SparkFun Forums

[Kamool]

Hello,

I'm building sensor that senses whenever weight is removed off it. I wanted to use Force sensitive resistor (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9375), but it says it can measure force in range of 100g-10kg.
Thrre is a problem for me, because sometimes force will reach 20kg. Reaching 20kg means damage of sensor or it just wont sense that?

[lyndon]

If all you want is to detect it and not actually measure it, you could do the same thing essentially for free with two pieces of metal/wire and something springy to separate them. It will work for any load you want, from grams to tonnes.

[Kamool]

Yeah, i know, but that wont work for me. The thing is i need to measure up to 10kg, but there will be more for sure.

[MonsterBot]

You may consider using a lever setup to bias some of that weight.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/levers-d_1304.html

[lyndon]

Those things aren't really meant to measure weight, so don't count on accuracy. They are exactly what their name says: resistance changes with force, no guarantees on the same force always giving the same resistance. They are typically only repeatable to within 25% or so.