Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3 26 D F V
Number of Conductors
AWG (American Wire Gauge) Wire Size
The Wire and Cable Coding System shown above gives according to the number of conductors. All wires and
the unique designation of each wire type for ordering cables are supplied on spools for user convenience.
purposes. The leadwire and cabling selection charts Some styles may not be continuous length.
presented on the next three pages are organized
References:
Application Note: TT-601, Techniques for Bonding Leadwires to Surfaces Experiencing High Centrifugal Forces.
Application Note: TT-604, Leadwire Attachment Techniques for Obtaining Maximum Fatigue Life of Strain Gages.
Application Note: TT-608, Techniques for Attaching Leadwires to Unbonded Strain Gages.
AWP AWN Solid copper wire, nylon/polyurethane enamel: Identical in use and
127-AWN 500 ft (150 m)
specifications to Type AWP above, but with superior abrasion resistance
130-AWN 500 ft (150 m)
and slightly reduced insulation resistance at elevated temperatures.
134-AWN 500 ft (150 m)
134-AWN and 136-AWN are available in four colors; specify: R (red),
136-AWN 500 ft (150 m)
W (white), B (black), G (green).
DWV FWK FWT Stranded silver-plated copper wire, Teflon insulation: Wide
temperature range. Useful from 452 to +500F (269 to +260C). When
130-FWT 100 ft (30 m) bonding to Teflon-insulated wire, insulation must be treated with Tetra-Etch
compound (see Special-Purpose Materials.) Specify red, white, black, or
green.
THREE-CONDUCTOR CABLE
Type Packaging
Description
(See Note 1) Foot (Meter)*
326-DFV 100 ft (30 m) Stranded tinned-copper wire, 3-conductor flat cable, vinyl insulation:
DJV DFV 326-DFV 1000 ft (300 m) Convenient general-purpose cable. For use from 60 to +180F (50 to
330-DFV 100 ft (30 m) +80C). Flat construction requires minimum space. Color-coded red/white/
330-DFV 1000 ft (300 m) black.
326-BSV 100 ft (30 m) Stranded copper wire, 3-conductor twisted cable, PVC insulated,
326-BSV 1000 ft (300 m) braided shield: For use from 60 to 180F (50 to +80C).
BSV DTV DSV Stranded tinned-copper wire, 3-conductor twisted cable, vinyl
326-DSV 100 ft (30 m) insulation, braided shield, vinyl jacket: Special-purpose cable to minimize
326-DSV 1000 ft (300 m) electrical noise interference. Useful from 60 to +180F (50 to +80C).
Color-coded red/white/ black.
FFE
Stranded silver-plated copper wire, 3-conductor twisted cable, Teflon
insulation, Teflon jacket: Small, flexible. For use from 452 to +500F
330-FJT 100 ft (30 m)
(269 to +260C). Color-coded red/white/black. When bonding Teflon-
330-FJT 1000 ft (300 m)
insulated wire, insulation must be treated with Tetra-Etch compound (see
Special-Purpose Materials.)
Stranded silver-plated copper wire, 3-conductor twisted cable, etched
Teflon insulation: Small, flexible cable. For use from 452 to +500F
336-FTE 50 ft (15 m)
(269 to +260C). Color-coded red/white/black. Insulation treated for
bonding.
FOUR-CONDUCTOR CABLE
Type Packaging
Description
(See Note 1) Foot (Meter)*
426-BSV 100 ft (30 m) Stranded copper wire, 4-conductor twisted cable, PVC insulated
426-BSV 1000 ft (300 m) braided shield: For use from 60 to +180F (50C to +80C).
FST FTT Stranded silver-plated copper wire, 4-conductor twisted cable, Teflon
insulation: Small, flexible cable. For use from 452 to +500F (269
436-FTT 100 ft (30 m)
to +260C). Color coded red, white, black, green. When bonding Teflon
436-FTT 500 ft (150 m)
insulated wire, insulation must be treated with Teflon etchant, such as
TEC-1 (see Special- Purpose Materials, document number 11008).
Uninsulated flat ni-clad copper ribbon: 1/64 in wide x 0.001in thick (0.4
1-GL-64-001 50 ft (15 m) x 0.025 mm). For use from 452 to 900F (269 to +480C). Can be easily
soldered or spot welded.
Uninsulated Nichrome V: 1/16 in wide x 0.002 in thick (1.6 x 0.05 mm). For
1-KL-16-002 50 ft (15 m)
use from 452 to + 2000F (269 to +1100C).
Uninsulated Nichrome V: 1/8 in wide x 0.003 in thick (3.2 x 0.08 mm). For
1-KL-08-003 50 ft (15 m)
use from 452 to +2000F (269 to +1100C).
