Chatillon DFX II Series, DFX2-010, DFX2-050, DFX2-200, DFX2-100 User Manual

Part No. NC003198

July 2013

DFX II Series

Digital Force Gauge

User Manual

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Icons

WARnInG

The raised hand icon warns of a situation or condition that may lead to personal injury
or death. Do not proceed until the warning is read and thoroughly understood.
Warning messages are shown in bold type.

DAnGERoUs VoLTAGE

The lightning icon warns of the presence of an uninsulated dangerous voltage within

the product enclosure that might be of sufcient magnitude to cause serious shocks
or death. Never open the enclosures unless you are an authorized and qualied

Chatillon® service personnel. Never open any enclosure when power is connected to
the system or its components.

cAUTIon

The exclamation point icon indicates a situation or condition that may lead to equip­ment malfunction or damage. Do not proceed until the caution message is read and
thoroughly understood. Caution messages are shown in bold type.

noTE

The note icon indicates additional or supplementary information about the action,
activity or concept. Notes are shown in bold type.

cAUTIon

HIGH FoRcEs ARE oFTEn InVoLVED WITH THE
MATERIAL TEsTInG PRocEssEs.

THE PRoDUcT Is noRMALLY UsED UnDER BAT-

oWER. HoWEVER, MAIns PoWER MAY BE

TERY P
UsED.

IF THE EQUIPMEnT Is UsED In A MAnoR noT
sPEcIFIED BY THE MAnUFAcTURER, THE

oTEcTIon PRoVIDED BY THE EQUIPMEnT MAY

PR
BE IMPAIRED.

To MAInTAIn ALL AsPEcTs oF THE sPEcIFIcATIon,
onLY AMETEK® APPRoVED AccEssoRIEs,
connEcTIons AnD coMPonEnTs sHoULD BE
UsED.

sTRIcTLY ADHERE To ALL sPEcIFIED sAFETY
PRocEDUREs

READ THIs MAnUAL BEFoRE UsInG THIs PRoDUcT.

Features

When designing custom fixtures ensure
the load rating of the custom fixtures

exceed the load rating of the load cell in
the force gauge being used. i.e. If the load cell is
rated for 100 LBF the custom fixtures should have
a load rating greater than 100 LBF.

The DFX II Series have the following standard
features:

l +0.3% of Full Scale Accuracy
l Large, Easy-to-Read LCD Display
l Selectable Units (ozf, gf, lbf, kgf, N)
l Lockable Units
l Normal and Peak Measurement Modes
l Selectable Languages (English, French, Spanish,

Portuguese, German, Chinese)

l Automatic Power Save Shutdown
l Battery Operation 70 to 100-hours of

continuous use

l Universal Battery Charger
l Internal Calibration Procedure

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Introduction

The Chatillon

®

DFX II Series digital force gauges is a battery-operated force indicator. It uses a NiMH bat-

tery for power. It may also be used with the DFX II battery charger/charger (included) supplied.

The DFX II Series may be used to measure and display tensile or compressive loads at an accuracy of +0.3%
of full scale. The DFX II Series may also be set to capture the peak tensile or compressive load. The DFX Series
is available in four models having four different capacities and user-selectable units of measurement.

Model ozf gf lbf kgf N
DFX2-010 160 x 0.2 5000 x 5 10 x 0.01 5 x 0.005 50 x 0.05
DFX2-050 800 x 1 25000 x 20 50 x 0.05 25 x 0.02 250 x 0.2
DFX2-100 1600 x 2 50000 x 50 100 x 0.1 50 x 0.05 500 x 0.5
DFX2-200 - - 200 x 0.2 100 x 0.1 1000 x 1

The gauge may be setup to display text in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.

Conformance

The Chatillon DFX II Series has been assessed against the essential health and safety requirements of the
Low Voltage and the EMC Directives listed and found to be in compliance.

BS EN 61010-1:2010 Safety Requirement for Electrical Equipment
BS EN 61326-1:2006 Electrical Equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use:
General Requirements
BS EN 61326-2-3:2006 Electrical Equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use:
Transducers with integrated or remote signal conditioning

The DFX II Series is a RoHS and WEEE compliant device.

