Force measurement in the palm of your hand

Both the DFC and DFG have been designed to be used for handheld force gauging; the DFC can also be used as a digital controller with Starrett’s FMM Digital Force Testers. It features measurement accuracy within 0.1% full scale with internal data sampling at 25kHz. Quality control engineers can use the advanced device as a universal interface to set up tests and configure load and distance limits and break limits, as well as crosshead travel direction and speed.

The DFG Digital Force Controller is suitable for more basic tensile and compression testing, measuring force at an accuracy of better than 0.2% at full scale. This handheld device is well suited for basic tensile and compression testing.

Both of these devices can be used in conjunction with Starrett’s Manual Force Testers from the MTL or MTH ranges. The two MTL testers, the MTL-110 and the MTL-330, operate with a quick-action lever in either tension or compression directions, and can measure up to 500N or 1,500N respectively. The MTH Manual Tester is a single column, manually operated force tester with a load measurement capacity of 2500N, this device can also be used for compression or tensile testing.

“There are many applications where relying on large and expensive force measurement machines is not feasible — or necessary,” said John Cove, marketing manager of Starrett. “Quality assurance managers on the shop floor, or in a research and development setting, either need to be able to perform batch testing on the move or in small quantities. Having a device like a DFC or DFG controller to hand greatly improves efficiency, without compromising accuracy. 

“It’s important to us that our customers get the most out of the machines we design for maximum return on investment. That’s why, as well as being equipped with adjustable sampling rates to capture peak loads, our new handheld devices also have metric threads for screw-on attachments and can be fitted with clevis adapters that fit hundreds of Starrett test fixtures.” 

Both new devices feature cast-aluminium housing and have high resolution OLED colour displays with adjustable backlight. The battery provides more than 30 hours of continuous operation, and the USB port on the controllers can be used for both charging and for transmitting data to a computer. However, data can be transmitted from both the DFC and DFG controllers using Bluetooth®.