Welcome

Welcome to the Western Regional Strain Gage Committee (WRSGC). We are a Technical Division of the national Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) and are established to promote a free interchange of information about strain measurement techniques using strain gages.

  • State-of-the-art strain gage research
  • Development and application of strain gages in all environments
  • Strain measurement techniques
  • Strain gage based transducers
  • Associated signal conditioning
  • Connecting techniques
  • Data acquisition and handling systems
  • Computer applications and associated software for testing using strain gages

Conferences

The Western Regional Strain Gage Committee meets twice a year for two days, typically in Spring and Fall. Hear technical papers, participate in workshops and manufacturer’s seminars (given by sponsors of the committee), participate on panels and tour a test facility in the area.

  • Conferences are a key function of the committee, as this venue provides valuable opportunities to learn about new developments and research in strain gages and mechanical testing, and also provides access to networking and discussions with experts in this field.
  • Technical papers and presentations are a key part of the WRSGC conferences.   Presentations topics cover a wide range of topics, including:
    • Research in the advancement of strain gage measuring
    • New product development
    • Applications and techniques of measurement
    • Refreshers on core aspects of testing and measurement

 We are currently looking for papers and presentations to be presented at our next conferences.   We welcome contributions from any person, whether previously involved in the WRSGC or not.  The paper and presentation criteria and process are somewhat flexible, as many companies have legal, export, or proprietary limitations on what information can be submitted.  The general process includes:  

  • Contact the Programming Chair at Membership@WRSGC.org to discuss your topic and conference schedule.  We would be happy to schedule you for an upcoming conference.
  • Prepare a 30-50 minute presentation – preferably on PowerPoint or other computer media, or notify the Programming Chair of your presentation equipment needs.  Demonstration equipment is welcome.  Typically 45-60 minutes are allotted for each presentation:  25-45 minutes for presenting, 5-10 minutes for questions and answers following your presentation.
  • Submit a paper or documentation to support your presentation.  This will be included in the WRSGC Proceedings DVD which is distributed as a technical reference to attendees of the conferences. In cases where legal, export, or proprietary limitations apply, WRSGC can accept whatever content is allowed by your company.

The spring 2021 Western Regional Strain Gage Committee Online Conference is to be held
April 20th and 21st, 2021 via Zoom.

Registration for the WRSGC Spring 2021 meeting to be held April 20th and 21st


Note that the meeting starts at 11am EDT (8am PDT) on both days. Please register by clicking on the following link and filling in the information fields for a personalized event link. We will not be collecting any fees as part of this meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lflrMfRxQZy4RFVYaJm8Yg

We have a terrific schedule of presentations for the meeting! Below is the current schedule.

A few things of note:

  • The registration link above is universal and can be forwarded to colleagues and others who you think may be interested in attending. However the login credentials that follow the registration link is unique to each attendee and should not be shared
  • All attendees will be muted by default
  • You can submit questions to the presenter through the Q&A chat function at the bottom of the Zoom screen
  • If you would like to verbally participate in the discussion or answer questions, you can ‘raise your hand’ and the moderator will unmute you
  • Similar to our in-person meetings, the virtual meeting will be recorded
  • If you are a presenter, look for a separate email with presentation instructions

Previous conference:


2019 Fall Test and Measurement Conference

Members

  The Western Regional Strain Gage Committee (WRSGC) consists of members from companies and government agencies mostly from the Western United States.  Our members include:

  • Major Aircraft Companies
  • National Laboratories
  • Propulsion Engine Manufacturers
  • Government Facilities
  • Aerospace Research and Development firms
  • Strain Gage, Transducers and Instrumentation manufacturers.
    Organizations from other regions are also members.

WRSGC Member Companies

Advanced Hi-Temp Strain Sensors
B. F. Goodrich
Boeing D&S – St. Louis
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Boeing Test & Evaluation – Seattle
Boeing D&S – Huntington Beach
Cleveland Electric Laboratories
CIT Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dragon Wings/Minebea
Frontline Management, Inc.
Hamilton Precision Metals
HBM, Inc.
HITEC Corp.
Honeywell Engines & Systems
Honeywell/FM&T – Kansas City
HPI
Instrumentation Consultant – John Quinley
Interface, Inc.
Lebow Products
Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics
Lockheed-Martin Space Systems
Lockheed-Martin Tactical Aircraft

Los Alamos National Laboratory
Luna Innovations
MTS Systems Corp.
NACCO Materials Handling Group
NASA Dryden F.R.C.
NASA LARC
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc.
Rdf Corp.
Sandia National Laboratory – Albuquerque
Sandia National Laboratory – California
Solar Turbines
Stein Engineering Services, Inc.
Strain Gage and Instrumentation Services
Stresscoat, Inc.
Tovey Engineering, Inc.
Valid Measurements
Vishay Precision Gages
Micro-Measurements
VTI Instruments Corporation

