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Load Cell Amplifier HX711 Breakout Hookup Guide - Learn - Sparkfun

The document provides a guide for hooking up a Load Cell Amplifier HX711 Breakout board to various types of load cells. It discusses the necessary components, describes how to physically connect the load cells to the amplifier board and then to a microcontroller. It also provides options for using a single load sensor or multiple sensors connected to a combinator board. The guide aims to explain the basic setup and wiring to get started measuring data from a load cell using the HX711 amplifier.

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Sai Boothkuri
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
499 views9 pages

Load Cell Amplifier HX711 Breakout Hookup Guide - Learn - Sparkfun

The document provides a guide for hooking up a Load Cell Amplifier HX711 Breakout board to various types of load cells. It discusses the necessary components, describes how to physically connect the load cells to the amplifier board and then to a microcontroller. It also provides options for using a single load sensor or multiple sensors connected to a combinator board. The guide aims to explain the basic setup and wiring to get started measuring data from a load cell using the HX711 amplifier.

Uploaded by

Sai Boothkuri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

11/2/2016

LoadCellAmplifierHX711BreakoutHookupGuidelearn.sparkfun.com

LoadCellAmplifierHX711BreakoutHookupGuide
CONTRIBUTORS:
FAVORITE

SARAHALMUTLAQ,

ALEXTHEGIANT

GettingStarted
TheHX711loadcellamplifierisusedtogetmeasurabledataoutfromaloadcellandstraingauge.ThisHookupGuidewillshowyouhowtogetstartedwiththisamplifier
usingsomeofthevariousloadcellswecarryatSparkFun.

WhatYouWillNeed:
ForthissimplehookupguidewewilljustbehookingupaloadcellwiththeHX711amplifier,andshowinghowyouwouldhookupfourloadsensorswithacombinator
boardandtheHX711amplifier.Tofollowalong,youllneed:
SparkFunLoadCellAmplifierHX711
AnyStrainGaugeBasedLoadCell:

LoadCell200kg,Disc(TAS606)

LoadCell50kg,Disc(TAS606)

SEN13332

SEN13331

$56.96
2

$56.96

LoadCell10kg,StraightBar(TAL220)

LoadCell10kg,WideBar(TAL201)

SEN13329

SEN13330

$6.96
3

$11.95

Ifyouareplanningonusingloadsensors1youwillneedtoobtainorpurchasefourunits.WerecommendourCombinatorBoardtomakeiteasytoturnthefourstrain
gaugesintoawheatstonebridgetypeloadcell.(Singlestraingaugeloadcellsonlyhavethreewiresinsteadoffour.)

SuggestedReading
Ifyouarentfamiliarwiththefollowingconcepts,werecommendreviewingthembeforebeginningtoworkwiththeHX711LoadCellAmplifierBoard.
LoadCellBasics
GettingStartedwithLoadCells
InstallingtheArduinoIDE
HowtoPowerYourProject
BatteryTechnologies
HowtoSolder

1.[Straingaugesaretwowiredorganizedmetalfoilorwiresthataresetupinsuchawaythattheresistancechangeswhenitiscompressedorstretched.Whenastraingaugeisplacedonsomething(usuallymetallicinnature)its

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1.[Straingaugesaretwowiredorganizedmetalfoilorwiresthataresetupinsuchawaythattheresistancechangeswhenitiscompressedorstretched.Whenastraingaugeisplacedonsomething(usuallymetallicinnature)its
resistancechangesbasedonthestressexperiencedbythatsomething.Whenasinglestraingaugeishookeduptoametalliccell,wearecallingthataloadsensors,whichhavethreeoutputwires.Loadcellsusuallyhasfourstrain
gaugeshookedupinawheatstonebridgeformation,whichhavefouroutputwires.Formoreinformationonloadcells,straingauges,andwheatstonebridgesseeourtutorial.]

LoadCellSetUp

Aselectionofdifferentloadcells
Dependingonthetypeofloadcellyouareusing,theconfigurationofhowitshouldbehookeduptoplatesorsurfaceswillchange.Belowareafewdifferenttypesof
setups.

Barloadcellbetweenatwoplateconfiguration

Sloadcellconfiguration

Possiblefourdiscloadcellconfigurationinsomethinglikeabathroomscale

Barstraingaugebasedloadcells
Usuallywithlarger,nonpushbuttonbarloadcellsyouwillwanttohookuptheloadcellbetweentwoplatesinaZshape,withfittingscrewsandspacerssothatthe
straincanbecorrectlymeasuredasshownbelow:

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Notethatonlyonesideoftheloadcellisscrewedintoeachboard.Thisprovidesamomentofforce,ortorque,onthestraingaugeratherthanjustcompressionforce,
whichiseasiertomeasureandmuchmoreaccurate.

