Cantilever Beam Load Cell Construction and Calibration - Each student team (3 to 4 students) constructs and calibrates a beam-type load cell in this lab exercise. First, they prepare the surface of a beam (sand and chemically neutralize), then use an adhesive to attach strain gages to the beam. Lead wires are soldered to the gages resulting in a full Wheatstone bridge circuit. The students send the bridge output voltage through an amplifier to a data acquisition system to weigh and determine output voltages for at least ten different known loads applied to the load cell. The data is analyzed to determine the calibration equation for the load cell and program that equation into a LabVIEW VI (virtual instrument) so the data acquisition system can scale the output directly into units of pounds. The students in this Mechanized Systems Management class calculate the errors, standard deviation of the errors, and percent resolution of their load cell.

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Would you like to design an instrument that changes how surgery is done? How about creating a new way to manufacture food, or test the power of a tractor? Or perhaps you are interested in saving the environment or working with animal production systems. With three academic majors, the Department of Biological Systems Engineering provides many ways to blend your interests and turn them into a successful and fulfilling career. View a video about our Department.

Two of our majors are the nationally renowned and accredited educational programs in Agricultural Engineering and Biological Systems Engineering at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. The third major, Mechanized Systems Management, offers degree programs at the undergraduate and masters levels. Department Research and Extension programs provide education and information to the state, region, nation, and world.

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