Uninsulated Nichrome V: 1/8 in wide x 0.005 in thick (3.2 x 0.127 mm). For
1-KL-08-005 50 ft (15 m)
use from 452 to +2000F (269 to +1100C).
Disclaimer
ALL PRODUCTS, PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS AND DATA ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Vishay Precision Group, Inc., its affiliates, agents, and employees, and all persons acting on its or their behalf
(collectively, VPG), disclaim any and all liability for any errors, inaccuracies or incompleteness contained herein or in
any other disclosure relating to any product.
The product specifications do not expand or otherwise modify VPGs terms and conditions of purchase, including but
not limited to, the warranty expressed therein.
VPG makes no warranty, representation or guarantee other than as set forth in the terms and conditions of purchase.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, VPG disclaims (i) any and all liability arising out of the
application or use of any product, (ii) any and all liability, including without limitation special, consequential or
incidental damages, and (iii) any and all implied warranties, including warranties of fitness for particular purpose,
non-infringement and merchantability.
Information provided in datasheets and/or specifications may vary from actual results in different applications and
performance may vary over time. Statements regarding the suitability of products for certain types of applications
are based on VPGs knowledge of typical requirements that are often placed on VPG products. It is the customers
responsibility to validate that a particular product with the properties described in the product specification is suitable for
use in a particular application. You should ensure you have the current version of the relevant information by contacting
VPG prior to performing installation or use of the product, such as on our website at vpgsensors.com.
No license, express, implied, or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document, or by any
conduct of VPG.
The products shown herein are not designed for use in life-saving or life-sustaining applications unless otherwise
expressly indicated. Customers using or selling VPG products not expressly indicated for use in such applications do
so entirely at their own risk and agree to fully indemnify VPG for any damages arising or resulting from such use or sale.
Please contact authorized VPG personnel to obtain written terms and conditions regarding products designed for such
applications.
Product names and markings noted herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
suitable for strain gage use because the tip temperature is example, are generally used for strain gage installations
apt to be far too high. This tends to oxidize the tip, and to on nonmetallic test parts to avoid damaging the gage,
instantly vaporize the flux, making soldering much more bonding adhesive, or test material due to overheating. In
difficult. In addition, the unnecessarily high temperature contrast, high-temperature solders are normally selected
may damage the strain gage, the bonding adhesive, or even only when necessary to satisfy elevated-temp erature
the test specimen. For these reasons, the soldering station testing requirements. These solders are somewhat more
should incorporate provision for adjusting the soldering difficult to handle because the higher working temp erature
rosin flux such as M-Flux AR is recommended for this range for the solder in use.
purpose.
2. Place several drops of M-Flux SS on a glass plate.
Acid fluxes should never be used on constantan strain Re-tin the soldering surface by holding the heated tip in
gages or copper terminals, or for splicing copper leadwires; the SS flux while feeding solder onto the tip. A generous
and paste f luxes, containing chlorides, should not be amount of solder is essential for proper tinning.
used under any circumstances for strain gage soldering.
dry gauze sponge. Then melt fresh solder on the hot tip
to form a hemisphere of molten solder about twice the
diameter of the wire to be tinned.
2. If rosin-core solder is used, slowly draw the bare wire
through the molten solder while continuously adding
Figure 1 Gage grid and upper portion of fresh solder to the interface of the wire and soldering
solder tabs masked with drafting tape. tip. With solid-wire solder, apply M-Flux AR to the
Figure 2 Trimming leadwire ends before taping in place. Figure 3 Leadwire end taped to surface
in preparation for soldering.
wire end before starting to tin, and proceed in the same gage, terminal, or bonding adhesive. Apply a small amount
manner. This will produce a smooth, shiny coating of of M-Flux AR to the joint area and, holding the soldering
solder over the bare wire. pencil nearly horizontal, firmly press the flat surface of the
tip on the junction for about one second; then lift the tip
For applications employing bondable terminal strips and
from the soldered joint. If needed, additional flux can be
stranded instrumentation wire, it may be convenient to use
provided during the joining operation by feeding a little
a single strand of the wire as a jumper between the terminal
fresh solder into the joint from a spool of rosin-core solder.
and the strain gage solder tab. In such cases, the single
This procedure should result in a smooth, hemispherical
wire strand should be separated out before twisting and
solder joint, without any peaks or jagged areas. If the
tinning the remaining strands (see Micro-Measurements
solder joints are not smooth and uniform in size, repeat the
Application Note TT-603, The Proper Use of Bondable
soldering procedure, using additional flux and/or solder as
Terminals in Strain Gage Applications).
necessary.