Forsmaller,pushbuttonordiscloadcells,youwillwanttomakesuretoscrewinthedisctoabottomplate(orsurfaceyouaremeasuringforceagainst),andcenterthe
beam,plate,orwhateverelseyouarewishingtomeasuretheforceofontothebuttononthetop.Usuallyanotherplatewithaholeisusedtomakesurewhateveryou
aremeasuringishittingthesamespotontheloadcelleachtime,butitisnotnecessary.
Makesuretoreadthedatasheetfortheloadcellyouareusingandgetthecorrectscrewstofitintoit.
Note:IfyouarehookingtogetherfouroftheSparkFunLoadSensorsusingtheCombinatorboard,youshouldpositionthefourloadsensorsequidistantfromeach
other,justlikethebathroomscalesshowninthistutorial.
Loadcellmeasurementscanbeoffby+/5%duetoarangeofthingsincludingtemperature,creep,vibration,drift,andotherelectricalandmechanicalinterferences.
Beforeyouinstallyourscale,takeamomentanddesignyoursystemtoallowforeasycalibrationorbeabletoadjustthecodeparameterstoaccountforthesevariations.

HardwareHookup

TheHX711LoadCellAmplifieracceptsfivewiresfromtheloadcell.ThesepinsarelabeledwithcolorsRED,BLK,WHT,GRN,andYLW.Thesecolorscorrespondtothe
conventionalcolorcodingofloadcells,wherered,black,greenandwhitewirescomefromthestraingaugeontheloadcellandyellowisanoptionalgroundwirethatis
nothookeduptothestraingaugebutistheretogroundanysmalloutsideEMI(electromagneticinterference).Sometimesinsteadofayellowwirethereisalargerblack
wire,foil,orloosewirestoshieldthesignalwirestolessenEMI.

Fourstraingauges(SG1through4)hookedupinawheatstonebridgeformation

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Herewehavealargeblackwire,someloosewires,andfoilandloosewiresrespectivelyasEMIbuffers
InGeneral,eachloadcellhasfourstraingaugesthatarehookedupinawheatstonebridgeformationasshownabove.
Thefourwirescomingoutfromthewheatstonebridgeontheloadcellareusually:
Excitation+(E+)orVCCisred
Excitation(E)orgroundisblack.
Output+(O+),Signal+(S+)+orAmplifier+(A+)iswhite
O,S,orAisgreenorblue
Someloadcellsmighthaveslightvariationsincolorcodingsuchasblueinsteadofgreenoryellowinsteadofblackorwhiteifthereareonlyfourwires(meaningnowire
usedasanEMIbuffer).Youmighthavetoinferalittlefromthecolorsthatyouhave,butingeneralyouwillusuallyseethesecolors.
IfthereadingsfromtheHX711areoppositeofwhatyouareexpect(forexamplethevaluesdecreaseasyouincreaseweight)simplyreversetheO+/Owires.

Oncetheloadcellisishookeduptotheamplifier,youcanhookupVDD,VCC,DAT,CLK,andGNDtoamicrocontrollersuchasaRedBoardorArduinoboard.
NoteVCCistheanalogvoltagetopowertheloadcell.VDDisthedigitalsupplyvoltageusedtosetthelogiclevel.
PROTIP:Inmanycases,youcanjustshortVCCandVDDtogether.Ifyourmicrocontrolleruses3.3Vlogichowever,you'llwanttoconnectVCCto5VandVDDto
3.3V.

LoadcellwireshookeduptotheHX711Amplifierboard
TheexamplecodehasDATandCLKhookeduptopin3and2respectively,butthisiseasilychangedinthecode.AnyGPIOpinwillworkforeither.ThenVCCandVDD
justneedtobehookedupto2.75VandGNDtogroundonyourmicrocontroller.

FritzingdiagramofHX711amplifierconnectedtoaRedBoard
Now,ifyouwouldliketosetupfoursingleloadsensorswithourcombinatorboardandamplifier,connectthefivepinslabeledRED,BLK,WHT,GRN,YLWtothematching
pinsontheHX711.Next,connecteachofthefourloadsensorstothefollowingpins:
Red+
Black
WhiteC

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Thecombinatorboardalsohasroomforan8pinRJ45socket,whichcanbeusedtoconnectyourprojectviaEthernetcablesforlongdistanceapplications.
Anothernicethingaboutourcombinatorboardisthatmosthomescalesusefoursinglestraingaugeloadsensors,sothisisahandyboardforhackingyourownscalesat
home!

