Weight display based on Arduino Uno and LCD shield

thingiverse

Here's how I created an electronic load display for use with strain gauges and Arduino: Taking the Arduino Uno and attaching it to an LCD shield was the foundation upon which I based this design, drawing heavily from the resources at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:845415 . To get a digital readout of the strain gauge's measurement, I chose to use the HX711 module as my interface; its 24-bit AD converter made it perfectly suited for this task. Notably, you can find inexpensive boards that connect to your Arduino and give you the same precision AD conversion: http://www.banggood.com/HX711-Weighing-Pressure-Sensor-24-Bit-Precision-AD-Module-For-Arduino-p-918228.html . This design makes room for two HX711 modules, effectively giving you the capability to work with multiple load cells simultaneously; and because it can run on a 9-volt battery which conveniently fits within the housing, portability was an absolute necessity in this design. By leveraging this powerful module, the design gives users the precise readings they require when working with strain gauges. I discovered a library for use with HX711, hosted at https://github.com/bogde/HX711 , where you can easily install it in the Arduino IDE by simply downloading the zipped archive and incorporating it as one of your available libraries within your IDE. As a basic demonstration of this application's potential, I wrote some straightforward Arduino code for implementing an electronic weight display.