WRSGC Sponsoring Companies

WRSGClogo
DSCN8482
VPG
Precision Filters Inc.
HPI (2)
LUNA_Logo4c
MTS logo
NI logo
Pacific-Instruments-Logos-CMYK-min-size
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Interface_Black_Red
HBK Logo Colour
gantner instruments logo
ametek precision metals logo
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AMETEK Specialty Metal Products is a global leader in the production of metal powders, master alloys, clad metals, specialty wire products, metal strip, engineered shaped components, thermal management products, foil, and precision strip. These materials are used in a variety of applications, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, defense, medical and general industrial.
Website | Contact Christina Ciganik

VTI Instruments delivers precision modular instrumentation and systems for electronic signal distribution, acquisition, and monitoring, used in the world’s most demanding test applications. The company’s products and systems are used to monitor and record data that characterizes the physical integrity and performance of aircraft, engines, and other large structures, as well as automate the functional testing of complex electronic systems.
  VTI is recognized as an industry leader with a reputation of providing reliable data, first time, every time. A sustained focus on innovation and technology enables VTIs customers to optimize their capital investment through product longevity, while ensuring unmatched measurement integrity and data reliability. An AMETEK SMP family of companies.
Website | Contact Chris Gibson

Gantner Instruments specializes in precision measurement of mechanical, thermal, and high-voltage quantities. With its creative measurement solutions, Gantner Instruments has developed since its foundation in 1982 into a globally recognized player on the data acquisition systems market. The company is now a sought-after global partner with locations throughout Europe, the USA, India, China, and Singapore. Gantner’s cutting edge technology is widely used for testing and monitoring applications in the mobility, aerospace, civil engineering, oil & gas and renewable energy sectors.
Website | Contact Stephen Ploegman | Contact Ravi Shukla

HBM and Brüel & Kjær deliver high quality products and expertise in the field of test and measurement, sound and vibration. In 2019 the two companies joined forces as HBK – Hottinger Brüel & Kjaer to form one of the world’s foremost provider of seamless measurement, test, analytics and simulation solutions – mechanical, electrical, acoustics and thermal. HBK is guiding customers through their product life cycle from research & development, production into operation. By uniting the physical world of sensing with the worlds of digital data analytics and simulation, application insights from customers and their target key performance indicators turning into actionable solutions, accelerating product validation and verification and predicting its maintenance. 
Website | Contact Bart Morrick | Contact Malte Grieme

HITEC, a Humanetics Group company, was established in 1971 to provide a wide range of Specialized Engineering Services for elevated temperature and harsh environment measurements, as well as general purpose sensor installation.  For 50 years we have designed and manufactured custom strain gauge-based force sensors, load cells and torque transducers, instrumentation and specialized test systems.  HITEC is headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, with an additional AS9100 certified facility in Sri Lanka.  Our broad range of sensor technologies are applied to drive innovation of custom sensor solutions, transducerization, and large volume OEM manufacturing capabilities serving the medical, aerospace, industrial, automotive, energy and many other industries and applications.  
Website | Contact Domenic El-Achkar | Contact Jeffrey Drecnik

HPI is a leading manufacturer and global supplier of Strain Gages. Used extensively for dynamic and static strain measurement in high temperature and waterproof applications, HPI strain gages can be purchased as pre-assembled units for easy field installation and strain measurement. Our products can be customized with many options to fit your application needs.
  Aerospace, transportation, civil engineering and industrial organizations worldwide rely on our strain gages for critical strain measurement applications. Universities and government agencies purchase our products for use in experimental stress analysis projects for engineering and research programs.
Website | Contact Vince Wnuk

Interface is the world’s trusted leader in technology, design, and manufacturing of force measurement solutions. We guarantee the highest quality performance of load cells, torque transducers, multi-axis sensors, wireless telemetry, instrumentation, calibration systems, services, and custom solutions. We empower engineers globally to measure force and performance at the highest degree. Our clients are the who’s who in aerospace, automotive and vehicle, medical devices, energy, test and measurement, and industrial automation. The world’s most respected companies use Interface load cells because of the quality and accuracy of the products we make using our proprietary strain gages. Interface, founded in 1968, is a US-based women-owned technology solutions manufacturing company.
Website | Contact Ken Vining |  Contact Scott Whitworth

KYOWA commercialized strain gauges first in Japan. Based on abundant experiences and technologies accumulated throughout over 60 years since 1951 the first Japanese-made strain gauges were commercialized, KYOWA manufactures a variety of high-performance strain gauges, strain-gauge transducers, measuring instruments and systems. These products have been used in various countries and regions.
Website | Contact Kazuhiko Morishima

