International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology E-ISSN 2277 – 4106, P-ISSN 2347 – 5161 ©2016 INPRESSCO ® , All Rights Reserved Available at http://inpressco.com/category/ijcet Research Article 15| MMIT, Lohgaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India, NCPSM- 2016, INPRESSCO IJCET Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016) Parametric Optimization of Pancake Type Load Cell Using Response Surface Methodology Vaibhav Varne †* , Vasudev Shinde † and Vijay Kamble † Department of Mechanical Engineering, Textile and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji, India Accepted 01 Oct 2016, Available online 05 Oct 2016, Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016) Abstract Providing product with good functioning and in least price is very necessary in today’s competitive market. Optimization approach is the best approach for industrial component which are having large number of design variables with more than one objective to satisfy for mobility of tomorrow. Load cells are transducers employed to measure force or weight. In the present investigation an attempt has been made on parametric optimization of pancake type strain gauge based load cell. The study focuses on finding critical dimensional parameters of the pancake type load cell and its effect on sensitivity and volume. The finite element method (FEM) has been applied at various levels of typical dimensional parameters of load cell. The response surface methodology (RSM) is employed for multi objective optimization of responses for maximizing sensitivity and minimum volume. Response optimizer with desirability function is found for optimum results of response surface methodology. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is conducted for analyzing contribution of each parameter on the performance of load cell. Keywords: ANOVA, FEM, Load cell, RSM, Strain gauge, Sensitivity, Volume 1. Introduction 1 Among the complete range of sensors and transducers used in automotive, research, consumer and industrial applications, load cells stand out as one of the most significant transducers. Basically, these transducers used to calculate deformations produced by force [Hernandez et.al, 2006]. According to the type of output signal they produce and the way they detect the weight, there are many types of load cells, strain gauges, mechanical cells, and other types (fiber optic, piezoresistive, and so on). However, due to high precision and low cost, strain gauge load cells are the most used in industries. Majority of load cell designs, use strain gauges as the sensing element. The deformation applied on metallic elements shows variations in electrical resistance significantly. The same metallic string can differ in electrical resistance depending on whether it is extended or contracted. The longer the metallic string becomes, the larger the resistance. The strain gauge utilizes this principle and detects a strain by changes in resistance. A load cell is made by bonding strain gauges to a spring material. To efficiently detect the strain, strain gauges are bonded to the location on the spring material where the strain will be the largest .When the stress caused by external force to an object is below the proportional limit, the strain varies linearly with the stress. In addition, when external force is applied to a force transducer and its *Correspodning author: Vaibhav Varne spring material is deformed (strained), the resistance value of the strain gauge varies linearly with the deformation (Thein et.al, 2013), (Roman et.al, 2010), (Thakkar, 2013). Finite Element Analysis is an engineering analysis technique that is utilized to simulate the behavior of complex structures for which no exact solutions exist. While it has its historical beginnings in structural analysis, finite element analysis is now applied to a wide variety of engineering areas, including fluid flow, heat transfer, and electromagnetic. Finite element analysis software package (Hyperworks) used in current research for structural analysis of load cell. For current research Pancake' type load cell chosen which is also known as button type design uses strain gauges to examine the stress in the sensing element when subjected to a compression force. Shape optimization is a process of changing the physical dimensions of a structural part to increase sensitivity and reduce the volume. Multi-objective optimization of sensitivity and volume parameters were investigated by response surface methodology. 2. Methodology of Work 2.1. Description of load cell Serial no- 12/98-175 'pancake' type load cell which is manufactured by Fuel Instrument And Engineering Pvt. Ltd. Parvati Co. Op. Industrial estate Yadrav-