Packaging

The Chatillon DFX II Series is supplied with the
following standard accessories:

l Flat Adapter, 100 lbf (p/n SPK-FMG-011A) or
l Flat Adapter, 200 lbf (p/n SPK-FMG-011B)
l Hook Adapter, 50 lbf (p/n SPK-FMG-012A) or
l Hook Adapter, 100 lbf (p/n SPK-FMG-012B) or
l Hook Adapter, 200 lbf (p/n SPK-FMG-012C)
l DFX II Universal Battery Charger/Charger

(p/n charger SPK-DF2-UNIV)

l DFX II Carrying Case (SPK-DF-118)
l Certificate of Conformance

Optional Certificate of Calibration with Data is available.

The DFX II is supplied with one (1) flat adapter and (1)
hook. The accessory supplied is dependent on the DFX
II capacity.

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Display Layout

The Chatillon DFX II Series has a high resolution,
dot-matrix LCD, 8 lines, 21 characters. Display
contrast is set at the factory and requires no ad­justment. The load bargraph, at the bottom of the
display, indicates the load currently being applied
to the internal load sensor. The bargraph fills from
the center location with tensile loads measured to
the left and compression loads measured to the
right. A load direction indicators shows whether
the applied load is tensile or compressive.

Message Prompt

Battery Status

Auto Shutdown feature is ON

Peak Filter is ON

Mode indicator

Keypad

The Chatillon DFX Series has a rubber keypad
containing the following keys:

l On/Off Key
l UNITS Key
l PEAK Key
l ZERO Key
l INFO Key

Change Mode

q

T

q

Measured result

Measured load bargraph

q

T

q

Tensile load indicator

11.23

T

Compression load applied to sensor

1.23

Units Lock feature is ON

1.23

Tensile load applied to sensor

Compression load indicator

q

Norm

LBF

C

Units of measurement

Norm

LBF

C

Norm

LBF

q

q

C

Changes measurement units: ozf, gf, lbf, kgf,

Units

N. May be disabled so that units cannot be
changed. (See Units Lock Feature).

Select to view/capture peak measurements.

Peak

Change between Normal and Peak.

Select to Zero measurement or to Tare up to

Ø

10% of the gauge’s capacity.

Note: When in INFO mode, select the Zero key
to exit and return to Home.

Select to view gauge information and to select

i

gauge operating options. (See Using INFO Key).



Turn Gauge On or Off.

Note

The bargraph fills from the center and load direction

indicator appears when load is being applied to the

internal load sensor.

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Selecting Mode

The DFX II Series has three measurement modes:
Normal, Tension Peak (T-PK) and Compression
Peak (C-PK). Select the Peak key to display the
peak load measured in tension or compression.
Use the zero key to clear the peak reading and to
prepare the gauge for the succeeding measure­ment.

Change Mode

View Peak Result

The Chatillon DFX II Series will display the peak
(maximum) load achieved for a test. There are
two methods to view peak results:

1. Place gauge in Normal mode. Apply a push
or pull force against the load sensor. Select the
PEAK key. View the peak result.

Norm

1.23

T

Peak

Change Mode

1.23

q

T

q

Peak

Change Mode

1.23

T

Peak

Zero and Taring

The DFX II Series has a dedicated Zero key for
zeroing results or taring. You may tare out up to
10% of the DFX II gauge’s rated capacity. Select
the Zero key to zero or tare.

0.0

LBF

C

T-PK

LBF

C

C-PK

LBF

C

C-PK

LBF

q

q

2. Place gauge in Peak mode by selecting the
PEAK key before performing the test. Apply a
push or pull force against the load sensor. View
the peak result.

Norm

1.23

q

T

q

Peak

4.56

q

T

q

Peak

7.89

T

Peak

Note

The corresponding load direction indicator appears

when viewing a peak load result or when load is

being applied to the internal load sensor.

LBF

C

T-PK

LBF

C

C-PK

LBF

C

q

q

T

C

Ø

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Using the INFO Key

The INFO (information) key is used to display the
gauge’s characteristics such as firmware revision.
It is also used to view Overloads and to set the
Units Lock feature.

