The LS Starrett Co Ltd (www.starrett.co.uk) has introduced hand-held force measurement equipment to its product line-up.

The DFC and DFG digital force controllers allow quality-control managers to perform batch testing on the move. Both the DFC and DFG have been designed to be used for hand-held force gauging, although the DFC series can also be used as a digital controller with Starrett’s FMM digital force testers.

The DFC features a measurement accuracy within 0.1% of full scale, with internal data sampling at 25kHz. Quality engineers can use the device as a universal interface to set up tests and configure load, break and distance limits, as well as crosshead travel direction and speed.

The DFG digital force controller, on the other hand, is aimed at more-basic tensile and compression testing, measuring force at an accuracy of better than 0.2% at full scale.

Both devices can be used in conjunction with Starrett’s manual force testers from the MTL or MTH ranges. The two MTL testers — the MTL-110 and the MTL-330 — operate with a quick-action lever in either the tension or compression direction, and they can measure up to 500 or 1,500N respectively.

The MTH manual tester is a single-column manually operated force tester with a load measurement capacity of 2,500N.

As well as being equipped with adjustable sampling rates to capture peak loads, the devices also have metric threads for screw-on attachments and can be fitted with clevis adapters that fit hundreds of Starrett test fixtures.

Both devices feature cast aluminium housings and high-resolution OLED colour displays with adjustable back light. The battery provides more than 30hr of continuous operation, while the USB port on the controllers can be used for both charging and transmitting data to a computer.

Data can also be transmitted from DFC and DFG controllers using Bluetooth.