Leadwires should be formed and routed to the strain
gage or terminal strip, then firmly anchored to the Cleanup and Inspection of
test-part surface with drafting tape before making the Soldered Joints
soldered connection. Attempting to route the leadwires
after completing the solder joint will often result After completing the soldering operation, it is imperative
in damage to the gage or terminals. Routing into the that all traces of residual f lux be completely removed
connection area should be along a minimum strain with RSK Rosin Solvent. The same solvent is used to
direction (such as the Poisson direction in a uniaxial soften the mastic of the drafting tape, permitting its easy
stress field) particularly for high elongation or dynamic removal. Do not try to pull away the tape with tweezers
tests. The tinned leadwire end should be trimmed short or other tools, because this may result in damage to the
enough so that it will not protrude through the connection soldered connections or the strain gage grid. Thoroughly
area, and cannot inadvertently make electrical contact clean the entire installation area with generously applied
with the test-part surface or adjacent solder connections. rosin solvent and a soft-bristled brush. Clean the solder
Figure 2 illustrates this stage in the procedure. In the final connection area until no visible signs of residual f lux
preparatory step, bend the leadwire end slightly to form remain, and blot the area dry with a clean gauze sponge.
a spring-like loop, and tape the wire firmly in place over Any traces of residual f lux can cause gage instability
the connection area, using PDT-1 drafting tape. The tape and drift, and will inhibit bonding of the installations
Tech Note
should be within about 1/8 in (3 mm) of the connection protective coating. Incompletely removed soldering flux is
area, as shown in Figure 3. the most common cause of degraded performance in strain
gage installations. Residual flux mixed with a protective
Clean and re-tin the soldering iron tip with fresh solder. coating application can completely destroy the coating
The temperature of the iron should be adjusted so that the objective.
solder is easily melted, without rapidly vaporizing the flux.
If the iron temperature is either too low or too high, it may Visually inspect the soldered joints for any gritty or jagged
cause poor solder connections, or it may damage the strain joint surfaces, and for traces of flux. Solder connections
Tech Note
Introduction EP-Series
Experimental stress analysis of structural materials EP-Series gages are recommended when measurement
sometimes requires testing to complete failure. In such requirements are beyond the 3% 5% elongation capability
cases, particularly with ductile materials, failure is often of the EA-Series. P-alloy is a fully annealed constantan foil
preceded by large local strains, the magnitudes of which processed for very high ductility. A properly bonded
are of interest to the test engineer. and wired EP-Series strain gage is capable of strain
measurements to 20% (200 000 microstrain) or greater.
High-elongation strain measurements place severe demands As in the EA-Series, smaller gages will exhibit a lower
on the gage installation, and necessitate special gage and maximum elongation capability.
adhesive selection and surface preparation procedures.
This Application Note outlines recommendations for gage
and adhesive selection, surface preparation, gage bonding Options
and wiring, and protective coating selection for high- Any leadwire attachment option, such as Option W
elongation strain measurements. (encapsulated gages with integral terminals) or Option
High elongations are usually expressed as percentages: 1% LE (encapsulated gages with leadwires), will lower the
elongation is equal to 10 000 microstrain; 5% elongation maximum elongation capability of EP-Series gages. But
is equal to 50 0 0 0 microstrain. The maximum rated because the elongation limits of EA-Series strain gages
elongation of any bonded strain gage is based on a single are more moderate (3% 5%), and because options will
tensile measurement. Cyclic strains of high levels must normally withstand at least the lower end of this range,
be limited to a value much lower than maximum due to they are not generally a limitation in the selection of
fatigue limitations on the strain gage foil. Consult Micro- EA-Series gages.
Measurements Tech Note TN-508, Fatigue Characteristics To obtain maximum possible elongation, select EP-Series
of Micro-Measurements Strain Gages, for details on strain gages without options.
gage performance under repetitive loading conditions.
Adhesive Selection
Gage Selection
High-elongation strain measurements place severe
Selection of proper strain gages for use in high-elongation demands on the adhesive system. The adhesive must be
testing is based on both anticipated strain levels and test rigid enough to prevent gage relaxation (creep), yet flexible
temperature. Polyimide (E) backing is normally selected enough to permit large deformations without cracking.
for this type of service because it has superior elongation Recommended adhesives are listed in the following
capabilities and an operating temperature range suitable selection chart.
for most high-elongation testing. The E-backing is available
with constantan (A) foil or fully annealed constantan
Surface Preparation
(P) foil.
The selection and implementation of proper surface
EA-Series preparation procedures is equally as important as using
proper gages and adhesives. High-elongation measurements
Properly installed and wired EA-Series (polyimide-backed
Tech Note
preparation. Because of higher bondline forces involved Many materials oxidize readily in air. If allowed to
in high-elongation measurements, the surface should be form on the surface, oxidation will greatly reduce
altered further for greater bond strength, as indicated in bond strength and elongation capabilities. It is strongly
the following procedures: recommended that the gage bonding operation be
completed as soon as possible after the surface is
1. Completely prepare the surface of the test specimen as
prepared.
described in Bulletin B-129.
