How to design a micro-controller circuit with LCD to have load cell output

Thread Starter

Ezzat Oraby

Joined Apr 14, 2019
9
Dear all
I'm a newbie to microcontroller circuits
I have a task in my laboratory
I would like to fix a load cell into the wall to measure the tension in a wire
how could I use an LCD with the load cell to output the tension value?
and how could I construct the required microcontroller circuit for this purpose?
 

ericgibbs

Joined Jan 29, 2010
18,766
hi Ezzat,
The Arduino controller has many examples and libraries for Load Cell projects with a LCD display.
Do you have details of the load cell that you could post.?
E
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
What type of interface to the LCD display do you want (parallel, serial)? If serial, what type?
What is your interface to the load cell?
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
At the very first,
  • What are you going to display?
  • Is color required
  • How many lines
  • How many characters/line

And does the LCD display have on onboard controller or are you trying to use a raw display?

What are you using as a Micro-controller? Some platforms have prebuilt libraries for different displays/display controllers?
 

danadak

Joined Mar 10, 2018
4,057

Thread Starter

Ezzat Oraby

Joined Apr 14, 2019
9
I would like to use a load cell with a capacity of 10 or 20 tons to and connect it to a 4 digit display but I prefer the general use display as the dedicated one is expensive. I also prefer the USB connector.

At the very first,
  • What are you going to display?
  • Is color required
  • How many lines
  • How many characters/line

And does the LCD display have on onboard controller or are you trying to use a raw display?

What are you using as a Micro-controller? Some platforms have prebuilt libraries for different displays/display controllers?
To minimize the costs: plain 4 digit colourless display with a USB connector. How much does it cost for raw display or with the onboard controller, if you have a good website for prices, please inform me
 
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Thread Starter

Ezzat Oraby

Joined Apr 14, 2019
9
hi Ezzat,
The Arduino controller has many examples and libraries for Load Cell projects with a LCD display.
Do you have details of the load cell that you could post.?
E
But I would use the load cell just with programmed LCD,
I think that the Arduino requires the circuit to be permanently connected to a computer
 

ericgibbs

Joined Jan 29, 2010
18,766
hi,
If you are using a regular load cell, you will need to amplify the signal, convert it to digital and the send ASCII characters to a LCD display.
If you post details of the load cell.
The Arduino is a free standing MCU, requires only a 9VDC power supply.
It has the capability of sending serial data to a PC.

We need to know more about the Project.
E
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
But I would use the load cell just with programmed LCD,
I think that the Arduino requires the circuit to be permanently connected to a computer
No, the Arduino can run without a computer connection. Such a connection is only needed while programming or if you’re sending or receiving data to another computer.

My favorite go to sites for an LCD display is Sparkfun or Adafruit.

Here is a mono LCD with controller from Adafruit to get you started. (Note: White on blue is pretty standard. B&W, not so much)
 

danadak

Joined Mar 10, 2018
4,057
The Vref accuracy of Arduino is 10%. Also A/D is 10 bits, which is a tad low for
typical load cell work. More like 16 bit is "normal". Also A/D has a configurable amp
in its front end, if needed. 20 ton cell, 16 bits, gives you just under a lb resolution.

The design shown in post #5 can use a PSOC 5LP which has a 20 bit A/D and you can
config it for less that 20 (down to 8 I think). Also its Vref accuracy is +/- .1%, at room
temp. Rest of spec -

upload_2019-6-24_11-32-27.png

LCD display, a white LED on blue high contrast, 2 x 16 or 20 or 4 x 16 or 20 characters
on ebay range $ 3 - $ 10. I use these all the time because they have great readability.

If you want no messages, just 4 digits, LED display quite feasible. Do you need direct
sunlight readability ? You would just drag and drop the LED component onto the
schematic and config it, and write a couple of lines of code to write value to it. A
component is an onchip resource.


Regards, Dana.
 
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