG's miniature strain gages can be manufactured to 20,000 ohms and use much less energy. This low power consumption is especially important in battery power applications, such as test instrumentation for analysis of remote structures or hand held devices like cell phones and game controllers.
While typical lengths for standard strain gages are 1.5 mm to 3 mm, VPG's miniature strain gages can be manufactured with lengths of 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm. This allows design engineers working with small or intricate end products to make physical measurements in confined or diminutive spaces. In addition, it enables placement of the miniature strain gage directly over areas of high (peak) surface strain, resulting in higher signal output level than from standard strain gages.
Winners of the Golden Mousetrap Awards will be announced on Feb. 12 during a ceremony at the ATX West Show in Anaheim, Calif.
Source: http://www.vishaypg.com/