2. Abrade the specimen surface in a direction 45 to the GageBonding
intended axis of strain measurement. On soft materials,
such as aluminum, use 320-grit silicon-carbide paper; Follow the standard bonding procedures outlined in the
on harder materials, such as steel, use 60-grit. respective instruction bulletin for the adhesive selected.
3. Lightly abrade, with the appropriate grit paper as
Gage Wiring
indicated in Step 2, in a direction 90 to the first abrasion.
This will produce a cross-hatched abraded surface. Relatively high displacements occur with high-elongation
Typical surface roughness desired approximates 250 in strain measurements, suggesting the use of an external
(6.4 m) rms. ter-minal strip. The strain gage should be wired to the
4. Repeat the degreasing steps outlined in Bulletin B-129. terminal strip with a small-diameter, single-conductor
wire no larger than 30 AWG (0.25 mm diameter) as shown
5. Condition the surface with Micro-Measurements in Figure 1. Drafting tape (Micro-Measurements PDT-1)
Tech Note
M-Prep Conditioner A (if appropriate for the specimen applied over the gage during soldering is recommended to
materials as detailed in B-129), scrubbing with cotton- restrict the flow of solder to the tab ends.
tipped applicators. Wipe dry with a gauze sponge.
Adequate strain relief loops, as shown in the following
6. Neutralize the surface with Micro-Measurements illustration, are of particular importance in high-elongation
M-Prep Neutralizer 5A (if appropr iate for the measurements. Note also that the leads attached to the
s p e c i m e n m at e r i a l), s c r ub b i ng w it h c ot t o n - strain gage tabs approach in a direction 90 from the
tipped applicators. Wipe dry with a gauze sponge. maximum principal strain axis.
Single Strand
Figure 1
At a 20% strain level, the gage factor approaches 2.2 in It is important to note that some materials, like polyethylene,
tension and 1.8 in compression. are difficult to bond; and it will not be possible to reach
maximum gage elongation before bond failure.
While these numbers are correct in theory, they have
not, to our knowledge, been substantiated by actual test
results. Unbonding of the Gage Tabs
Gage tab unbonding is often due to an excessive amount
of solder, which reinforces the gage tabs, and causes them
Assuming that the strain gage readings were within the STRAIN GAGES
strain range capability of the gage, and that the backing TOP AND BOTTOM
remains bonded, premature grid failures are often the
result of high local strains within the area covered by the
gage. Since the strain gage is an averaging device, it will
indicate average strain along its grid length. Steep strain COMPRESSION
gradients can cause localized excessive strain damage
while the gage may have been indicating a strain that was
well within its elongation limits.
TENSION
Grid failures may also result from strain concentrations
caused by inclusions in the adhesive layer (unmixed
adhesive particles, dirt, etc.) or by uneven gluelines, often
caused by irregular or pitted specimen surfaces or uneven
clamping pressures.
BRIDGE
calibration can usually be traced to localized yielding of EXCITATION
the metal strip. If this is indicated, the calibration should
be repeated several times to check for reproducibility.
A clip gage is particularly useful in measuring very large
specimen strains or actual displacements occurring
between two bodies, as with expansion joints or crack
Figure 2B Clip Gage (Full Bridge)
openings.
Soldering Temperature
T backed gages with Option S, and S Series gages,
have dots composed of +570F (+300C) lead-tin-silver
solder. Micro-Measurements wire solders have melti ng
Iron Direction
points ranging from +361 to +570F (+183 to +300C);
the most common are the +361 and +570F (+183 and
+300C) solder wire with rosin-core flux. Solid wires are
also available, including a popular +430F (+220C) type. Flat Surface
A temperature-controlled soldering station, such as the
Correct
Mark V or Mark VIII Soldering Units, is recommended.
Tip temperature should be high enough to assure good
wetting of the solder but not so high as to remove the
dots, vaporize flux, or hinder keeping the iron properly
tinned and clean. Unfortunately, most uncontrolled irons
are quite capable of tip temperatures in excess of +900F
(+480C), which is much too high for general strain gage
Tech Note
soldering.
Iron Direction
Soldering TipDesign
Incorrect
Never solder with a sharply pointed tip (Figure 1). A hot
point applied to a solder dot usually draws out the solder.
Use a clean, flat 1/16-in (1.5-mm) wide chisel or screwdriver Figure 2
type tip held flat against the work, as in Figure 2.
Before
After Soldering
After
Before Soldering
Figure 3 Figure 5
Iron Direction
Tech Note
Solder
Flat Surface
Figure 4 Figure 6
Tech Note