Luna is the leader in fiber optic sensing technology with unique platforms ideal for applications in aerospace, automotive and energy. Products based on the high definition fiber optic sensing (HD-FOS) technology include network inspection tools (used within telecommunications and aerospace industries), strain and temperature sensors, and data acquisition systems used by all of the major aerospace companies for ground based component and assembly testing. Luna’s technology ensures better, faster, and more cost effective testing throughout the entire structural validation cycle.
Website | Contact Andrew Boulanger

 

Measurement. Accuracy. Certainty. These concepts allow engineers in research, product development and manufacturing to turn mere ideas into tangible, working results. MTS Systems Corporation is dedicated to making this transformation faster, easier and more successful. Since 1966, we have worked side-by-side with engineers in a wide range of industries to solve complex challenges. Today, our high-performance testing and sensing solutions are deployed around the world, enabling precise control of forces and motions as well as real-time feedback that optimizes performance. But our technology is only half the story. Our team brings unparalleled expertise to every engagement. With more than four decades of real-world experience, we are uniquely equipped to help our customers adapt to change, anticipate new requirements and take on even the most difficult tasks with speed and confidence.
Website | Contact Glenn Lucachick | Contact Matt Slama

 

For more than 40 years, NI has developed automated test and automated measurement systems that help engineers solve the world’s toughest challenges. NI enables engineers in a wide variety of industries, from aerospace to transportation, from semiconductor to health and energy. NI solutions include hardware software platforms that enable you to engineer ambitiously. 
Website | Contact Steve Summers

 

Pacific Instruments, Inc. is an industry leader in the design, manufacture and support of state-of-the-art, computer-automated physical measurement systems. Major aerospace and vehicle companies, government-funded research agencies and the military use these systems to measure, store and analyze information and results from research and development projects. Pacific Instruments‘ advanced computer technology is enabling these companies to efficiently solve real-world problems in such areas as passenger safety, earthquake building design and survivability, explosives technology and containment, aircraft engine and airfoil design and general scientific research.
Website | Contact Patrick Rule | Contact Scott Swinford


 

Founded in 1975, Precision Filters, Inc. (PFI), an ISO 9001:2015 certificated company, is a manufacturer and global distributor of high performance instrumentation for test measurements. PFI designs and manufactures precision product solutions that include a family of analog signal conditioning, filtering and switching systems. The 28000 Signal Conditioning System provides a complete range of transducer conditioning with up to 256 channels per chassis. PFI’s C Series signal conditioning modules adds new measurement system possibilities to the cDAQ and cRIO platforms. Precision’s solid-state switch provides up to 256×256 cross-point switching and replaces tedious manual patch panels. The PF-1U provides 8 or 16 channels of high performance filter/amplifiers in a compact package with Ethernet control.
Website | Contact Doug Firth


 

PCB Piezotronics, Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of microphones, vibration, pressure, force, torque, load, and strain sensors, as well as the pioneer of ICP® technology. PCB’s high quality, precision rod end, s-type, fatigue rated, dual bridge load cells, torque transducers, telemetry systems, and fastener torque-tension test systems are used by design engineers worldwide for testing and measurement in automotive, aerospace, industrial, R&D, military, educational, commercial, and OEM applications.
  In addition to a vast product portfolio, PCB® also offers many services including: A2LA Accredited Calibration Services for torque, force, and related instrumentation. With a worldwide customer support team, 24-hour SensorLine®, and a global distribution network – PCB® is committed to Total Customer Satisfaction.
Website | Contact Jay Mendoza


 

Tovey Engineering was founded in 1995 to advance the state-of-the-art in high performance force and torque transducers and to provide a sophisticated force measurement resource for mechanical test engineers and force and torque metrology labs. Tovey also manufacture’s primary and secondary force and torque calibration systems.  Our commitment to a strong technical foundation is reflected in our customer base. Tovey currently manufactures force transducers for many major test machine makers and sells high-performance load cells on a private label basis to select calibration and branded load cell firms. Our customers include domestic and international measurement firms, research and standards labs, aerospace, and automotive industries, calibration labs, and companies with internal test-measurement facilities.
Website | Contact Mike Tovey


 

VPG Vishay Precision Group is an internationally recognized designer, manufacturer and marketer of resistive foil technology, sensors, and sensor-based systems to niche, industrial applications.  Our products, systems and solutions are marketed under a variety of brand names that have a very high level of precision and quality.
  Our vision is to be the leading provider of foil components, sensors, and sensor-based systems with the highest precision, quality, and service for measuring force (weight, pressure, torque, acceleration) and current.  Our strategy is to achieve corporate growth and shareholder value by expanding our existing product portfolio, as well as by acquiring complementary technology products.
Website | Contact Paul Millard | Contact Darryl Peterson