Individual solutions for our customers

Here at Interface, we make it a priority to adapt to our customers' needs in every way possible. Every year we collect huge amounts of data and feedback to reflect market changes and technological advances. This often takes the form of new product releases designed specifically to address our customers' most important needs. However, new product versions take time to develop, test and release. When customers need to address a challenge quickly, we turn to our innovative custom solutions team.

Regardless of the project, there is the possibility of a tailor-made product force measurement meets the requirement. We work directly with our customers' engineering and testing teams to understand the challenge and provide alternative solutions to standard products. Our dedicated engineers and measurement experts, along with supporting corporate resources and advanced engineering laboratory, provide Interface with the competitive advantage to make any force measurement application work with our offerings.

We've provided a brief overview of our custom solutions offerings, following up on a previous blog. Today's post provides an update on what's new in custom solutions:

New offers for customer-specific solutions
One of the most significant changes to custom solutions is our growing range of offerings for OEM customers. To provide these customers and test engineers with best-in-class, cost-effective force measurement solutions for use in components or products, Interface now offers customized ordering capabilities for the masses. Designed to order means Interface can deliver force and torque measurement solutions from our extensive catalog tailored to the features, specifications and cost required by our customers, whilst maintaining the world-class accuracy, quality and reliability that Interface is renowned for we serve every industry.

Another exciting feature Interface has recently added is the addition of more communication options for digital instruments to collect data from our products. We have added the INF1 and INF4 model signal conditioners with fieldbus function, including CANopen, DeviceNet, CC-Link, Profibus, Profinet, Modbus and EtherCAT. Adding this feature allows our products to connect to networks that customers already have installed in their facilities.

Custom solution applications
Interface customers continue to draw on our experience with Custom Solutions Engineers to design systems that utilize a range of sensing technologies, communications devices, and even frames and enclosures to provide a complete structure. This includes a growing demand for a unique pairing of force and torque components that operate remotely via wireless and Bluetooth technologies, as well as the delivery of entire test units that are mobile or can be deployed in the field. The possibilities are unlimited with the number of products. Interface in our catalog, including the ability to use new designs.

Every year we carry out a variety of unique projects with our customers for customized solutions. We would like to share some of our favorites with you.

Aircraft Maintenance – Wireless Adjustment
When an aircraft comes into the shop, engineers often have to jack it up to perform maintenance. There is always a risk when lifting an airplane because you cannot put too much strain on the wings and fuselage. To ensure that maintenance team members do not stress the aircraft beyond its limits, Interface developed a solution to measure the lifting force of each individual jack used to raise the aircraft. The solution involved a series of interface model 1200 load cells that would transmit the forces applied to a base station. However, the adjustment occurred in the way data was transmitted to the base station. Typically wires are used for transmission, but in this case 21 load cells were used on the hoist. To avoid 21 wires getting in the way, Interface added custom features to the 1200 Series to allow it to communicate wirelessly with the base station.

Crane Application – Custom Programming
Lifting heavy objects can be a dangerous task for on-site employees. Not to mention, pushing too much of a large industrial crane can result in expensive damage and downtime. When an interface's industrial customer needed to intelligently monitor a crane during lifting, we helped create a custom program. The custom application included a Model 1280 and a force measurement activation program. Whenever the crane approached an unsafe weight, an alarm was triggered based on the force reading, which could either trigger an alarm or shut down the system. This created an automated security system using force data.