Application 178

Rotary Shaft Thrust Force

Application Summary

For turbines, drills, linear and lead screw actuators designed for long life and critical applications, shaft thrust needs to be measured to optimize systems performance and maximize bearing design and life. This requires a sensor, such as a donut load cell, that can operate in tension and compression to measure the thrust applied to the shaft.

Products in Use

One LTH350 Donut/Through Hole Load Cell paired with Instrumentation (IHH500, IPM650, USB220, IDC305).

How it Works

An LTH350 Donut/Through Hole Load Cell is freely slid onto the shaft.
A pair of thrust bearings and collars secure the donut load cell in place on the shaft.
A retention bracket is attached to the outer circumference of the sensor, anchoring the sensor to a solid fixture.
As thrust forces are applied to the shaft, the bearings and collars transmit the load through the sensor for measurement delivering the load to the retention bracket.
The IHH500 Digital Hand Held Display and the IPM650 Panel Mount Display capture and display the measured load in real time.
Force data can also be simultaneously captured utilizing the USB220 High-Resolution USB Solution and our SENSIT software on a PC.