science

PCB Piezotronics

PCB Piezotronics is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PCB Piezotronics rather than just read about it. In short: PCB Piezotronics is an American manufacturer of piezoelectric sensors headquarter in Depew, New York. PCB manufactures sensors and related instrumentation which are small electromechanical instruments for the measurement of acceleration, dynamic pressure, force, acoustics, torque, load, strain, shock, vibration and sound.

Key takeaways

PCB Piezotronics belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PCB Piezotronics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PCB Piezotronics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

PCB Piezotronics is an American manufacturer of piezoelectric sensors headquarter in Depew, New York. PCB manufactures sensors and related instrumentation which are small electromechanical instruments for the measurement of acceleration, dynamic pressure, force, acoustics, torque, load, strain, shock, vibration and sound. The name "PCB" is abbreviation for "PicoCoulomB" which is technical terminology defining an electrical charge of the type generated by the piezoelectric sensors they manufacture. It is also a registered trademark of the company. "Piezotronics" combines the science of Piezoelectricity and electronics.

History Founded by Robert W. Lally and James (Jim) F. Lally in 1967, PCB Piezotronics has evolved from a family business to a large company engineering and manufacturing operation, with technical emphasis on the incorporation of integrated circuit-piezoelectric sensor technology. In 1967 the integrated circuit piezoelectric sensor, also known as ICP sensors, incorporated microelectronic circuitry, were developed and marketed. The 1970s for PCB Piezotronics saw expansion of its standard product offerings, to include other types of sensor technologies. In 1971, the company developed a 100,000 g high-shock, ICP® quartz accelerometer; Impulse Hammers for structural excitation were developed in 1972; and in 1973, the first rugged, industrial-grade ICP® accelerometer was introduced to serve the emerging machinery health monitoring market. Employment grew to 25 employees. By 1975, PCB® had become one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of piezoelectric sensors. During the 1980s, PCB® continued to develop new products. In 1982, the Structural* Modal Array Sensing System was developed to ease sensor installation and reduce set-up time on larger-scale modal surveys. Modally-Tuned* Impulse Hammers won the IR-100 Award as one of the top 100 technical developments for 1983. The 128-channel Data Harvester was invented in 1984 to provide sensor power and speed modal analysis by offering automatic bank switching capability. In 1986, PCB developed the first commercial quartz shear-structured ICP® accelerometer. Additionally in 1980, PCB® broke ground on 6 acres (24,000 m2) of land at 3425 Walden Avenue for its new quartz technology center, a location which it continues to occupy today. The facility doubled in size in 1985, and in 1996 an additional was added. An acre of land to the west of the building was purchased for future expansion and in 1999 a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) addition was completed. In 1995, Underwriters Laboratory certified PCB to the International Quality Standard ISO-9001. In January 2002, The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) recognized PCB with accreditation to ISO 17025, an international standard for assuring technical competence in calibration and testing. In 2015, Jim Lally was presented the lifetime achievement award at the 86th annual Shock and Vibration Symposium in Orlando. "This award recognized Jim Lally's 60 years of dedication to providing dynamic sensor technology in blast, ballistics, shock, vibration, acoustics, strain, and dynamic force to the SAVE community. It also recognizes both his generous contributions to educational institutions and his professionalism in corporate interactions." PCB Group, Inc. was acquired by MTS Systems Corporation in July 2016 but retained its president David Hore and all its employees and facilities.

Divisions The company is organized into various divisions and product groups, and has representation in more than 60 countries worldwide. These divisions include PCB Automotive Sensors, based in Farmington Hills, Michigan; PCB Aerospace & Defense; IMI Sensors; and Larson Davis, based in Depew, NY. PCB product groups include Shock and Vibration; Microphones; Force; Pressure; and Electronics.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PCB Piezotronics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PCB Piezotronics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PCB Piezotronics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PCB Piezotronics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PCB Piezotronics

In research: PCB Piezotronics appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PCB Piezotronics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PCB Piezotronics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 establishments in New York (state), Manufacturing companies based in New York (state), Privately held companies based in New York (state), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PCB Piezotronics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PCB Piezotronics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PCB Piezotronics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PCB Piezotronics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PCB Piezotronics in simple terms?

Why does PCB Piezotronics matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PCB Piezotronics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PCB Piezotronics.