Our standard product line includes: S Beam Load Cells, Pancake Load Cells, Miniature Load Cells, Compression Load Cells, Tension Load Cells, Bending Beam Load Cells, Load Button Load Cells, Canister Load Cells, Single Point Load Cells, Force Sensors, In Line Load Cells, Rotary Torque Sensors, Reaction Torque Sensors, General Purpose Pressure Sensors, High Accuracy Pressure Sensors, as well as a full line of Instruments for a complete system solution.

In addition to our standard product line, we also design Custom Load Cells, Custom Torque Sensors, and Custom Pressure Sensors per your requirements. Over the past 18 years, we have developed Custom Load Cells, Torque Sensors and Pressure Sensors to endure rigorous environments such as: high temperature, high pressure, cryogenic, or acidic (submersible) environments. You will also find various industry focused load cells such as our collection of Automotive Load Cells and Medical Load Cells. Our facility is equipped with a full NIST Traceable Calibration Department, testing every single Load Cell, Torque sensor, Force Sensor or Pressure Sensor we build.

Selecting the proper load cell type for your application is a critical task as each load cell offers its own unique attributes.  The following descriptions will help clarify the different designs or types of load cells available to you on our site and essentially guide you towards selecting the right load cell type.

Pancake Load Cells commonly known as Universal Load Cells

Pancake Load Cells, also known as low profile Load Cells or Universal Load Cells, are commonly used in applications that require high precision, and less sensitive to load condition. For most capacities the Pancake Load Cell is normally designed with multiple shear struts. For lower capacities it’s designed with bending beams. If properly designed and manufactured, the nature of its structure is less sensitive to extraneous load and moments (especially Torque) compared to other inline sensors such as the S Beam Load Cell, diaphragm or column type. This type of Load Cell is normally used in press in compression for controlling the applied load or pressure during the test or production.

Pancake Load Cells normally provide a female thread thru the center and multiple thru holes on outer ring for mounting. Fixing the outside mounting holes will allow for it to be used in tension as well. Also by adding the tension base plate option users can utilize it in-line in both tension and compression, just like the S Beam Load Cell. Capacities ranges vary depending on the manufacturer, but Pancake Load Cells are generally offered from 50 lbs to 1 million lbs. Standard features typically include metric thread and quick disconnect. Fatigue rated Pancake Load Cells are also available and widely used in endurance testing applications. Submersible versions are also available with integrated cables. Some manufacturers also offer built-in amplifiers with VDC/4-20mA or with TEDS per IEEE1451.4 option for plug & play.

S Beam Load Cells

The S Beam Load Cell, also known as the Z Beam Load Cell, is one of the most popular types of load cells. It was originally designed for inline applications to convert mechanical scale to digital by replacing the spring or other in-line hardware. The S Beam Load Cell is available in variety of load ranges with both English & Metric threads. It is very popular due to its high precision, low price, and ease of installation. But since S Beam Load Cells are strictly designed for in-line applications they are very sensitive to extraneous load, torque, and moments. Off center loading must be avoided for the best performance & longer service life. Please refer to the pancake type load cell for applications requiring off center loading or extraneous load, moment and torque capabilities.

Typical features of the S Beam Load Cell include an integrated cable or quick disconnect receptacle. S Beam Load Cells also come in full hermetic sealed versions and submersible types. In recent years, miniature versions of the S Beam Load Cell known as S Beam Load Cell Junior has also been designed and manufactured. The S Beam Load Cell Jr. (Miniature S Beam Load Cell) comes with effective built-in mechanical stop for overload protection in both Tension and Compression and is available from 10 grams full scale to 100 lbs. This innovative model comes in package sizes smaller than a quarter coin and is widely used in bag hanging medical applications during the dialysis process, as well as other automated applications in which small package size is essential.

Load Button Load Cell

Load button load cells are designed for compression and known for their small package size. They are used in tight and limited spaces. General purpose ones are normally designed with diaphragm construction but some higher precision ones are designed with bending beams for low capacity and shear or column design for higher capacity. For best performance the load should be applied without the presence of any side load or torque. Mounting could be a challenge with standard load button load cells. To overcome this challenge, some models are available with mounting provision on the base. The ones without mounting provisions are normally retained by an outside wall or sandwiched between the assemblies. Some versions are also available with a threaded stud in the center for probe style loading. Load button load cells are available in various capacities ranging from 1lb to 100,000 lbs and in packages ranging from ¼” (6mm) to 3” (76mm) OD. Load button load cells are widely used in Medical applications as well as automation where small size is a must and space is limited. If space is not an issue and higher precision is required then use a pancake style load cell.

Single Point Load Cell - (Also known as Side Mount Load Cells, Parallelogram Sensors or Belt Buckle Sensors)

Single Point Load Cells are usually designed for processing applications which require weight control platforms, usually on the small scale type. They are given their name because they can be used for these platform applications supporting off center loading by utilizing only one sensor. The advantage of this particular load cell design over others is that it is low profile, has high precision, and can be adjusted for off center loading. This particular load cell type is generally easy to mount. Other products for similar applications such as load buttons are not as easy to mount. This load cell is also designed for high volume OEM applications and offered in a wide range of capacities from Gram ranges to 500 lbs in the same form fit function. 

FUTEK’s particular line of Single Point Load Cells is more compact compared to the same product by other manufacturers. It averages in dimension about 2 x 0.5 x 2 inches compared to 4x1x3 inches. It also offers overload protection making it suitable for both process control and material testing applications since possible overload usually occurs during installation.  Due to its size and precision it has widely been used in Handheld or portable equipment as well as many material testing machines. Other popular applications are in-line food processing or material process control or batching systems.

Also due to its compact size, high precision and long Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF of very well over 100 million cycles) it has been an ideal choice for many medical applications such as automated blood management system, dialysis and bag hanging applications for drug delivery application.

Check out our Load Cell Types page for more information

Selecting a sensor is a difficult task since no 1 sensor fits all applications. There is no real industry standard on how you go about selecting your product. Other challenges you may come across include finding compatible instrumentation, requiring a non-standard product that could increase delivery time and even after you pick the right sensor, if it gets installed incorrectly, there will be no good results. Additionally, it is important to find a sensor provider that has the experience to support your needs before and after the sale.

In order to keep these challenges to a minimal, there are some key things to consider during your selection process. Understanding your application and defining your requirements are a pivotal part of this procedure. After you’ve clearly defined your application, define what it is you want to measure. Do you want to measure load? This means that you want to convert input mechanical force into an electrical output signal. Note load cells are different then pressures sensors. Load cells can be used to measure surface pressure. However you would use a pressure sensor if you need to measure fluid or gas pressure. Load Cell Applications include press to viscosity / liquid separation, automation, medical bag weighing, and many more. Here are a few load cell applications that may help guide you in your selection.

Then take a look at some of the key characteristics that would define your needs. Do you have static load or is it a dynamic type? Define the mounting type. How will you be mounting this load cell? (Female / male thread, In-line, Side Mount, Flange Mount, Thru-hole, Compression Washer.) What is your load direction? (Tension, Compression, or both.) 

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