Hackedhomescalesfourloadsensorshookeduptoourcombinatorboard

Exampleofasinglestraingauge,orloadsensor.HereREDisthecentertap
Forloadsensors,thereisntasetcolorcodedstandard.Comparingthescalepicturedabovewiththeloadsensorschematic,whiletheblackwiresmatched,theredand
whitewireswereswapped.Also,onlytwoofthefoursensorsusedawhitewireforthecentertapoftheloadsensor,theothertwousedgreen.Iconnectedtheblack
wiresto,theredto+,andthewhiteandgreenwirestoC.
Todeterminehowtohookupyoursinglestraingaugeloadcellstothecombinator,measuretheresistancebetweenthethreewires.Youshouldfindalargerresistance
(closetodouble)betweenapair.Inourexampletheresistancebetweenredandblackwas1.6k,andtheresistancebetweenwhite/greenandredwas800.
Therefore,thecentertaptothestraingaugeisthewhite/greenwire.ThecentertaporcenterpinofyourstraingaugeconnectstotheCpinonthecombinator.The
largerresistancewires(redandblackinthisexample)connecttothe+andpinsonthecombinator.
Thecombinatorboardhooksupthefourloadsensorsinsuchawaythattworesistorsinthewheatstonebridgeconfigurationareconstantvaluesandtheothertwoare
variableinthisway:

TohookupthecombinatorboardtotheHX711matchtheRED,BLK,WHT,andGRNpins
Onceyouhavethecombinatorboardsuccessfullysolderedtothetwelvewires,youcannowconnectittotheHX711amplifierboardviathe4standardloadcellwires.You
canuseshortjumperwiresorifyourelectronicsarealongdistanceawayfromyourscaleconsiderusinganRJ45connectorandanethernetcabletoconnectthe
combinatortotheHX711amplifier.

ArduinoCode
Nowthatyouhaveyourloadcell,amplifier,andmicrocontrollerhookedup,youcanaddyourcodeandstartcalibratingyoursetup.
Youcandownloadthemostuptodatecodeandlibrariesfromthelinkbelow.

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GITHUBREPOSITORY

Note:ThisexampleassumesyouareusingthelatestversionoftheArduinoIDEonyourdesktop.IfthisisyourfirsttimeusingArduino,pleasereviewoututorialon
installingtheArduinoIDE.IfyouhavenotpreviouslyinstalledanArduinolibrary,pleasecheckoutourinstallationguide.

Thefirstthingyouwillwanttoworkwithisthecalibrationcode:SparkFun_HX711_Calibration:

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/*
ExampleusingtheSparkFunHX711breakoutboardwithascale
By:NathanSeidle
SparkFunElectronics
Date:November19th,2014
License:Thiscodeispublicdomainbutyoubuymeabeerifyouusethisandwemeetsomeday(Beerwarelicense).

Thisisthecalibrationsketch.Useittodeterminethecalibration_factorthatthemainexampleuses.Italso
outputsthezero_factorusefulforprojectsthathaveapermanentmassonthescaleinbetweenpowercycles.

SetupyourscaleandstartthesketchWITHOUTaweightonthescale
Oncereadingsaredisplayedplacetheweightonthescale
Press+/ora/ztoadjustthecalibration_factoruntiltheoutputreadingsmatchtheknownweight
Usethiscalibration_factorontheexamplesketch

Thisexampleassumespounds(lbs).Ifyoupreferkilograms,changetheSerial.print("lbs");linetokg.The
calibrationfactorwillbesignificantlydifferentbutitwillbelinearlyrelatedtolbs(1lbs=0.453592kg).

Yourcalibrationfactormaybeverypositiveorverynegative.Italldependsonthesetupofyourscalesystem
andthedirectionthesensorsdeflectfromzerostate
Thisexamplecodeusesbogde'sexcellentlibrary:https://github.com/bogde/HX711
bogde'slibraryisreleasedunderaGNUGENERALPUBLICLICENSE
Arduinopin2>HX711CLK
3>DOUT
5V>VCC
GND>GND

MostanypinontheArduinoUnowillbecompatiblewithDOUT/CLK.

