Strain Gauge to USB Converter

New strain gauge to USB converter design offers a more compact solution

A new redesigned strain gauge to USB converter (DSCUSB) has been launched by Mantracourt Electronics Ltd. The new design offers a more compact solution, with a smaller and more stylish enclosure. Internally the product remains unchanged and will perform identically to its widely acclaimed predecessor.

The DSCUSB is a high performance strain gauge digital signal conditioner with USB connectivity. It provides easy sensing for weight, pressure, force and torque and is recognised by engineers worldwide for its high stability and superior performance. The device is easy to connect to a strain gauge sensor and also allows multiple devices to connect to a single PC. The DSCUSB also comes with a free software toolkit, which provides the tools required for configuring, calibrating, logging and managing the parameters of the DSCUSB.

"We are very proud of the DSCUSB, and how widely it is used. It has been a big success," said Louise Stubbs, Marketing Co-ordinator at Mantracourt. "The new, more compact design looks a little more modern and it will be easier to store, transport and handle. Also, the previous design had a fixed USB cable, whereas the new version has a USB connection socket instead. This will allow engineers to choose a specific USB cable length, depending on their situation."

Mantracourt is a world leader in the design and manufacture of electronics for measurement technologies, including strain gauge, temperature, resistance, pressure, voltage, current, potentiometer, rate, flow, LVDT and displacement in either analogue, digital or wireless form.

The DSCUSB is compatible with most load cells and sensors and enables the device to appear as a virtual com port. Windows driver DLL's are also available for interfacing with the DSCUSB. The rugged ABS IP50 enclosure makes the device suitable for most environments and a pcb version of the device is available for projects that require a design-in approach.

"Simply by plugging the DSCUSB into a PC, data can be extracted from most strain gauge bridge input sensors and acquired by the software," said Louise, "This solution enables detailed data logging and manipulation, removing the need for amplifiers, filters & multimeters. Furthermore, the DSCUSB is powered from the USB port, so that no additional power supply is required"

Although ideal for one-to-one interface the device can connect with multiple sensors with the use of a suitable hub. It is also available in ASCII protocol, offering higher resolution and lower temperature drift. Typical applications for the DSCUSB will be those requiring simple sensor connectivity in desktop settings such as test & measurement, R&D and laboratory environments.