New Strain Gauge Design by TML

TML have developed a new design of general purpose strain gauge, designed to improve the temperature range and fatigue life of the gauges whilst eliminating the lead content from the materials of construction, allowing these gauges to be CE marked & RoHS 2 compliant. The new design has been given the name GOBLET, since the pattern looks like a goblet, as well as being an acronym for “Gauges Of Brilliant Lifespan and Environmentally Thoughtful”. They have also greatly improved the operational temperature range of the general purpose F series gauges from -20 to +80˚C to -196 to +150°C, due to the use of special plastics for the gauge backing.

The innovation has in part been driven by the applicability of the EU RoHS 2 legislation which came into force for products within category 9 “industrial monitoring & control instruments” earlier this year and requires products to either be free from or contain minimal harmful substances, including lead. Removing lead from the strain gauge construction materials resulted in a shorter fatigue life of the strain gauge, however test results for the unique gauge pattern and special plastic backing of the GOBLET design show a fatigue life better than that of conventional strain gauges.  Most of the general-purpose strain gauges in the TML “F” series are now available in this design, and they are supplied as RoHS 2 compliant products bearing a CE mark.

TML will continue to extend the GOBLET design to other series of their strain gauges, and the higher temperature “QF” series gauges are already being supplied. Many of the other series gauges are already compliant, or like the very high temperature “ZF” series, are exempt from the legislation due to the temperature requirement of the gauge.

GOBLET strain gauges have the letter B in the part number immediately after the series/grid configuration letters and before the gauge length and thermal compensation numbers – for example the general purpose linear 5mm strain gauge with mild steel temperature compensation FLA-5-11 has now become FLAB-5-11. We continue to offer most of the TML strain gauges with integral lead-wires for direct connection to instrumentation, with lead-free solder being used to tin the ends of the wires and make the join with the gauge wires, and a -F is also appended to the end of the leadwire descriptor in the part number. There are many different types of lead wire available, in any length required and with either 2 or 3 wire versions. There are also several choices of lead wire to gauge joint to be considered, depending on the application conditions. Standard types have parallel vinyl lead wires joined to polyimide insulated gauge leads, with the solder joint being covered with the vinyl insulation of the lead wire, but there are other types available with a heat shrink seal for the joint, and twisted wires.  Other accessories for strain gauge applications includes a variety of adhesives, coatings and terminal strips, as well as monitoring instrumentation. Many gauges are held in stock at Techni Measure for quick delivery, and our on-line store is also available to aid simple purchases.

If you have any questions on the new strain gauge part number or availability, or any other aspect of strain gauge selection or application then please contact us. Full details are also available in the new TML strain gauge catalogue and we will be happy to send you a copy.