wvmarle:
Sounds like it's mostly an engineering problem. You don't just place such sensors in critical spots - the door has to be suspended directly from them. So the hinge attaches to the force sensor, which attaches to the door frame.Now you can also see the problem of measuring multiple axis at the same time: they will affect one another, as in the end your sensors basically share the weight. The door having to hinge in the process just adds a lot to the complexity of the whole system.
Exactly! However, right now the engineering isn't my problem. I am trying to figure out the hardware needed to collect the data just on the arduino side. I'm no expert, but already somewhat familiar with testing methods. I believe I can make it work.
DrDiettrich:
The Starter Kit looks good, only the 9V block battery is not very useful with Arduino projects.
I have found a similar kit with a plug in adapter. But, my questions still are; how many cells can I run on this arduino uno? Will there be anything needed in addition to this kit (excluding load cells and amplifiers for the cells)?
DrDiettrich:
The Load Sensors are for 50kg force/weight, how much force do you intend to apply to the screw?
The force at this time on any single cell is estimated to be less than 25kg.
DrDiettrich:
These sensors are quite big, do you have enough space on your "screw" for mounting them?
The project will be scaled to allow space for the sensors. If you know of smaller ones, I'd love to hear of them.
DrDiettrich:
Rotational forces also can occur, you'll need 6 sensors to measure these as well.
I believe that you are referring to the rotational torque of driving the screw in? If so we do not need to measure that force. In the setup I am creating I do not anticipate any torque force that could not be analyzed in their component forms. So, for now, x,y,z axis measurements will do.
DrDiettrich:
In general you should only buy components coming with data sheets and Arduino libraries and example code.
I'm afraid I'm not yet fully familiar with all of the nuances of each of these and their purposes. I'll look into each.
Thanks Dr. Diettrich and wvmarle. You both are helping lots.