Depressing the INFO key cycles the firmware
through the following functions:

1. Capacity

2. Firmware Revision

3. Overload History

4. Battery Life

5. Automatic Shutoff

6. Units Lock

7. Display Language

Note

When in INFO mode, you may exit at any time by pressing

the ZERO key.

View Capacity

The DFX II Series displays its capacity x resolution.
To view the DFX II gauge’s capacity characteris­tics, perform the following key sequence:

1. INFO <Capacity>

Capacity

200 x 0.2 lbf
100 x 0.1 kgf
1000 x 1 N

T

C

i

View Firmware

The DFX II Series displays its firmware informa­tion. To view the firmware characteristics, perform
the following key sequence:

1. INFO <Capacity>

2. INFO <Firmware>

Firmware
Model DFX-200

E91.99
Rev. No. V1.00
Rev. Date dd/mm/yy

T

C

i

View Overloads

The DFX II Series displays its Overload History.
To view the overloads, perform the following key
sequence:

1. INFO <Capacity>

2. INFO <Firmware>

3. INFO <Overload>

Overload
No. of Overloads

No. of Tension 0
No. of Comp. 0

T

C

i

IMPORTANT

Overloads can damage the load sensor. Always take

special care to observe the bargraph to ensure that the

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I

sensor is not being overloaded.

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View Battery Life

The DFX II Series displays its battery life. The DFX
II uses a rechargeable NiMH battery cell. To view
the DFX II battery life, perform the following key
sequence:

1. INFO <Capacity>

2. INFO <Firmware>

3. INFO <Overload>

4. INFO <Battery>

Battery
Est Battery Life

T

100 hrs

9.00 Volts

C

i

Using The Battery Charger

The DFX II Series may be battery operated or operated
using the battery charger accessory (SPK-DF2-UNIV).
When the battery charger is used, the internal batteries
are charged. The battery charger may be plugged into a
115V or 230V source power outlet. The battery charger
contains three interchangeable plug styles: USA, EURO
and UK.

1. Place the correct plug onto the
battery charger.

1

Use the Chatillon Battery Charger that comes with

IMPORTANT

the DFX II Series digital force gauge.

Do NOT use generic battery chargers. These can

permanently damage the gauge electronics.

Note

The DFX II will display “Recharge Battery” when the

battery voltage drops to approximately 4.5VDC

To charge the DFX force gauge plug the phone jack
of the supplied universal battery charger into the DFX
force gauge then plug the battery charger into the
correct AC power outlet. Ensure the correct power is
applied to the battery charger. Never plug the USA
2-prong 115VAC charger into a 230VAC power source.
To obtain a full charge it is recommended the DFX force
gauge is charged for 15-20 hours. The DFX force gauge
should get approximately 70 to 100 hours of battery life
on a single charge.

A battery icon appears on the main operating display
and operates like a bar graph. When the gauge has a
full charge, the battery icon appears full. As the battery
voltage diminishes, the battery icon will start to empty.
You may view the estimated battery life based on cur­rent usage in hours by depressing the “i” key until the
battery life screen appears.

2

3. Plug the battery charger into
the DFX II power input.

4

2. Plug the battery charger into the
source power outlet.

4. Press the DFX II On/Off key to
turn power ON.

The DFX force gauge will alert you when the battery
assembly needs to be recharged by adding a message
to the main test screen “Recharge Battery”. The force
gauge will shutdown automatically if the battery voltage
reaches approximately 4.5VDC.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to charge the
Chatillon DFX series force gauge with any
other charger than the one supplied with

the force gauge or supplied by an authorized

Chatillon dealer. The nickel metal hydride batteries are

3

temperature sensitive and the battery charger is specifi­cally design to properly charge this battery assembly
without damaging it.

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Reversing the Housing

The DFX II Series comes from the factory with
the measuring shaft located at the bottom of the
gauge when reading the display.

In applications where the measuring shaft is re­quired to be at the top of the gauge, simply reverse
the housing.

1. Turn power to the gauge OFF.

2. Remove two (2) 6/32 screws on
the gauge housing using Hex key
supplied with the DFX II.

3. Rotate the top housing 180-de­grees being careful not to strain or
damage the internal wiring.

DFX II gauges shown with top housing reversed.

4. Re-assemble gauge housing
using two #6-32 hex screws.

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