TheHX711boardcanbepoweredfrom2.7Vto5VsotheArduino5Vpowershouldbefine.

*/

#include"HX711.h"

#defineDOUT3
#defineCLK2

HX711scale(DOUT,CLK);

floatcalibration_factor=7050;//7050workedformy440lbmaxscalesetup

voidsetup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("HX711calibrationsketch");
Serial.println("Removeallweightfromscale");
Serial.println("Afterreadingsbegin,placeknownweightonscale");
Serial.println("Press+oratoincreasecalibrationfactor");
Serial.println("Pressorztodecreasecalibrationfactor");

scale.set_scale();
scale.tare();//Resetthescaleto0

longzero_factor=scale.read_average();//Getabaselinereading
Serial.print("Zerofactor:");//Thiscanbeusedtoremovetheneedtotarethescale.Usefulinpermanentscaleprojects.
Serial.println(zero_factor);
}

voidloop(){

scale.set_scale(calibration_factor);//Adjusttothiscalibrationfactor

Serial.print("Reading:");
Serial.print(scale.get_units(),1);
Serial.print("lbs");//ChangethistokgandreadjustthecalibrationfactorifyoufollowSIunitslikeasaneperson
Serial.print("calibration_factor:");
Serial.print(calibration_factor);
Serial.println();

if(Serial.available())
{
chartemp=Serial.read();
if(temp=='+'||temp=='a')
calibration_factor+=10;
elseif(temp==''||temp=='z')
calibration_factor=10;
}
}

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Onceyouhavecalculatedyourcalibrationfactorofyourloadcellsetup,youcanmoveontoothercode,suchasthesimplescaleoutputexamplecode,
SparkFun_HX711_Example:
/*
ExampleusingtheSparkFunHX711breakoutboardwithascale
By:NathanSeidle
SparkFunElectronics
Date:November19th,2014
License:Thiscodeispublicdomainbutyoubuymeabeerifyouusethisandwemeetsomeday(Beerwarelicense).

Thisexampledemonstratesbasicscaleoutput.Seethecalibrationsketchtogetthecalibration_factorforyour
specificloadcellsetup.

Thisexamplecodeusesbogde'sexcellentlibrary:https://github.com/bogde/HX711
bogde'slibraryisreleasedunderaGNUGENERALPUBLICLICENSE

TheHX711doesonethingwell:readloadcells.Thebreakoutboardiscompatiblewithanywheatstonebridge
basedloadcellwhichshouldallowausertomeasureeverythingfromafewgramstotensoftons.
Arduinopin2>HX711CLK
3>DAT
5V>VCC
GND>GND

TheHX711boardcanbepoweredfrom2.7Vto5VsotheArduino5Vpowershouldbefine.

*/

#include"HX711.h"

#definecalibration_factor7050.0//ThisvalueisobtainedusingtheSparkFun_HX711_Calibrationsketch

#defineDOUT3
#defineCLK2

HX711scale(DOUT,CLK);

voidsetup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("HX711scaledemo");

scale.set_scale(calibration_factor);//ThisvalueisobtainedbyusingtheSparkFun_HX711_Calibrationsketch
scale.tare();//Assumingthereisnoweightonthescaleatstartup,resetthescaleto0

Serial.println("Readings:");
}

voidloop(){
Serial.print("Reading:");
Serial.print(scale.get_units(),1);//scale.get_units()returnsafloat
Serial.print("lbs");//Youcanchangethistokgbutyou'llneedtorefactorthecalibration_factor
Serial.println();
}

CheckouttheotherexamplecodeintheGithubrepoforpoweringdowntheHX711(github)andknownzerostartup(github).

ResourcesandGoingFurther
Wanttoknowmore?Checkoutthistutorialifyouhaventalready:

GettingStartedwithLoadCells
JUNE11,2015
Atutorialdefiningwhataloadcellisandhowtouseone.

YoumayalsobeinterestedinlearningabouttheOpenScale.

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OpenScaleApplicationsandHookupGuide
JULY22,2016
OpenScaleallowsyoutohaveapermanentscaleforindustrialandbiological
applications.LearnhowtousetheOpenScaleboardtoreadandconfigure
loadcells.

Needevenmore?Checkoutthisawesomearticlewheatstonebridgesandloadcelltypes.
Forsomeinspiration,checkouttheSparkFunIoTBeehive:
TheInternetofBees:AddingSensorstoMonitorHiveHealth
AndstayuptodatewiththeOpenScalebyfollowingitonGitHub:
InternetofBeesGitHubRepository

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