MOREHOUSE INSTRUMENT COMPANY INC. MODEL 4215 PLUS V5.0.6
Model 4215 Plus
Pg. 63 PUB.6396-02
Morehouse Instrument Company, Inc.
Tel: (717) 843–0081
APPLICATION NOTE:
Make Your Own Plug-and-Play Load Cell System and Eliminate
Costly User Errors
The Problem
It’s a common problem. You’re out on the road and you’re carrying a variety of Load Cells
that span different ranges that might be needed to calibrate a customer’s system or
perhaps you need to conduct a wide range of force measurements for a particular testing
application. You need to change the Load Cell that is connected to your Instrument before
you can continue. When the Load Cell is connected to the Instrument, the appropriate
calibration factors need to be installed in the Instrument. Manual data entry, or requiring
the operator to select from a database of stored calibrations parameters, introduces the
possibility of user error. Loading the wrong parameters for a Load Cell, or even worse,
corrupting the existing calibration data, can lead to erroneous results and costly
recalibration expenses. It would be much more efficient if the Instrument could
automatically identify the Load Cell that is being attached to it and self-install the proper
calibration data.
The TEDS-Tag
®
Plug-and-Play Solution
The TEDS-Tag
®
Auto Identification System which retains the attractive feature of Self
Identification found in the TEDS standard can be implemented simply on any Load Cell
and, when connected to the Model 4215 Plus Smart Indicator or Model 4325 CellMite
®
Embedded Digital Signal Conditioner, becomes transparent to the user. Multi Load Cell-
multi-Instrument matched pair calibrations are also supported. This can be a critical
advantage in precision applications such as field calibration services.
With the TEDS-Tag
®
system, a small and inexpensive Electronic Identification Chip is
placed in the cable that extends from the Load Cell or it can be mounted within the load
cell housing. This chip contains a unique electronic serial number that can be read by the
Model 4215 Plus or CellMite
®
to identify the Load Cell. The Load Cell is then connected
to the unit and a standard calibration procedure is performed. The instrument
automatically stores the calibration data inside the unit itself along with the unique Load
Cell Identification Number from the microchip. Whenever that Load Cell is reconnected
to the Instrument, it automatically recognizes the Load Cell and self-installs the
appropriate calibration data. True plug-and-play operation is achieved. With this system,
the calibration data can automatically include compensation for the particular Instrument
so that high precision matched systems can be realized. Moreover, if the Load Cell is
moved to another Instrument, that Instrument will recall the calibration data that it has
stored internally for that Load Cell. The Instruments can store multiple Load Cell
calibration entries. In this way, multiple Load Cells can form a matched calibration set with
multiple Instruments.