ACCURACY OF THE SYSTEM
The load cell that comes with the system has an accuracy of better than 1%; as it is a common accuracy on the market. The question that needs to be asked when selecting a system is what does this accuracy mean?
A transducer with an accuracy of 1% means that error can be 1% off from full-scale value. So if you have a transducer that measures 100 pounds of force, the error in measurement can be 1 pound. It is alright if your system operates at 100 lbs. But what does it mean when you are operating at 10 pounds? Since the 1% is for the full scale, your accuracy has now decreased from 1% to 10%. The point being, there is no perfect system on the market that can measure extreme accuracy through a large-scale range, and this should be taken into account when purchasing a system.
The CTPS comes with a load cell; the load cell measures the torque provided by the brake. Depending on how the system was configured at the factory, the load cell signal may be fed-back (closed-loop system) or just be a reference (open-loop system) to display the measured tension. In some cases, it may be desirable to have an open-loop system to avoid stability issues. In this case, the operator may still set a tension but may have to slightly compensate by setting the tension higher or lower so that the measured tension matches the desired one.