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Eilersen

1958 The first experiences with weighing

Eilersen analog capacitive load cells in stainless steel for tank weighing (picture from 1970s)
Eilersen analog capacitive load cells in stainless steel for tank weighing (picture from 1970s)
Eilersen analog capacitive beam load cells in stainless steel (picture from 1980s)
Eilersen analog capacitive beam load cells in stainless steel (picture from 1980s)

In 1958, a young Nils Eilersen was approached by his father to build an electronic scale for the family furniture business (www.eilersen.eu) in order to measure if the wood was dry enough to be used for furniture production. This project later turned out to be the basis for the foundation of the company Eilersen Electric A/S. After many hours of work, Mr. Eilersen had a working scale based on strain gage load cells but Mr. Eilersen did not find the strain gage technology accurate enough and too sensitive to overloads and shocks.

1965 Discovering the capacitive technology

During his studies at the Technical University of Denmark, Mr. Eilersen was dedicated to looking for more robust and more accurate measuring principles. It was during his time at the university that he did his master theses on measuring capacitances.

After his studies, Mr. Eilersen was appointed development manager in a company developing industrial test equipment and he soon realized that the capacitive technology had a great potential in this business area. One of the company’s biggest sellers was an imported mechanical instrument for testing the pump pressure in diesel engines.

Mr. Eilersen then suggested the owner of the company to develop an electronic version of this test equipment but the owner of the company was not interested in this idea. As a result Mr. Eilersen then decided to start his own company.

1969–1975 The foundation of Eilersen Electric A/S

This led to the foundation of Eilersen Electric A/S in 1969 and as a result of hard dedicated work, Nils Eilersen was granted a patent in 1971 on measuring capacitances which was the measuring principle used in his electronic test equipment for diesel engines. The so-called “Diesel Tester” was used for measuring the pressure in the injection pumps in Diesel engines.

This product was a very big success and led to Robert Bosch GmbH buying an exclusive license to manufacture and sell the electronic diesel tester in 1972.

Eilersen analog load cells and instrumentation (picture from 1980s)
Eilersen supplies load cells and weighing systems for industry

1976–1992 The first capacitive load cells

The many advantages of the capacitive technology were clear, so Mr. Eilersen decided to develop a load cell based on the capacitive measurement principle.

As a result this development work, Eilersen supplied the first load cell to a local pharmaceutical company in 1976. This was one of the first installations using stainless steel load cells for process weighing.

The Eilersen load cells were based on a patented simple and efficient capacitive measuring circuit, followed by a patent on the mechanical design of the non-contacting capacitive sensor.

The capacitive load cells differed from the standard strain gage load cells in many ways as the load cells were characterized by the robustness which provided a much higher tolerance to overloads. Another important feature was the ability to withstand transient voltages while providing an output signal which was 20 times higher than strain gage load cells which was an advantage at a time when amplifiers were expensive and not very stable.

During the 1980’s then the company was growing steadily and many different types of analog capacitive load cells were developed and supplied to a growing customer base worldwide.

Eilersen digital single point load cell
Eilersen supplies load cells and weighing systems for industry
Eilersen weighing controller with capacitive touch keys

1993 The digital technology

In the beginning of the 1990’s, it was clear that the future lay in digital technologies.

Looking to secure continued growth for the future of the business, the decision was made to develop a digital load cell based on the capacitive measurement principle. A sister company, founded in 1986 and based in Switzerland, Eilersen Electric SA, was given the responsibility for developing an ASIC based on a number of new patents on the capacitive technology.

In 1996 the first digital load cells were produced. These capacitive digital load cells have the same advantages as the analogue capacitive load cells but with better specifications while offering much more flexibility for interfacing to other equipment. The digital capacitive technology developed by Eilersen is covered by a number of patents worldwide.

This digital technology has set a new standard in the weighing industry and many thousand Eilersen digital load cells have since been installed in industrial applications at leading companies in more than 85 countries worldwide.

Today, many of the first installations supplied by Eilersen are still in use even though they are more than 30 years old. Eilersen is committed to supplying the same high quality weighing solutions for many years to come.

You can find Eilersen customers all around the world and they are among the leading companies in several different industries. Our dedication to technology, quality, and service has resulted in a very high level of customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Timeline

1969 Eilersen Electric A/S is founded by Nils Eilersen

1971 First patent on capacitive measuring principle is granted

1972 The first product based on a capacitive measurement principle is sold to Bosch Gmbh

1979 Second patent on capacitance measurement

1980 First patented analog capacitive load cell is granted

1986 Eilersen Electric SA is founded in Switzerland

1990 Patent on digital capacitive load cells is granted

1996 First generation digital capacitive load cells

2005 Third patent on digital capacitance measurement is granted

2006 Patent on capacitive single point load cell is granted

2008 Second generation digital capacitive load cells

2013 Installations in more than 85 countries worldwide

2016 Third generation digital load cells

2017 ISO 9001:2015 and IECEx certifications

2017 NEW range of hygienic digital load cells

2017 ISO 9001:2015 and IECEx certifications
2017 ISO 9001:2015 and IECEx certifications
2017 Eilersen NEW range of hygienic digital load cells
2017 Eilersen NEW range of hygienic digital load cells