by Henry Zumbrun
Think about that for a minute. Would you want a surgeon to operate on you with kitchen utensils such as a serrated knife? There are several force measurement errors that can result from using adapters different from what the force measuring instrument was calibrated with. The basic premise is that mechanical measurements are being made and most adapters used at a laboratory level are going to be manufactured to keep the line of force free from eccentric error and apply the same stresses from adapter interface to force measuring instrument that was done at the time of calibration. Not using the proper adapters to calibrate load cells, truck scales, aircraft scales, tension links, dynamometers, and other force measuring devices can produce significant measurement errors and pose serious safety concerns. Different adapters can change the stress distribution on the force measuring instrument and produce errors that range from minimal to an output difference that produces errors larger than the allowable tolerance. READ THE FULL ARTICLE (PDF)
